Original 'Back to the Future' actor revealed

Eric Stoltz as the original Marty McFly

Everyone knows the classic 1985 film "Back to the Future" featured a boyish Michael J. Fox in a winning performance as Marty McFly.

But Fox was not the original McFly. In fact, Eric Stoltz was five weeks into shooting the famed McFly role when director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis made a drastic production decision -- changing his lead actor.

Details of the shocking Hollywood switch and never-before-seen footage of Stoltz as McFly are part of the extras package for the "Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy" to be released on Blu-Ray on Oct. 26.

Zemeckis says the casting change was "this horrific decision; it was heartbreaking for everybody."

Executive producer Steven Spielberg said that Zemeckis consulted him before pursuing the casting change.

"(Zemeckis) showed me the first five weeks of shooting that he had put together," Spielberg said. " And he said, 'I just don't think we're getting the laughs I was hoping we would get.' "

Spielberg said he realized his director "was absolutely correct."

The rest is pop-culture history. Zemeckis was able to "convince the studio to let me reshoot five weeks of work," and Michael J. Fox was cast in a career-defining role. "Back to the Future," released on Oct. 26, 1986, would go on to gross $381 million worldwide and lead to two further sequels.

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See Eric Stoltz in 'Back to the Future'

No 3D for next 'Harry Potter' film

Warner Bros. has scuttled plans to release the new "Harry Potter" in 3D.

In a statement released Friday, the studio said that when "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" arrives in theaters on Nov. 19, it will be in 2D, playing both conventional theaters and IMAX, but that "we will not have a completed 3D version of the film within our release date window."

The statement continued: "Despite everyone's best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality. We do not want to disappoint fans who have long-anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey."

Director David Yates adds: "This decision, which we completely support, underscores the fact that Warner Bros. has always put quality first."

Recent 2D-to-3D conversion have been controversial, with many fans and critics complaining about the look of the studio's "Clash of the Titans," which underwent a similar conversion and was released earlier this year.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" is still scheduled to be released in 2D and 3D on July 15th, 2011.

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