FLORENCE - Festival goers, movie buffs and filmmakers will get a chance to go back in time at this year's University of North Alabama/George Lindsey Film Festival.
A working replica of the DeLorean time machine seen in the "Back to the Future" film series will be on display at the event March 4-7. One appearance is scheduled for March 5 at the Shoals Theatre just before the 25th anniversary "Back to the Future" reunion.
Actors Lea Thompson, James Tolkan and Claudia Wells, along with screenwriter Bob Gale, have signed on to participate in the reunion. Michael Scheffe, construction designer for the DeLorean, will be at the event and will conduct a special-effects workshop.
Cynthia Burkhead, one of the festival organizers, said the reunion came about when she was approached by UNA alum Stephen Clark, the creative director for BTTF.com. The DeLorean is part of the BTTF.com collection of memorabilia.
"Once the reunion was announced, many people contacted us about contributing to the celebration," she said. "One of those was Bernd Kruyt, a Dutch filmmaker who made a documentary about the creation of the flying taxi in 'Back to the Future II.' He put us in contact with Scheffe, who collaborated on the design of John Bell's Citroen taxi concept for the film. We have been very fortunate in the way the festival events
have come together."
Clark predicted early on in the planning of this year's festival that there would be several big names
associated with the event.
"It's turned into a true reunion," he said.
"I've been doing this for about 17 years now, and in that time, I've gotten to know most of the cast and crew. I've also done a lot of sci-fi conventions and DeLorean car shows with the cast and crew of the
films."
The DeLorean that will be at the festival was built by the husband-and-wife team of Oliver and Terry Holler, of Myrtle Beach, S.C. It was built to match the original time machine seen in the trilogy and features the flux capacitor as well as functional circuit displays.
This year, the festival is partnering with BTTF.com and the Hollers to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Fox, who was the star of the "Back to the Future" movies, has appeared in multiple roles, but perhaps is best known for being Marty McFly.
Burkhead said George Lindsey, the festival's namesake, also is expected to participate in this year's event. The festival was founded in 1998, in part by Lindsey, whose career has encompassed several roles, including giving life to the character of Goober Pyle on "The Andy Griffith Show."
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