LOS ANGELES — Thousands went back in time as one of the largest movie audiences ever in one place gathered to watch “Back to the Future” at the Hollywood Bowl in a celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary.
The Bowl was just shy of its 17,000-person capacity for the Tuesday night event marking the 1985 release of the Michael J. Fox time-travel blockbuster.
As the film played on the Bowl’s various screens, composer Alan Silvestri’s score was performed live by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by David Newman.
“Back to the Future” opened in North American on July 3, 1985, and went on to become the top-grossing release of that year, amassing close to $400 million worldwide.
Among those from the movie in attendance Tuesday night were Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd, whose scientist Doc Brown sends teenager Marty McFly (Fox) back 30 years to 1955. There, he meets his future parents in high school and accidentally becomes a romantic interest of his own mother (Thompson).
“It really is an amazing event,” Thompson said backstage before the screening. “It’s very lovely that people still want to celebrate our work and this movie.”
Fox, who is based on the East Coast and has long battled Parkinson’s disease, did not attend the Bowl event, but organizers hoped Fox would be able to attend one of the anniversary celebrations planned for New York later this year.
“Michael and I had an automatic chemistry all the way through (the making of the film) … that was constantly alive, and it was wonderful,” recalled Lloyd.
Bob Gale, who co-wrote and co-produced “Back to the Future,” hinted there’d be a flurry of anniversary activity around Oct. 21, 2015, the date to which Marty is sent in “Back to the Future Part II.”
“October is going to be a great month if you’re a ‘Back to the Future’ fan,” Gale said.
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