How many Twitter accounts does it take to get back to 1985 before lightning strikes the clock tower?
Forty-nine, according to the Hill Valley Project, a fantastic Twitter performance happening right now, to celebrate the unforgettable day that Marty McFly went back in time.
@_JVC_GRC1 It's Saturday morning, October 26th 1985, 1.18am and this is temporal experiment number one. C'mon, Einie.
— Emmett 'Doc' Brown (@_EmmettBrown) October 25, 2013
Over the years, Michael J. Fox’s iconic turn in Back to the Future as a California teen who gets sent back in time has become a cinematic milestone, regularly making an appearance on lists of the greatest films ever made.
To celebrate the real-time start of Robert Zemeckis’ 1985 film, an elaborate roleplay, featuring Twitter accounts from virtually every character in the film—plus a few inanimate objects—has unfolded steadily over the weekend, line by classic line:
@_M4rtyMcFly Well that's your name, isn't it? @calvinklein? It's written all over your underwear
— Lorraine (@_LorraineBTTF) October 26, 2013
The project is the brainchild of Gavin Fox, Martin Rose, and Tom Hartshorn, a group of U.K. creative marketing directors who’ve been planning the event for years. The team hopes to raise awareness for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which is renowned for its fight against Parkinson’s disease.
Massive personal project I've been trying launch with @martinjrose& @culturalelite for 2 years might happen in 2 days. Stay tuned
— Gavin Fox (@flipper01) October 23, 2013
Massive is right. The gang’s all here, from Libyan terrorists to Clocktower Lady. Even the camera gets in on the action. And, of course, all your favorite lines and moments from the story are here in abundance. A few of our favorites:
@_M4rtyMcFly You haven't got a chance, you're too much like your old man. No McFly ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley.
— Gerald Strickland (@_MrStrickland) October 25, 2013
@_GeorgeMcFly Hello, hello, anybody home? *Taps @_GeorgeMcFly on the head*
— Biff Tannen (@_BiffTannen) October 25, 2013
*♫ plays a heavy cover of Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News ♬* (@HueyLewisFans) http://t.co/QKmI8Qd0XS
— Marty McFly (@_M4rtyMcFly) October 25, 2013
@_LindaMcFly When I was your age I never chased a boy, or called a boy, or sat in a parked car with a boy.
— Lorraine (@_LorraineBTTF) October 25, 2013
*PEW-PEW-FZZZZZWOOOOSH!*
— The DeLorean DMC-12 (@_TheDeLorean) October 26, 2013
@_M4rtyMcFly Take that you mutated son of a bitch! *shoots shotgun at barn door* *BAM!* *BAM!*
— Farmer Peabody (@_FarmerPeabody) October 26, 2013
While the players’ dedication to recreating the film is marvelous, they aren’t as impressive as the sheer amount of work it must have taken to organize and maneuver so many Twitter accounts at once. While there’s no word on just how many behind-the-scenes players are involved, the orchestration is a thing of wonder to behold. “This is everything great about Twitter,” tweeted onlooker JLAWatchtower.
You can follow @_M4rtyMcFly’s progress through time by reading or subscribing to the Hill Valley Project on Twitter.
Photo via altoexyl/Flickr