Chapter 253: DeLoreanism
With all that Reagan stuff sorted out… Alexander and his grandfather were just pretty much looking ahead.
With opportunities such as Reagan's somewhat indirect endorsement that started an overreacting rumor mill… it was best to keep an open mind for what may come their way.
Back to the Future had become a certified topic of interest after all… and there are bound to be other events that would somehow be tied up to it.
There really are a lot of factors that make the film stand out and what makes the film a blockbuster.
From the Creed's machinations to a presidential intervention… there are events in the real world that make it and there are events that it would inadvertently make in the real world.
With the film's track record… Alexander kept a keen eye on what may come next.
There's still quite some time to go before July 1985 ends or what he'd personally called as Theatrical July, after all.
Surely… something notable and Back to the Future-related was bound to come up.
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The last few weeks of BttF's July theatrical run did ensue as it should have but it wasn't exactly the highlight of things as National Lampoon's European Vacation took some of the spotlight.
Having opened on July 26, 1985 in 1,546 North American theaters and grossing $12,329,627 for its opening weekend, it ranked number one at the box office… albeit that is just counting the weekend runs of Back to the Future for Lampoon sequel to earn its champion status.
Alexander's attention wasn't really on the clashing of films though… as his attention was much more focused on several events in society that were brought forth by Creed Pictures' time travel flick.
Sure enough, something really did happen!
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And it had something to do with a certain discontinued car…
It wasn't as prominent as the President of the United States but the news about the true creator of the DeLorean, becoming a fan of the film had been a considerable highlight at some point.
Zemeckis and Gale ultimately chose to use a DeLorean as the basis for their time machine, partly because the gull-wing doors of the car would allow a 1955 family to mistake the vehicle for an alien spacecraft when Marty crashes into their barn. Of course, in Alexander's plundered version, he was the prime reason behind it.
According to Old Sullivan and Mr. Advertiser… Ford offered the production team money if they made the time machine out of a Mustang… but Curious Bob Gale had been pretty vocal with his disagreement with it by saying "Doc Brown doesn't drive a fucking Mustang."
Anyways, the time machine's stylish and memorable design earned heartfelt praise and 'thank you' from the sports car's original designer — John DeLorean.
By 1982, the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) had pretty much gone bankrupt with its factory closed. This ended DeLorean's dream of creating an "ethical sports car," with poor inventor John even getting tangled up in a cocaine sting, although he was eventually acquitted.
Thanks to Back to the Future and its astounding success… the DeLorean DMC-12's image was probably going to be immortalized.
The movie had kept his dream alive and it urged John DeLorean to send the filmmakers a fan letter thanking them for using his car.
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It would have been a simple article with that but John DeLorean's little publicized actions may have started a DeLorean collecting craze.
It wasn't covered much in the market surveys… but many non-car savvy viewers of the film can pretty much admit that when they first saw the movie… they may have assumed that the cool sports car that Doc Brown built his time machine out of was invented specifically for the movie.
When they discovered that the car was a real-life DeLorean that was now in short supply… along with John DeLorean's little fan stint… a lot of touched moviegoers were sparked to get a time machine-esque car for themselves.
This would inadvertently fuel a major DeLorean collecting craze that would persist for a long while.
Reportedly, John's DeLorean Motor Company only managed to produce over 9000 DeLoreans before the company went bankrupt in 1982.With the new life that Back to the Future had given to the car model… it is estimated that 6500 DeLorean cars would probably be saved from being scrapped. This would become a sharp contrast to other discontinued car models, which normally phase out of existence once they stop being made.
According to the accounts of Steve Lopinto, a former DeLorean dealer, he claimed just last year that DeLoreans are cars that "doesn't have enough mystique to become a collector's car." With the present domination of Back to the Future taken into account… The DMC DeLorean had become the very thing that he deemed it not to be.
Of course… the DeLoreans are just normal automobiles… but that probably wouldn't stop fans from trying to build their own time machines with them.
These upsurged DeLorean car collectors would not just want a classic sports car — they want the time machine from Back to the Future. This would probably lead to many DeLorean-acquiring fans to try and modify their's to make them resemble Doc Brown's iconic design. Flux capacitor, time dials, and all.
As for those that are motivated to go the extra mile and considered using plutonium and such for their DeLorean rigging… godspeed to them and their endeavors.
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"Haha! Isn't it funny to note on how things just escalate?" Old Sullivan was really amused. Never had he expected himself to be the producer of the film that made all of this happen.
"Did you get to read John DeLorean's so-called fan letter though?" Alexander's attention was more on this detail as he was a recipient of those letters himself… and what he read was a bit different from what one would expect. "They are heartfelt as the news says but his wordings and whatnot are implicitly insinuating that he'd be given a little reward or something for his troubles."
"Don't take that to mind… he's a fellow that had a status as the potential president of General Motors, so he's quite business-minded at some parts." Old Sullivan appeased. "He's probably giving momentum to himself with the Back to the Future and the car. Perhaps a new business endeavor or to spice up his job application or to facilitate promotion."
"So… I take it that he's just jumping on the bandwagon that we and the president had started?" Since the leader of America had done it first… DeLorean must have seen the opportunity to be a part of it as well.
"Haha! You could say that." Old Sullivan couldn't help but chuckle at Alexander's use of bandwagon idiom. Bandwagons aren't the type of transportation that John DeLorean specializes in, after all.
"Would he pose as a problem though?" Alexander wasn't really in a joking or laughing mood though. "We still have to incorporate Creed Toys into the whole Back to the Future ensemble and his ownership of the DeLorean design could prove detrimental to what we had in plan for next month."
"I've already taken care of that when I made the authorization deal with him last year." Old Sullivan grinned as he talked about this though. "It is quite a steal when you do it with a bankrupt company and an ill-reputed owner… he'll most likely just be voicing his regrets while we're going to make money with DeLorean toy cars."
Well… the old Creed was a skilled negotiator and Alexander had no doubts about that. With the toy cars unburdened by the recent pop-up, he's more curious about who might be the next to do so
"Anyways, as I see it… we have the President of America and a former president prospect of a major automobile company. Who's the next type of president to come up and somehow latch themselves unto Back to the Future?"
"I don't know but it would probably be another interesting fellow. Old Sullivan was intrigued with all the "three" presidents already and he was quite curious as to how the next president would differ from them.
"Anyways, do count yourself as a BttF-affecting president as well, Alex. We haven't really made it official due to your popular 'little boss' title but you're technically a president-level figure in Creed Entertainment's many businesses."
Alexander had no comment on that… as he still didn't really want to be lumped with Reagan and even more so with DeLorean.
When he thought about it though… he didn't want to be associated with Reagan's Reaganism due to political messes. Now, he didn't want to be associated with DeLorean due to his questionable character or DeLorean's DeLoreanism to make things a bit similar.