Every year I tell myself that I’ll check out the annual Fan Expo 2018 (Comic Con) event in Boston. However, it always seems to slip my mind. This year, I couldn’t let that happen! My inner child, and movie buff self needed to attend one specific event. Otherwise, I would have kicked myself in the ass for passing up this Friday evening opportunity. I’m referring to “an evening with the cast of Back to the Future.”
Fan Expo Boston 2018 (like previous years) was held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. It went throughout the weekend of August 10-12. Other than the attached comedy club Laugh Boston, this was my first time attending an event inside the convention center. It’s a mammoth place, & much bigger than it looks from the outside.
It goes on and on!
THE EXHIBITION HALL
Once inside, we strolled up and down each isle. With minimal stops, it took about an hour and half to cover the entire thing. It was impressive. To me, three things really stuck out.
First, I was really impressed with artist alley. Admittedly, I didn’t know who a lot of these people were. I really wish I did! A lot of the work in this section was creative & fun to look at. Luckily, I took some business cards.
Second, why does almost every damn table & vendor seem to be selling those big headed Funko pop figures? Seriously, did they sponsor this event? I know they’re very popular, but I never thought I would see so many in one place.
Lastly, like the Funko pop figures, a lot of vendors were also selling “mystery boxes.” Each were priced differently, but promised to hold a value worth more than what you paid. I think I’ll quote Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi. “It’s a trap!” I can’t believe people fall for this. These things were everywhere! Sure, spend $25 on a mystery box, & the contents are worth $50! It sounds amazing! However, these people are running a business. It might be a $50 dollar value, but it’s more than likely $50 dollars worth of dead inventory that nobody wants anyway.
While this wasn’t the main reason I went, it definitely exceeded my expectations. I will definitely consider going again next year.
Not a bad spot right?
AN EVENING WITH THE CAST OF BACK TO THE FUTURE
Since we purchased general admission tickets for this event, seating was available on a first-come, first served basis. Because of this, we got in line early. Truthfully, there wasn’t a bad seat, but it definitely paid off.
For an hour, we listened to Michael J Fox (Marty McFly), Christopher Lloyd (Dr. Emmett Brown), Lea Thompson Lorraine Baines McFly) & Thomas Wilson (Biff Tannen) talk about this iconic franchise. My inner child was completely nerding out and excited.
Oddly, when I read other articles regarding this reunion, most of them state that this is the first time they’ve reunited since 2015 (The 30th anniversary). However, that’s not entirely true. While a reunion did take place, these four actors DIDN’T take the stage together in 2015. One of the first comments that Thomas Wilson made was how this is the first time he’s seen Michael J Fox in nearly 28 years! The crowd gasped. That’s practically right after the release of Back To The Future III. I’m note sure why most articles left this out. I thought it was a cool tidbit.
As the hour continued, Michael J Fox voiced how shocked he was that the movie became such a hit. At the time, his schedule was ridiculously hectic. Within the same day, Fox would go from the set of Family Ties, to the set of Back to the Future. “When the movie came out, it shocked me ’cause I had no idea what it was going to be, because I had no chance to live with it.” Fox said.
As they moved on to discussing the sequels, they each expressed the pressures and concerns they faced. Tom Wilson stated the he was totally freaked out due to the various characters he would need to play throughout these different time periods. Christopher Lloyd felt stressed about needing to re-shoot the end of the first film. He questioned how he could get himself back there again.
The cast also quickly squashed the idea of a Back to the Future 4. They were asked why the topic keeps constantly coming up. At that moment, Tom Wilson shared his opinion on the matter. “Basically, I think America is saying, ‘Come on they’ve wrecked every other franchise with bad sequels, why not this one? C’mon, we would watch it until it sucks.’
When the hour concluded, a thunderous applause filled the makeshift theater while the four cast members exited the stage. It was truly an evening to remember.
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Categories: Anything involving Hollywood & TV
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