The Future Was Now

From a legendary entertainment journalist and author of Caddyshack comes a rollicking new history of 1980s cinema. In the summer of 1982, eight science fiction films were released within six weeks of each other, changing the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest names and altering the business and art of movies to this day. In The Future Was Now, Chris Nashawaty recounts the riotous genesis of these films, featuring an all-star cast of Hollywood luminaries and gadflies alike: Steven Spielberg, at the height of his powers, conceives E.T. as an unlikely family tale, and quietly takes over the troubled production of Poltergeist, a horror film he had been nurturing for years. Ridley Scott, fresh off the success of Alien, tries his hand at an odd Philip K. Dick story that becomes Blade Runner--a box office failure-turned-cult classic. Similar stories arise for films like Tron, Conan the Barbarian, and The Thing. Taken as a whole, these films show a precarious turning-point in Hollywood history, when baffled film executives finally began to understand the potential of these high-concept films: a rabid fan-base, merchandising potential, and endless possible sequels. Expertly researched, energetically told, and written with an unabashed love for the art of cinema, The Future was Now is a monumental accomplishment--a chronicle of how the revolution sparked in a galaxy far, far away finally took root and changed Hollywood forever.