The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982

by Chris Nashawaty

Overview

“Hollywood boldly went where it hadn’t gone before and Nashawaty chronicles the journeys.” —Los Angeles Times ("Books You Need To Read This Summer")

“Written with a fan’s enthusiasm . . . An important inflection point in Hollywood filmmaking.” —New York Times ("Nonfiction Books to Read This Summer")

In the summer of 1982, eight science fiction films were released within six weeks of one another. E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior changed the careers of some of Hollywood's now biggest names—altering the art of movie-making 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 high-concept films with a rabid fanbase, merchandising potential, and endless possible sequels.

Expertly researched, energetically told, and written with an unabashed love for the cinema, The Future Was Now is a chronicle of how the revolution sparked in a galaxy far, far away finally took root and changed Hollywood forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250827074
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	743,536
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Chris Nashawaty is a writer, editor, and former Entertainment Weekly film critic. He is the author of Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story and his work has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Vanity Fair. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his family.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for

Chris Nashawaty’s

The Future Was Now

“Eight sci-fi adventures were released that summer, and Nashawaty expertly covers their behind-the-scenes conflicts and (not surprising) ego clashes. Hollywood boldly went where it hadn’t gone before and Nashawaty chronicles the journeys.” —Los Angeles Times

“Written with a fan’s enthusiasm . . . An important inflection point in Hollywood filmmaking.” —New York Times

“An absolute must read.” —Booklist (starred review)

“An exemplary film history.” —Kirkus(starred review)

“Entertaining. . . . The behind the scenes stories will make readers feel like they’ve stepped on a set.” —Publishers Weekly

“The Future Was Now takes us back to what now seems like an inconceivable moment in movie history―a summer in which eight sci-fi classics (well, seven plus Conan the Barbarian!) were released in rapid succession. Chris Nashawaty’s book is a vital, smart and energizing look at the electrifying combination of forces that got those movies made. It should be read not just by movie lovers but by anyone in Hollywood with the power to say yes.” ―Mark Harris, author of Pictures at a Revolution and Mike Nichols

“Here's the spiritual sequel to Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: a clear-eyed chronicle about how the blips, bleeps, backstabbing and budget-blowing of a post-Star Wars Hollywood came to a head, and, for one fleeting, crazy summer, it seemed like the future of movies was as bright as the stars.” ―Sean Howe, New York Times bestselling author of Agents of Chaos and the Eisner Award-winning Marvel Comics

“A ripping narrative that takes you on a wild ride through the events, players, and surprising drama that culminate in a string of paradigm-shifting films. The Future Was Now is an indispensable resource for filmmakers and fans alike. This record of the big swings Hollywood used to take is the kind of history we need to see repeated. As Nashawaty illustrates time and again, show business collapses when it’s not personal and led by artists.” ―Eric Heisserer, Academy-award nominated writer of Arrival and creator of Netflix's Shadow & Bone

“I’ve been a major fan of Chris Nashawaty’s writing for 30 years now. So it’s a thrill to see him delve into the fascinating stories of these eight classics from 1982 with his typical intelligence, wit, and passion. This book is a must for all of us ‘80s kids, as well as anyone who wants to know what it was like to be one.” ―Dave Karger, Turner Classic Movies host and author of 50 Oscar Nights

From the Publisher

07/08/2024

Blade Runner, E.T., and other early 1980s blockbusters heralded a new era for Hollywood sci-fi, according to this entertaining history. Film critic Nashawaty (Caddyshack) explains how in the aftermath of Star Wars’s 1977 box office success, studios began throwing money at sci-fi and fantasy fare they had previously deemed “corny kids’ stuff,” ushering in a new era of big-budget genre flicks that kicked off in earnest with 1982’s stacked summer schedule. Detailing this sea change through accounts of how eight films released that summer were made, Nashawaty recounts how Steven Spielberg initially wanted a darker tone for E.T. (an early draft featured an evil companion of E.T.’s “who could kill animals with one touch of his long, bony finger”) before taking the film in a more heartwarming direction. Elsewhere, Nashawaty discusses how Ridley Scott took on Blade Runner to distract himself from his brother’s death, and how John Carpenter struggled to shoot The Thing near the Canada-Alaska border because the subzero temperatures shattered camera lenses. Nashawaty’s writing has a propulsive rhythm (he suggests that George Miller wanted The Road Warrior to be “one big vehicular orgy choreographed as skillfully as a Busby Berkeley musical hopped up on cheap trucker speed”) and the behind-the-scenes stories will make readers feel like they’ve stepped on set. This is a blast. Agent: Farley Chase, Chase Literary. (July)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2024-05-23
A fast-paced, opinionated portrait of a magical stretch in the summer of 1982, when theaters welcomed a slate of now-iconic sci-fi and fantasy films.

FormerEntertainment Weekly critic Nashawaty, author of books about Roger Corman and the cult classicCaddyshack, writes of a time when “geek would go lucratively chic.” The summer of 1982 saw the release of such memorable films asBlade Runner,Tron,Conan the Barbarian,The Road Warrior, andThe Thing, none born easily. Their story begins with the arrival of George Lucas’Star Wars in 1977, which, in the summer of 1982, would cede its box-office-champ crown to Steven Spielberg’sE.T.: The Extraterrestrial. In the five years in between, studios scrambled to get a piece of the sci-fi pie while executives watched in dismay as budgets swelled and schedules slipped. Throughout this consistently entertaining narrative, Nashawaty merrily dispenses dish. For example, he explores how postproduction is where good films can morph into classics, “that is, if everyone is on the same page.” He quickly adds that Ridley Scott’sBlade Runner was a canonical instance where everyone was very muchnot on the same page: Scott promised Harrison Ford, for instance, that his voiceover narration would be removed, which didn’t happen, since without it, a baffling storyline would become even more baffling. Ford reciprocated by delivering that voiceover in a monotone that sounded “like a hostage being held at gunpoint.” Two highlights in a story full of them are Nashawaty’s accounts of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s grim determination to emerge from theConan franchise a bona fide film star, as indeed he did, and the near meltdown of the revived Star Trek franchise as critics “carvedThe Motion Picture like the holiday turkey it was.”

An exemplary film history that will appeal to sci-fi buffs and students of the film biz.

Kirkus Reviews