Slowly but surely, the “future” of Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future trilogy is becoming the present – which just makes me feel old. For example, we once dreamed of a day when lazy pop-culture aficionados would be able to cruise along on the floating hoverboards Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) used to escape future Griff and his thuggish crew in Back to the Future II. Now we can own them.
The eBay user Hollywood Parts has revealed that they are auctioning off the actual prop for Griff’s hoverboard from Zemeckis’ sequel. At the moment, the board is fetching a $12,995.00 asking price, with 16 offers submitted. The user admits that the “Pit Bull” board has “minor dents and paint scratches,” which only adds to the authenticity and makes it that much cooler in my book. Needless to say, the board doesn’t fly. Not yet, anyway.
Some scientists have gone on record to say that we, as a society, are inching closer to the technology that will make hoverboards a reality. And if you can’t wait for that, Mattel has a toy version of the famous board that you can stand on. Again, it doesn’t fly. Not yet.
Call me old-fashioned, but I liked it better when the cool gadgets Marty and Doc encountered in the future were just that – gadgets from the future. Pulling flying cars and flux capacitors into our modern time deflates the fun of BTTF. Unless we can get one of those sports almanacs from the future. Because money, whatever the year, is pretty awesome.
