Although the name Marty McFly won't be on the start list for the first Olympic skateboarding competition, the 'Back to the Future' character who inspired the immortal lines 'What's that thing he's on? It's a board, with wheels!' was a landmark personality for the sport in its groundbreaking journey to the Tokyo Games.
TOKYO -- Although the name Marty McFly won't be on the start list for the first Olympic skateboarding competition, the "Back to the Future" character who inspired the immortal lines "What's that thing he's on? It's a board, with wheels!" was a landmark personality for the sport in its groundbreaking journey to the Tokyo Games.
"The skateboard associations and the BMX associations should be giving Bob Zemeckis, myself and Steven Spielberg lifetime achievement awards," joked "Back to the Future" screenwriter Bob Gale in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the competitions. In one of the movie's signature scenes, McFly uses a makeshift skateboard to outrun and outfox the villainous Biff Tannen. McFly soars on his board over a hedge and races around a town square, sparks flying. Biff and his gang of bullies are humiliated, ending up neck-deep in dung after crashing into a manure truck.
Skateboarding featured again as an outcast activity two years later in "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol." Hawk was part of the stunt crew that skated around downtown Toronto performing jumps and tricks for that movie. "That movie was fascinating to me as a 13-year-old, with Michael J. Fox skating on his tail and making sparks and escaping the bad guys," Friedberg added. "There is an entire generation of skateboarders that are the 'Back to the Future' generation."
Freestyle BMX pioneer Bob Haro had a similar experience: An out-of-the-blue phone call offering him work as a stuntman on "E.T.," released in 1982.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rowers looking to pull Canada back on the Olympic podium in TokyoCanada’s rowing program is confident and re-energized heading into the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics with 10 boats in the running
Read more »
Canada's rowers looking to get back on track and on the Olympic podium in TokyoCanada's rowers -- a powerful, proud group of athletes intent on pulling a decorated program forward -- had been all but shut out of the medals on the murky waters of Rio de Janeiro's urban Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Read more »
Tokyo Olympics announces 19 new Games-related COVID-19 casesJust hours away from Friday's opening ceremony, the Tokyo Olympics announced 19 new COVID-19 cases, including three athletes, bringing the total related to the 2020 Games since July 1 to 106.
Read more »
Canadian Kylie Masse’s uncommon training prepared her mentally for Tokyo OlympicsCanadian Kylie Masse went to great lengths to stay in the water during COVID-19 pandemic
Read more »