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 madabout? 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.
Screen Daily reports that the sequel to Donnie Darko, which begins shooting on May 18, will be looking for international buyers in the Cannes Market. Wait, back up––there’s a sequel to Donnie Darko? Yeah, and Richard Kelly, who is quietly working on a mainstream horror film in the aftermath of Southland Tales, has nothing to do with it. S. Darko will focus on Donnie’s youngest sister, played as she was in the earlier film by Daviegh Chase, and will catch up with the character seven years after her brothers death, when she and a friend embark on “a roadtrip to Los Angeles when they are plagued by bizarre visions.” So presumably, her commitment to Sparkle Motion will not be an issue. The film, which will be helmed by Nightstalker director Chris Fisher, has apparently already secured U.S. distribution through Fox.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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