Chapter 100: Phoenix Reeves through the Depp

With the compounded Creed version of George McFly strangely being an acceptable one, Alexander had pretty much gotten the hang of the many shifts and constants that his re-life intervention had done.

Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Eric Stoltz, Claudia Wells, Thomas Wilson, along with Tiger and Wendie Jo Sperber was more or less the same and different after all that has happened.

A lot of factors have led up to make their returns, reprisals, and shifted casting happen.

Overall, Alexander was quite satisfied with how things worked out and how Back to the Future was already on its great foundation of an 'established' cast that made the original version burst out the time-traveling magic that it showed to the world.

The pandering of the cast members should have stopped there but there was an interesting tidbit about minor side characters that Alexander just can't pass up on.

The casting director had been gossiping about it too much that Alexander could only come up with an amusing semi-mnemonic to depict the strange situation

He jokingly dubbed it as 'Phoenix Reeves through the Depp'.

Phoenix wasn't about the mythological great firebird of nirvana. Reeves wasn't about threading through a ring or opening. Depp isn't depth and it also isn't about being foolish, idiotic, or dorky.

'Phoenix Reeves through the Depp' was all about an actor trio whose carried surnames happen to be Phoenix, Reeves, and Depp.

Alexander had already adjusted himself with how his butterfly effect has affected things but gathering all three of them to be part of Back to the Future was interesting nonetheless.

The trio was quite an influential heartthrob friend group after all and it was quite motivational to truly find out how they got together and how they gathered at the new Back to the Future specifically.

Out of curiosity, he tracked events out from the casting director and finally got the full gist of how the arrangement came to be.

By the end of his data gathering, Alexander could only feel amused at how everything worked out.

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A few months ago with Zemeckis and Creed Pictures were able to work out Michael Fox through manipulation and enticement.

Marty's important actor slot was filled and auditions for the rest of the cast had to be worked out.

It was still March and being cast with a part for the 'Romancing the Stone' director's next movie was relatively sought after. Of course, there were also others that were put off as Creed Pictures was an unknown company.

Whatever the case, auditions still happened and George McFly was out for grabs. All everyone knows is that he is the 'teen' and 'aged' father of a hip-looking and guitar-playing Michael Fox.

And so with a big 'misunderstanding' for the role, many hip-looking actors preferably with electric guitar experience from all over Hollywood lined up in hopes of having a chance at stardom.

It just so happens that Keanu Reeves was a bassist in training, young River Phoenix was a guitarist, and Johnny Depp's connections led him to the audition area and he also happen to know the guitar as well.

Through their short meet and greet at the audition huddle, the unfamiliar trio of eccentric semi-guitarists and handsome fellows hit it off and inadvertently lined up together for the audition.

It was strange for a 14-year-old Phoenix to be lining up for the role but everyone had their troubled backstories, so all that friendly Keanu and eccentric Depp could do is help out the kid Phoenix.

The trio planningly line-up together and their somewhat synchronous appeal with a 14-teening kid involved must have caught the attention of the people in charge of casting.

They effectively got the attention of others and by the time that the one-by-one audition was finally up, the trio must have already had an edge over the competition.

First on the audition was River Phoenix, who was the best at acting but was still too young and was just given courtesy by the casting director.

When Johnny Depp was up, they did have expectations but they were disappointed to find out that he was weirdly eccentric for entirely anything he does. Still, he had potential merits as a certain Hollywood connection gave the casting team a heads up.

When it was Keanu Reeves' turn, he was already associated with the early high performing duo so he was already in elevation. Fortunately, he had acted quite sunny and expressive which put him in the next round.

Many hurdles had to be passed through as auditions were level by level progression. It was too bad that little Phoenix was out but Keanu and Johnny felt pity for the guy and acquainted more with each other.

The auditions went on and by the time that the final round was up, the trio must have been sad to find out that a guy named Eric Stoltz won out George McFly.

Throughout the audition rounds, the trio's synchronous appeal and similarities to each other had been growing as they've further hung out and acquainted with each other.

It was unfortunate that they all lost out in the end but at least they've found unlikely friendships with one another.

Of course, the trio's chance was not out as the casting director informed them that Keanu was pending as Dave McFly, the other son of the George they were auditioning for.

Keanu eventually got the part after deliberations done by Bob Gale and Old Creed.

Of course, by the power of unlikely friendship and pleading bond with one another, loyal Keanu vouched for his new friends and the rest of unaccounted male roles were given to Phoenix and Depp.

It also worked out quite well as the only eccentric-perfect role left available was Douglas Needles. Marty's rival was weird so it was a fit for eccentric Depp.

As for River Phoenix, he was cast as the younger brother of 1955 Lorraine Bairnes. It was only a small role but troubled River was happy for it nonetheless as he could work with his big friends Keanu and Johnny.

If crew gossip and Alexander's data collection were to be believed, then the uninteresting and unappealing roles of the new BttF franchise were snagged by the past-future's most appealing heartthrob trio.

Strangely enough, it was done through the power of friendship and inadvertent fate.

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Alexander could only feel amused at the whole story that he made the surname semi-mnemonic to commemorate such a twist of everything.

'Phoenix Reeves through the Depp' indeed.

If the friendship trio extended their friendship reaches to everyone else with a double-meaninged surname in the cast then the mnemonic would probably be 'Fox and Phoenix Reeves through the Wells, Sperber, and Lloyd Depp Wilson'.

It's a work in progress but still.

As for how the synchronous appeal of the handsome and guitar-playing trio would help out the franchise, it was only the renewed future that can truly know.

However, with Alexander knowing the trio's great career trajectory in the past-future, then the videotape sales, CD sales, DVD sales, and streaming rewatchability factors are pretty much guaranteed.

The trio's characters are clearly unimportant foils but their presence in the cast list had already shot up the value of the new Back to the Future trilogy.