There it is, the real thing, Marty McFly’s actual hover board from Back to the Future Part II. Or it’s one of them, at least. The woman staffing the Comic-Con booth full of drool-worthy Hollywood artifacts informed me that the prop department made several hover boards, of which this is only one of several originals. They’ve sold a few before. She seemed confident that the sale would land between the $30,000 to $50,000 estimated cost, if not exceed it.

Sure, it doesn’t actually work as a hover board (my eight-year-old self is still waiting on that one) but it’s still very real, in another way. Comic-Con is truly an adolescent hedonist’s feast, but almost everything is simulated in one way or another. From big-budget Hollywood remakes of classic comics to the scintillating tease of 2-D cleavage displayed on innumerable posters and comic covers, to cutesy bobble-head versions of even the most bad-ass super heroes, it actually came as a surprise to see something genuine. That thing is the real hover board, or at least the real fake one they used in the movie. Oh well.

After the jump, another unattainable Hollywood artifact…

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Remember when trailers would name-appropriately trail the movie? Me neither. I don’t think anyone does. But occasionally trailers are still shown after the main feature. Back to the Future Part III was advertised at the end of Part II, and The Matrix Reloaded ended with a preview of The Matrix Revolutions. As next installments of cliff-hanging series, though, these sequels were like the old serials from which trailers received their name (in one of multiple explanations).

I suggest that previews of big movies starring the main actor of the film you’re currently seeing also follow this model. Why? Because after watching this teaser (boy does it tease right) trailer for next summer’s Terminator Salvation, which is showing with The Dark Knight and which stars TDK’s Christian Bale, I’m too distracted by my excitement for the nex season to fully concentrate on the blockbuster at hand. Wouldn’t it be better if Warner Bros. instead slipped this trailer in right before the Dark Knight credits with an announcement like, “you’ve just seen Christian Bale in The Dark Knight; see him again next summer in … ”

A roundup of favorite comments about the trailer itself (as opposed to its placement) after the jump:

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It may seem like I’m late to the party on this one, but I swear, I’m not––I saw the TV version of this CNBC story last week, so I knew that Nike launched a limited edition sneaker last weekend called Air McFly, based on the self-tying shoe that will apparently de rigeur for hoverboard flights in the very near future, assuming the very near future looks anything like Back to the Future 2. I knew that fans had been clamoring for the sneaker for years; I knew that there’d be great demand, but extremely limited supply. What I did not know, was that the shoe’s launch, at a single store in Santa Monica, turned into a some kind of fan fest, complete with lines around the block (some waited over 24 hours, according to HypeBeast) and a special appearance by Kobe Bryant, who arrived in a DeLorean (what, Michael J. Fox wasn’t available?) Photo evidence and related links after the jump; above, a video from last year setting the Air McFly lobbying campaign to song.

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This is it, the day we’ve been waiting for two full decades (or, at least, since we first heard it was happening back in December): the Huey Lewis plot song written specifically for the David Gordon Green-driected, Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy Pineapple Express has hit the web! The Playlist first posted a clip of the song last night; today, Whitney at Pop Candy points to the full thing, available for streaming or download on MySpace.

It’s very much in classic Huey Lewis plot song mode, complete with gratuitous hand claps and sax solo. It’s not as directly narrative as, say, “Back in Time” (above), but it’s slightly more literally connected to the film than, like, “The Power of Love.” A sample from the chorus: “How did we get into this mess? Pineapple Express! Can’t deal with this stress! Totally gone, cause we’re on, Pineapple Express!” It is the best, and it is also totally the worst.

As we’ve discussed before, plot songs take the science of the source cue to a new level. After the jump, a brief, video-guided journey through plot song history. Let us know what we’ve left out.

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Look, I’m on the record: the first two Back to the Future films are my favorite blockbuster-and-sequel set of all time. And as maybe the most powerful cinematic treatment of the conflict between nostalgia (romance) and the true weight of history (responsibility) to come along since the dawn of the blockbuster era, it’s a no brainer that those of us who have seen it so many times that we could sing it like a song would look for new opportunities to wallow in our fandom. But somebody’s got to start imposing limits. Behold the following:

Exhibit A: That Donnie Darko sequel that everyone’s mad about? One of its stars indicated to MTV News (via Indie Eye) that it’s actually more like a remake of Back to the Future 2. “It goes into all different dimensions, but it’s really about turning something around for somebody else, and being able to go back and have another chance…We just come back [in time] and change what happened in the first one.”

…and the far more egregious Exhibit B: Whitney at Pop Candy alerts us to the news that ThinkGeek.com is selling a non-functional yet “movie accurate” replica of the Flux Capictor––for $249. In the movies, the Flux Capacitor is the plutonium-fueled gadget which makes time travel possible, but in real life, it’s apparently a glorified paperweight which makes shitty sweded Back to the Future remakes like the above possible. This is where normal, healthy nostalgia passes over to the point of capitalism-aided psychosis, and it just makes me sad.

A fire hit the Universal Studios backlot on Sunday morning, destroying a video library as well as a number of notable sets and the King Kong “ride” from the tram tour. Contrary to internet hysteria, the Back to the Future clock tower (as in, “Save the Clock Tower! SAVE the Clock Tower!!!”) was damaged but remains standing, although the courthouse facade adjacent to it was destroyed, as was all of New York Street. There are tons of camcorder tourist videos of the King Kong thing on YouTube; the one embedded above is not only the best quality I could find, it also includes a shot at the end of the concrete lions that marked the entrance to the gated community in which the McFly family lived in Improved 1985. After the jump: the magic of the Clock Tower in action.
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After being extremely jealous of anyone out in L.A. who attended last month’s “Dante’s Inferno” program at the New Beverly, I’m glad that I now get to enjoy something new and Joe Dante-related. Even if it only has to do with characters from his films.

Yes, those are THE Gremlins appearing in a British ad for BT Group (if the YouTube is down, visit the link for another format). Complete with Mohawk, the trademark giggles and Jerry Goldsmith’s theme song. And they’re not selling Direct TV!!! This ad actually adds to the franchise in a way that respects my childhood. Take that, Christopher Lloyd and Sigourney Weaver!

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The Spanish thriller Timecrimes is in many ways a throwback to both classic whodunit mysteries and time-travel science fiction. Writer/director/co-star Nacho Vigalondo is certainly channeling Philip K. Dick with his singular plot line that quickly grows in complexity when the moral and logical conundrums of archetypal time-travel dilemmas come into play. The question is whether Timecrimes finds a unique voice within this well-explored genre.

The set-up is quite simple, Hector and Clara are settling in to their new country home. Surveying the surrounding forest with binoculars, Hector sees what appears to be a naked woman in the trees. He discreetly slips away to investigate while Clara is off on an errand. As Hector attempts to revive the woman, he is suddenly stabbed in the arm by a mysterious man whose head is covered in bandages. Terrified, Hector runs through the woods until he finds a strange laboratory, where he attempts to seek refuge.

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The 25 titles to be inducted in the National Film Registry for 2007 include some of my favorite films: George Cukor’s The Women; Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven; Nicholas Ray’s pitch-black In a Lonely Place; and, of course, my favorite franchise film of all time, Back to the Future. The full list, as well as thoughts from NFR advisory board member Dave Kehr, can be found here; see an extended clip from the Ray film above.