'Back To The Future' Writer Blames Universal For Controversy Over Edited Version Of Movie

Screenwriter Bob Gale, who wrote the acclaimed “Back To The Future” trilogy, has urged Universal Pictures to destroy the edited version of the “Back To The Future II” after it made its way to the streaming giant, Netflix.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Gale revealed that it was Universal’s fault of handing out a “censored” version of the movie to Netflix. He also shared how he got to know that there is an edited version of the movie on the streaming service.

Speaking about the matter, Gale said that he learned about it nearly ten days ago from a fan who pointed out the error. He also announced that the edited version of the movie has been removed from Netflix and the uncensored edition of the film is now available for streaming.

“The blame is on Universal who somehow furnished Netflix an edited version of the movie. I learned about it some ten days ago from an eagle-eyed fan and had the studio rectify the error. The version now running is the uncensored, unedited, original version,” Gale said.

The edited scene comes when Marty McFly (portrayed by Michael J. Fox) stumbles upon a magazine called “Oh La La.” At first, McFly believes that he has found a stolen sports almanac that he has traveled back in time to collect, but it turns out to be an adult magazine.

The Academy Award-nominated screenwriter further revealed that the film’s director, Robert Zemeckis, also did not know that there is an edited version of the feature film.

“Apparently, this was a foreign version which neither director Robert Zemeckis nor I even knew existed, for some country that had a problem with the ‘Oh La La’ magazine cover. I asked that the studio should destroy this version,” Gale said.

The first film in the trilogy was released in 1985 and became a huge success. The movie is still considered to be one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. It was nominated for four Oscars and won the trophy in the Best Sound Effects Editing category. The film was a success at the box office too, as it earned more than $381 million globally. The movie had a production budget of just $19 million.

The second and third installments received positive reviews as well. As a whole, the franchise made over $970 million at the worldwide box office.