We Don't Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy

Written by Caseen Gaines

Narrated by Ron Butler

Long before Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled through time in a flying DeLorean, director Robert Zemeckis, and his friend and writing partner Bob Gale, worked tirelessly to break into the industry with a hit.

For the first time ever, the story of how these two young filmmakers struck lightning is being told by those who witnessed it. We Don't Need Roads includes original interviews with Zemeckis, Gale, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Huey Lewis, and over fifty others who contributed to one of the most popular and profitable film trilogies of all time.

With a focus not only on the movies, but also the lasting impact of the franchise and its fandom, We Don't Need Roads is the ultimate book for anyone who has ever wanted to ride a Hoverboard, hang from the top of a clock tower, travel through the space-time continuum, or find out what really happened to Eric Stoltz after the first six weeks of filming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781494581886

Caseen Gaines

Author and journalist Caseen Gaines has written for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and NY Mag. He holds an MA from Rutgers Uni in American Studies, focusing on racial representations in popular culture.

Reviews for We Don't Need Roads

[Naris Lekhakul · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A nice back story to the movie, you get the insides from the actors

[taphophile13 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The first chapter of We Don’t Need Roads begins and ends with Bob Zemeckis viewing footage and deciding that Eric Stoltz, an intense, method actor who insisted on being called Marty, is not working out, an already well-known story. The middle is about how Bob Gale and Zemickis, or the Bobs as Gaines always refers to them, wrote the script, shopped it around, auditioned and cast the part of Marty McFly, met each other, came up with the idea, rewrote the script—it’s rather confusing because it’s not in chronological order. Although this chapter isn’t long it includes the clichéd “cast of thousands” and it soon becomes difficult to keep track of everyone. Fifty-six people, from the very famous to behind the scenes unknowns are mentioned, often only in passing, in just the first chapter. Each time a person is named Gaines has to give a short resumé of other movies or TV shows they had worked on. Forty movie titles, seven TV shows and six movie studios also made the cut in that first chapter. By the end of the book 231 people (from stars to stunt doubles to fans) have been introduced along with 108 movies and 33 television shows. Thankfully, the finished book will contain an eight page index for all those names.We do learn some trivia such as Christopher Lloyd didn’t want to do the scene on the clock tower because of his fear of heights and Lea Thompson read old Look and Life magazines to help her get in character. The difficult eccentric odd unusual actor Crispin Glover didn’t like the ending and behaved like a toddler having a tantrum. He then demanded a huge sum of money to appear in the second movie (and thus ensured that he was not in the sequels). One intriguing anachronism is the Gibson ES-235 guitar on which Marty plays “Johnny B Goode” wasn’t available until 1958. Most details are not that interesting. Gaines quotes Paul Hanson about the catering company’s efforts to show off—“There was Bundt cake, hot dogs, just food all the time.” There are stories that executive Sid Sheinberg wanted the title to be Spaceman from Pluto although he denies this—so did he or didn’t he?. This is only one of a number of incidents that are remembered in widely different ways by the participants and Gaines merely reports both sides without any attempt at resolving exactly what did transpire. Listing how much money the movies earned and the awards for which they were nominated is just boring.Gaines often uses a rather staccato writing style: “After the announcement, Neil Canton’s pager went off. He went to the nearest pay phone and dialed. ‘Hurry home.’ It was his wife.” Other sentences simply convey little information “While Editor A was working on his major sequence, Editor B would tackle the other dialogue-heavy scenes as they came in, and vice versa.” Others like “From there, the animator threw in the kitchen sink.” are just banal. Gaines tends to rely on hackneyed phrases (straw that broke the camel's back, have a lot on their plate, move heaven and earth) which add nothing to the storytelling. Some of his constructions are redundant, awkward or just ungrammatical as when he speaks of a model car that could be “lowered down by a crane” (just how would one lower something up?), “Marty returns back to the present” or two agents, “both of who are deceased.” Such wording is disappointing and surprising given that Gaines is a high school English teacher.

[kaulsu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Meh. It was interesting, I suppose, but not a good "listening" book. I never could decide if it was a poor narrator or simply poorly written. It didn't help much that I thought it to be a fantastic movie with two boring sequels.I had had no idea there were so many casting problems, and rather horrified to hear the stunts were performed, basically, without a dress rehearsal.The amount of money we spend at the box office is obscene.

[daniel5estes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love the Back to the Future trilogy. It will forever be one of my all time favorites. For most movies, even the ones I loved, I would easily grow bored with a behind-the-scenes account this in depth. But for some reason I cannot get enough reading about all the micro trivia that factored into making these movies.

[ralphcoviello · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"The only thing more uncertain than the future is the past." -Soviet ProverbThe above Soviet Proverb sits on a page by itself between one with a dedication to the author's family and one with the Table of Contents and it is a tip-off that there is more thought and effort behind this 30th anniversary look back at the making of these movies than one might have initially expected. Choosing to write and publish this book in 2015 is another indication of author Caseen Gaines appreciation for these films because it is not just the 30th anniversary for the original "Back to the Future" it is the future year visited by Marty McFly and Doc Brown in "Part II"! This book has many strengths not least the personal connection the author establishes in the opening pages, to the science fiction genre and these movies in particular, with a recollection of his first encounter with the movies watching them on video tape as a child. Most importantly Gaines has conducted new interviews with many of the principals involved including 'The Bobs' ( Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale), Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd and many other people involved in the production of all three movies in capacities large and small. Reflecting the time element of the movies Gaines subtitles each chapter with a relevant date and the opening chapter 'Think, McFly, Think' starts at a critical moment in the history of these movies 'Sunday, December 30, 1984' the day nearly a month into production that director Robert Zemeckis realizes his leading man Eric Stoltz is not working out. Gaines then jumps back in time to show how the 'The Bobs' first met in film school and eventually found a crucial mentor in Steven Spielberg. That relationship was essential to the development of 'The Bobs' careers as Spielberg Executive Produced their first film "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" co-written by 'The Bobs' with Zemeckis directing and Gale producing. Spielberg had helped "Back to the Future" get into production at Universal and now as Executive Producer helped 'The Bobs' make their case to do the unheard of replace their leading man in the midst of production and with a TV star to boot! Gaines does an excellent job of showing how unusual the change in leads from Eric Stoltz to Michael J. Fox was for this or any film and how it came about and ultimately made the film and its sequels a successful blend of comedy and science fiction. After taking us through the production as well as the stunning critical and box office success of "Back to the Future" Gaines leads us to the development and production of the sequels "Part II" and "Part III". He illustrates how at the time this was no certain thing as Robert Zemeckis has a strong aversion to sequels which he has backed up across the rest of his career. Gaines shows us how the initial plan for a single film eventually morphed into an enormous production of two "Back to the Future" sequels shot back-to-back. While this strategy of shooting 2 or 3 films simultaneously has become more common since the success of "The Lord of the Rings" it had virtually no successful precedent at the time outside of the 70s production of "The Three Musketeers" & "The Four Musketeers". One of the benefits of the author conducting fresh interviews is the willingness of the participants to reflect back with the perspective and distance of time to acknowledge some of the issues and their disappointments. Especially with "Part II" which Zemeckis feels did not get the full attention he could have given it in the editorial process which was compressed by the demands of both its impending release date and focus required for the then in production "Part III". A number of issues are illuminated including casting changes and a stunt gone horribly awry. The change with Elisabeth Shue in the role of Marty's girlfriend Jennifer due to Claudia Wells wanting to be with her mother who was dying of cancer. The departure of Crispin Glover whose role as George McFly was covered by footage from the first film as well as the use of a heavily made-up stand-in Jeffrey Weissman which ultimately lead to an expensive lawsuit. Another lawsuit occurred in the aftermath of a failed hoverboard stunt which critically injured a stunt woman and is explored here in great depth. Beyond the trilogy Gaines takes us into the continuing popularity of "Back to the Future" including looks at fan clubs, websites, theme-park rides, conventions, merchandising and more. There are some weaker aspects which while understandable do detract, such as no current interviews with Michael J. Fox, Crispin Glover, Steven Spielberg, Elizabeth Shue and especially Tom Wilson. Also, I would have liked to see more of the personal side and connection the author Caseen Gaines exposed in his introduction as it seems relevant to understanding the ongoing success and popularity of this franchise.Those quibbles aside I found this book extremely informative about films I have long enjoyed and now have an even stronger appreciation for. I also appreciate that in the back of the book the author lists 'Sources' including complete links to online articles, websites and even clips on YouTube. I cannot wait to go Back to the Future again, and again, and again!

[24girl_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Back to the Future is one of my absolutely favorite movies. My brother and I always holler at each other, "1.21 jiggawatts!!" and laugh hysterically, so I jumped at the chance to read this book and I wasn't disappointed. It is so much fun. As much as I loved the movie I had no idea of all the behind the scenes information I was missing out on. Can you believe somewhere out there exists 4 weeks of footage with Eric Stoltz as Marty before he was replaced by Michael J. Fox! What!?! I would LOVE to see this. There was also a lot of drama behind the sequels, some of which is common knowledge but Gaines offers a little more insight into what happened as told by the people involved. I found the whole book fascinating and while sometimes I felt it dragged on a little bit in some parts it was a great read over all.

[mattries37315 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

‘Back to the Future’ hit theaters in late summer of 1985 and was massive blockbuster hit that spawns two sequels while made fans for life to many children, teenagers, and adults. In “We Don’t Need Roads”, popular culture history author Caseen Gaines gives the backstory of the entire film trilogy with information for both super fans and those who just love watching the films.Gaines jumps right into the biggest storm that ‘Back to the Future’ weathered as his jumping off point in the book. Gaines developed the backstory of how the film got into production before the issue of miscasting of Eric Stoltz as lead character Marty McFly and how director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale handled the situation to get Michael J. Fox. Instantly Gaines had hooked the reader by showing the challenges the production team faced in getting the film to screen.Though interviews of numerous actors and crewmembers, Gaines gives a detailed account of how iconic scenes were created and how much people enjoyed the making the films. One of Gaines biggest hurdles in the book was giving a well-rounded account of why Crispin Glover did not sign on for the sequels and how producers filled his absence, resulting in one of many lawsuits that ‘Part II’ endured. Gaines also takes us behind the scenes of the famous hoverboard scenes, including the botched stunt that resulted in the second ‘Part II’ lawsuit.Before wrapping his book, Gaines details how the ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy continued to live after it had left theaters through fan clubs and fan websites that connected thousands of fans across the world with one another. Gaines included this chapter to explain why ‘Back to the Future’ continues to be a part of pop culture, while so giving an unstated reason for why this book was in part written. The final chapter, which included how the ‘Back to the Future’ community at-large has rallied around Michael J. Fox’s fight to cure Parkinson’s Disease, shows how a production team of crew and actors got through so many challenges to create a pop phenomenon that endures until today. After reading this book, one’s appreciation of the original film, and its sequels, will only grow.

[figre · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Let's start this whole thing with an admission that I may not be the best person to review this book. I assume the primary intended audience is the fans (not necessarily the raving fans – but the fans) of the Back to the Future movie trilogy. I have only seen the first one – and that has been quite a while ago.However, I wanted to read this book because I am always interested in the way Hollywood works. And this book promised to deliver more information on those inner workings.So, caveats out of the way, what was this book and what did I think?As promised, it is a backstage look at the way these movies came to be – the troubles getting the first one started, the bigger troubles of getting it cast correctly, the struggles in getting it filmed, and how the next two movies came to being after the first and evolved from one big movie to two regularly-sized ones. It also includes the fans' and the world's reactions to all three and some introspection into why those reactions may have occurred. Finally, there is a chapter about continued existence of fan-fueled Back to the Future activities. More on that last one later.The book comes through on its promise. The author has been given access to almost all the people who participated (the interviews are an important part of the book), even some of the ones who often don't want to be interviewed. (Zemeckis is the obvious example.) This means that the stories seem to have a good depth to them, and that they manage to cover both sides of many discussions – a fully rounded picture is given.So the book delivered some of what I was looking for. There is decent detail on the discussion and back-and-forth that were required for the movies to be made. However, I will say that there was a rosy glow around a lot of the discussions. That is, even when discussing the bumps that occurred, everyone seemed to still want to get along, and I wondered if the author had too much invested in the story –trying too hard to make it sound as if, even in adversity, there was a golden glow around the project. But that may be too picky. This is a book that contains good details about how this all came together and, even if you are not a fan of the movies (or even if you haven't seen the movies) you will find interesting information herein.And speaking of getting picky, let's talk about the structure of the book. Some authors will approach this kind of book by occasionally writing in a style intended to project a kind of "moment of now." That is, taking the perspective of one of the individuals and providing a potential internal monologue for the individual. Gaines does this at the start of every chapter. "So-and-so looked at his desk and wondered what to do next" type paragraphs. After these short diversions "inside the mind of", he then picks up the thread of the story that occurred before this beginning.I found this irritating. Either tell the story of internal thought, or leave it out and just tell the broad story you want to share. The contrivance of starting each chapter that way (and including it nowhere else) wore thin quickly. And the thing that made it more irritating was the cliff-hanger approach to the end of each chapter. No problem doing this, it is part of how you keep readers reading, even when the material doesn't need that trick (which is true in this case.) The story is compelling enough that cliff-hangers were probably not necessary. So I do not find fault in the author's decision to use this approach. The fault I find is in what seemed to be arbitrary decisions on where those chapter breaks fell. As a reader, I felt the natural breaks in the narrative seemed to lie within the chapters rather than at the end. However, the chapter would continue on until it was time for a cliff-hanger – a cliff-hanger that, because of the story's arc, felt contrived. And then here came the "what he was feeling" paragraphs.These are not deal breakers; these are just irritations I was forced to read past as I continued through.And then there is that last chapter. As I mentioned, I read this book to get an insight into the making of the movie and how Hollywood works. I was given that – up until the final chapter. This focuses too much on the craze – the fandom – of the movies. I don't care what the fans are doing. I don't need this glimpse of individuals who cared so much that the fan base was created and grew. I don't care about how they carry on. Maybe the fans of the movie who bought this book will care, but I wasn't one of them.Which brings us to a final comment. Recognizing I am not the primary market for the book (although a very strong secondary market – and the path through which the book will become a bigger success) I loaned this to someone who is a huge fan of the franchise. He isn't done yet, but he does love the book. One of my concerns was whether there was any new material included – that is, new to the fan. Almost all of it was new to me. (Heck, I never knew that Michael J. Fox replaced Eric Stoltz partway through shooting.) But would the material stand up to the fan who "already knew all that stuff"?I'm happy to say that the initial analysis (he is only partway through) is that the book seems to add quite a bit that fans may not know. And that means this looks like a book for those fans – a book that provides information that wasn't known before.So the overall appraisal of this book depends on many things. If you are a fan (even a big fan) it looks like this is a must-have. If you are just a casual fan, it is still a must-have. If (like me) you just want to know more about Hollywood, then this is a maybe. And, if you are none of these, you probably weren't going to pick it up anyway – so don't bother (and why am I bothering talking to you, anyway?)

[ladycato · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.If you grew up on the Back to the Future trilogy, you must read this book. I'm usually pretty slow to read through nonfiction books, but I blazed through this in a couple days. It reads as fast as a novel and is absolutely fascinating.Much of the book focuses on the first movie: the background of "the Bobs," Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and the dilemma with the leading man. They wanted Michael J. Fox but he was engaged with Family Ties, so they went with Eric Stoltz. He was a fabulous actor but not suited for Marty; he was a method actor who insisted that he be called "Marty" on the set and played the role as stiff and serious. By the time they realized this and desperately sought out Fox, they were able to finagle things to cast him and history was made. The book overflows with interviews with many of the cast members, including Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd. I was utterly fascinated by the truth behind the famed hoverboard scene in Part II: that a stuntwoman almost died. Sure enough, I watched that scene again last night, and you can see the reflection of a body falling thirty feet to the concrete.I found it very appropriate that immediately after I finished this book, I went on Facebook and found that Christopher Lloyd reprised his role as Doc for a Lego commercial. Back to the Future has such huge cultural significance for my entire generation and for me personally. I truly enjoyed finding out more of the truth behind the trilogy.

[libstaff2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.75 StarsA good read for any BTTF fan or film history buff. This books narrates the filming history of the Back to the Future trilogy with quirky and lesser-known tidbits about casting, special effects, and stunts. It's been researched very well and it's fun. Perfect for film or Sci-fi history readers.Penguin First to Read Galley

[darthdeverell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Caseen Gaines’ We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy arrives just in time for October 21, 2015! As one of the most beloved film trilogies, BTTF has thrilled audiences both old and new for the past thirty years and Gaines’ thorough research sheds new light on the making of the films in a manner sure to delight both movie buffs and fans of the series alike. Gaines chronicles Robert Zemeckis’ and Bob Gale’s difficulty in realizing their dream, including studio heads’ attempts to control the Bobs’ vision, the early casting and firing of Eric Stoltz, their struggles with Crispin Glover, and concerns about the effects shots. In many ways, Gaines’ book resembles Studs Terkel’s work and stands as the oral history of Back to the Future.Gaines’ interviews with those involved in making the films are both funny and informative. The book features the expected interviews from the director, writers, and stars, but also includes information from the special effects team at ILM, anecdotes from Huey Lewis, trivia and insight from the actors who played the many memorable tertiary characters, and more. In order to prevent these interviews suffering from the warping of time, Gaines compared the accounts against each other or sought third-party verification, thereby assuring the accuracy of his sources and reinforcing the scholarly nature of his book.Gaines spends more time on the original film than the sequels, though this makes sense, as the first film was much more of a challenge and a risk while the sequels benefited from the proven concept of their predecessor. Even here, he uses his scholarly research to get the best information about the complexities of writing a sequel that revisits the same scenes as the original and a finale that mixes the genres of science fiction and western. As a fan of Part III who has always felt it doesn’t get the credit it deserves, I found that Gaines’ work proves the Bobs put just as much effort into it as the other films in order to ensure a satisfying conclusion.We Don’t Need Roads ends with an examination of the trilogy’s legacy, including the Bobs’ early announcement that there would be no fourth film, the work to make the ride at Universal Studios, the cartoon series, and various references in popular culture such as Christopher Lloyd’s many reprisals of his iconic role. Gains’ book is a wonderful contribution to the trilogy’s legacy and, to paraphrase Doc Brown in Part III, while the future of the Back to the Future trilogy hasn’t been written yet, it’s sure to be a good one.

[shabacus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"We Don't Need Roads" is an enjoyable and extremely readable book about the filming and legacy of the Back to the Future trilogy. Written by a fan for the fans, it covers many of the stories and urban legends that have built up around the series, while at the same time offering new perspectives and insights into the conception and execution of these movies.Gaines' book does not shy away from controversy. He presents the fabled feud between Crispin Glover and Robert Zemeckis in full detail, and discusses the various lawsuits that arose in regards to the film. Throughout, he does so without apparent bias, presenting both sides and leaving it to the reader to determine culpability.I say that the book was without bias, but that's actually not correct. There is a single bias, that the Back to the Future series was a great series of films, and opinion that his readership is sure to share. It was shorter than I had hoped, and is probably not the last word on the subject, but Gaines' efforts will be an important part of future scholarship into the series and its legacy.