Following the success of the original film, which is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, Back to the Future 2 would take four years before it saw the silver screen. When pre-production began on the film, one very iconic guitar was missing from the props used in the original film. Featured in the “Johnny B. Goode” performance with Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly shredding the strings, the guitar has purportedly been missing ever since.
Along for the ride, actors to be featured in the documentary include Back to the Future co-writer and producer Bob Gale, Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, and Christopher Lloyd, among others. The hook of the film is the guitar search that Gibson just announced, which seemingly will provide the climax, whether the guitar is found or not. The documentary will “guide viewers in the global hunt for this legendary instrument from long-forgotten film prop warehouses, fascinating vintage guitar shops, auction houses, and shadowy back alleys.”
Produced by Gibson Films and directed by Doc Crotzer, Lost to the Future will bring people back to 1985 with a celebration of music, culture, archive photos, and film clips from the past. As a documentary by a guitar maker, I can’t wait to see what iconic songs and defining moments they choose since they have both 1955 and 1985 to choose from.
While the upcoming documentary has the support of the original films cast and crew, it is really Gibson that is the driving force behind launching this search for the missing guitar. Mark Agnesi, Director of Brand Experience at Gibson started searching for this guitar back in 2009 when he worked at Normans Rare Guitars in Tarzana, California. Even the President & CEO Cesar Gueikian declared how important this missing guitar was: “Back To The Future is one of the most important and significant movies of my life, and the ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ school dance scene marked me musically in a profound way. Working with Michael J. Fox, Bob Gale and the rest of the Back To The Future team is a dream come true.”
A Website has been set up with a countdown timer that at the time of this writing reads: 4 Months, 12 Days, 09 Hours, 52 Minutes, 40 Seconds. If you’ve seen the guitar, you can go to https://www.losttothefuture.com/ where a tip can be submitted along with a phone number you can call.
Lost to the Future is produced by Gibson Films and directed by Doc Crotzer.