Exclusive Interview and Book Preview: Bob Gale discusses latest book, 'Back to the Future: DeLorean Time Machine: Doc Brown's Owners' Workshop Manual'
I've been a die-hard fan of Back to the Future ever since July 5, 1985. In the years following that opening weekend, I've been tremendously blessed to have forged close friendships with a number of the film's cast & crew, including its co-creator, co-writer and co-producer, Bob Gale.
I first met Bob by phone in the fall of 1992 during one of my many persistent phone calls to Universal Studios in my quest to obtain a VHS copy of the footage from Back to the Future...The Ride, which I had experienced in Florida earlier that same year. At the time, Bob had an office on Universal's lot as he served as the executive producer and second season director for Back to the Future - The Animated Series. Upon being transferred one day to his office, Bob and his assistant Kristen encouraged me to assist in the newly launched unofficial Back to the Future fan club — the earliest incarnation of this now official Back to the Future website — after realizing that I was likely one of the most persistent and enthusiastic fans they had ever encountered.
A decade following that fateful telephone call, Bob and I finally met in person on December 16, 2002 while attending the Back to the Future Trilogy Reunion & DVD Launch Party held in Courthouse Square on Universal's backlot. Since that day, I've spent quite a bit of time with him at countless DeLorean car shows, conventions, anniversary celebrations, and other Back to the Future-related events. Among those, a very special event happened almost nine years later, where I once again found myself standing with Bob in Courthouse Square — an event which I believe served as a catalyst for laying the earliest foundations for his latest book, Back to the Future: DeLorean Time Machine: Doc Brown’s Owners’ Workshop Manual.
Panoramic view of Courthouse Square at Universal Studios from atop the steps of the clock tower set, at the Nike Mag premiere September 8, 2011 (photo by Stephen Clark, ©2011, To Be Continued, LLC)
On September 8, 2011, I had the distinct honor and pleasure in joining you on Universal’s backlot for the press unveiling of the Nike Mags to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. That morning, we both stood at the foot of the clock tower next to the original "A" DeLorean used throughout all three films, feeling quite embarrassed as to how poorly the car had been cared for in the following two decades since filming had wrapped. It had been severely damaged by the outdoor elements over time, and because visitors to the theme park had been allowed to rip off time machine "souvenirs" over the years, some of the international media and sneaker bloggers also gathered that day mistakenly identified the vehicle as a mock-up of the “actual” DeLorean. I consider this day as the pivotal moment when you decided something had to be done to save the DeLorean. You soon assembled a team of fans to give the car a full museum-quality restoration back to its filming days, which was headed up by the co-author of your new book, Joe Walser. What do you recall from seeing the DeLorean in such disarray that day?
I literally felt sick on seeing the condition of the vehicle and how little regard the tour had had for it, as well as embarrassed to being seeing it like this in front of you, members of the press and the folks from Nike. I'm sure you recall my horrified reaction. The car had been valued at over six figures for an audit we did many years earlier, and that it would now be in such sorry shape was heartbreaking. I'd had no idea that the car had been off display for so long with basically zero maintenance. But this was, perhaps, a blessing in disguise. Had it been in some sort of reasonable shape, I might not have pressed for its restoration. Who knows where that time line would have gone!
I do indeed recall your reaction, and know that it wasn’t very long before you took action. On February 27, 2012, you and Joe formally announced the DeLorean restoration, a process which took a full year to fully complete (as documented in Steve Concotelli's 2015 documentary OUTATIME: Saving the DeLorean Time Machine). At what point did the two of you conceive the idea to write this book?
The impetus for the book came from Insight Editions, the publisher of 2015's Back to the Future - The Ultimate Visual History, a great book and a big success for them. Insight had done some Haynes Manuals to fictional vehicles, including a volume on Ghostbusters and another on Marvel vehicles and aircraft. Editor Chris Prince, with whom I worked closely on BTTF-UHV, is a huge BTTF fan, so he contacted me in 2019 about doing a BTTF DeLorean book and sent me the Ghostbusters and Marvel books as samples.
I believe it's important to note that your book is not simply a technical manual to the DeLorean Time Machine, but rather it is a very detailed journal written from Doc Brown's perspective which documents his interests in time travel dating all the way back to 1946.
I don't recall if it was his or my original idea to include excerpts from Doc's journals to create the back story of the vehicle's creation, but that was the element that really got me excited. This would be more than a tech-oriented book, and I could create a narrative that would fill in some holes in the trilogy and answer a lot of fan questions. Chris wanted to know if I knew anyone who could handle the art and more technical aspects, and there was only one person I could completely trust to get it right: Joe Walser. He had the knowledge, the love and the history with the car, along with a level of perfectionism that I knew would be essential. Chris was on the fence about Joe, given that Joe hadn't even done anything like this, but I promised him he was the best guy for the job. Although there were some deadline hiccups along the way, exacerbated by the pandemic messing up everyone's lives and schedules, everyone involved is extremely pleased with the end result. Between Joe's amazing illustrations and Insight's design team, as well as Chris's focus on the final product, the book has exceeded my expectations.
Exclusive preview of Doc Brown’s mid-1950s journal entries, including early conceptual drawings of the Flux Capacitor (©2021, Insight Editions)
Your book is chock-full of clever “Easter eggs” (dates, names, events, etc.) which long-time fans of your work should recognize—not only from Back to the Future, but also inventive nods to some of your other movies. Without spoiling any of these gems, what are some of your favorite inclusions which you hope fans might notice?
I love being able to sneak in very tiny details. One was allowing readers to learn a little bit more about Mayor Red Thomas and the type of guy he really was, in a newspaper clipping. Another was Doc's choice of a pseudonym in a letter he sent to the newspaper. Fans of our non-BTTF films will get a kick out of finding out who sold Doc the DeLorean – which was Joe's idea. They'll also learn that Doc had another dog between Copernicus and Einstein, but I won't reveal his name, because, being a dog person myself, it was impossible to imagine that Doc would be without a dog for very long. But I think my favorite thing turned out to be Doc Brown's “river theory” of the time stream, which lays out the time travel theory we used in the movies. Why? Because it has since been validated by some physicists. Basically, they concluded that you actually could make small changes in the past if these things didn't disrupt the overall time stream. In other words, George McFly could punch Biff in 1955 thereby altering some things in Hill Valley, but it wouldn't change big events like the JFK assassination, the Vietnam War, or Reagan becoming president. Not bad for someone who is not a temporal physicist!
Those newspaper clippings in the sidebars easily close the loop on so many unanswered Back to the Future questions fans have, and are certainly worth the purchase price by themselves! As someone who has been involved with the Back to the Future fan community for almost three decades, I am thrilled to learn specific details as to what Doc Brown was doing during his time travel adventures he took without Marty, specifically during his travels to 2015 and his life in the Old West. Those of us who have followed the IDW Back to the Future comic book series over the last few years will instantly notice the inclusion of several details which originated in those issues. Is it safe to conclude that those stories, as well as this book, are all now considered canonical to the Back to the Future universe?
Yes, I'd say this is all as close to “canon” as is possible given the fact that our version of time travel allows for the alteration of history!
Exclusive preview of the DeLorean Time Machine Flux Bands (©2021, Insight Editions)
You and Joe not only detail the components of the DeLorean Time Machine, including its many add-on features and modifications seen throughout the trilogy, but you also cover other inventions, such as Doc Brown's Time Train from Back to the Future Part III and the 2015 hoverboards from Back to the Future Part II. Why was it important to also include these technologies as well?
Actually, inclusion of the hoverboards was suggested by Chris Prince – in fact, he was adamant that we include a spread about them! I thought the book should be limited to Doc's own inventions or things related to the vehicle, but the appeal of hoverboards was so powerful that I agreed, and ultimately, I think Chris was right about that.
As to the Time Train, Joe really wanted to do it, and there has been so little about it that it seemed to be the appropriate conclusion: one time machine leads to another. Maybe this will inspire a toy company to finally make a decent scale model of it.
And let's not forget the last section — a sort of appendix, which steps out of the conceit that Doc wrote the book and covers some movie trivia, answers more fan questions, includes DeLorean concept art, and covers some DeLorean events.
I am confident fans will really enjoy the appendix. I noticed you've dedicated the book to the memory of the late Ron Cobb, whose work you credit defined the look and feel of the DeLorean Time Machine. What are some of your fondest recollections of working with Ron during Back to the Future's pre-production days?
Ron was a joy to work with, full of energy and creativity, and a truly nice guy. His eyes twinkled when he was really into a project, and they sure twinkled on this one! He always had a very positive attitude, was open to suggestions, and was full of his own ideas. He had an excellent rapport with Bob Zemeckis (and me). In his own way, he became Doc Brown while working on the design. He really wanted everything to have its own logic and a reason to be there. The fact that something might “look cool” was simply not good enough – every component actually had to do something. And he totally understood the idea that it had to look “homemade,” that Doc built this in his own workshop, and it should have a certain “unfinished” and dangerous look. Ron was a very in-demand artist, so we were only able to have him on the show for two weeks. But it's a testament to his talent as to what he accomplished in those two weeks, and the book's dedication to him is both accurate and deserved. I'm very sorry he didn't live long enough to see it.
In closing, are there any upcoming Back to the Future projects, events, or products you can talk about which would be of interest to fans around the world?
The Discovery Channel will be airing a four-part series called “Expedition – Back to the Future” starring the host of their Expedition series, Josh Gates along with – wait for it – Christopher Lloyd! And there are appearances by a wonderful array of guest stars. The series is centered on the search for one particular DeLorean. I don't have an air date yet, but I'll let you know when I know. Netflix's series “The Movies That Made Us” is in post-production on a Back to the Future episode. Again, no air date, most likely summer, and I'll keep you posted. And finally, Back To The Future - The Musical is still scheduled to reopen in London, with previews beginning on May 14, barring further delays from the pandemic.
Tickets available now at BacktotheFutureMusical.com
Reserve your copy of Back to the Future: DeLorean Time Machine: Doc Brown's Owners' Workshop Manual now at Amazon.com, or pick up your copy in stores beginning Tuesday, March 30, 2021.
Executive Director Stephen Clark, at the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary celebration held during the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival in Florence, Alabama - March 6, 2010 (photo by Tom Silknitter, ©2010, Tom Silknitter)
About Back to the Future: DeLorean Time Machine: Doc Brown’s Owners’ Workshop Manual:
One of the most iconic movie sagas of all time, the Back to the Future trilogy has left an indelible impact on popular culture. Back to the Future: DeLorean Time Machine: Doc Brown’s Owners’ Workshop Manual delves into the secrets of the unique vehicle that transported Marty McFly and Doc Brown through time, including both the original version of the car and the updated flying model.
This book’s creative team sets it apart. Bob Gale is best known as co-creator, co-writer, and co-producer of Back to the Future and its sequels. Gale has teamed up with illustrator Joe Walser, who has combined decades of motion picture art department experience with his passion for Back to the Future to become the world’s leading authority on the DeLorean time machine—in 2013, he led Universal Studios’ restoration of the vehicle used in all three Back to the Future movies, which is now on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Together, Gale and Walser have given us an unprecedented insight into the DeLorean’s inner workings, from its unmistakable gull-wing doors to Doc’s cutting-edge modifications, including the Flux Capacitor and Mr. Fusion. The book also includes unique handwritten excerpts from Doc Brown's journals, which recount his life after World War II, how he came to build the Time Machine, his first trip to 2015, how he survived his accidental trip to 1885 and much, much more. Filled with exclusive illustrations and never-before-disclosed information, Back to the Future: Doc Brown’s DeLorean: Owners’ Workshop Manual is the perfect gift for the franchise’s legion of fans.
About the Authors:
Bob Gale is an Oscar-nominated Screenwriter-Producer-Director, best known as co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of Back to the Future and its sequels. Gale was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Cinema from the University of Southern California in 1973. He has written over thirty screenplays, and his other film credits include 1941, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Used Cars, Trespass and Interstate 60. In addition to writing movies, Gale has written the novelization to 1941, Retribution High — a short violent novel about bullying & revenge, and a number of comic books including Spider-Man, Batman, Daredevil, Ant-Man and Back to the Future. He has also served as an Expert Witness in over twenty plagiarism cases. Gale lives in Southern California with his wife.
Joe Walser has combined decades of motion picture art department experience with his passion for Back to the Future to become the world’s leading authority on the DeLorean time machine. In 2013, he led Universal Studios’ restoration of the vehicle used in all three Back to the Future movies, which is now on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
About the Publisher:
Celebrated for its unwavering dedication to quality, Insight Editions is a publisher of innovative books and collectibles that push the boundaries of creativity, design, and production. Through its acclaimed film, television, and gaming program, Insight strives to produce unique books and products that provide new ways to engage with fan-favorite characters and stories. For more information, visit www.InsightEditions.com.
