Doc Brown, left, played by Christopher Lloyd, sits in the retrofitted DeLorean that allows Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, to travel back in time to the 1950s in “Back to the Future.” The 1985 hit film by local filmmaker Robert Zemeckis will be shown Aug. 17 at The Granada Theatre as part of the “Santa Barbara Home Movies” series.
Doc Brown, left, played by Christopher Lloyd, sits in the retrofitted DeLorean that allows Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, to travel back in time to the 1950s in “Back to the Future.” The 1985 hit film by local filmmaker Robert Zemeckis will be shown Aug. 17 at The Granada Theatre as part of the “Santa Barbara Home Movies” series. Credit: Universal Studios photo

In Montecito resident Robert Zemeckis‘ films, a romance novelist gets caught up in a real-life, amorous adventure; a teen time-travels to the 1950s in a retrofitted DeLorean; a frisky, animated bunny isn’t bad, she’s “just drawn that way”; and a good-natured, mentally challenged man stumbles through major events of the baby boomer era.

Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis Credit: Courtesy photo

Those are just the four Zemeckis films to be screened during a Granada Theatre series titled “Santa Barbara Home Movies: Films by Artists and Performers Who Call Santa Barbara Home,” presented during the Granada’s centennial year.

Zemeckis’ filmography as a director, writer or producer — or any combination of the three — totals more than two dozen feature films, a dozen or so television series, plus a bundle of producer and executive producer credits.

“Romancing the Stone” from 1984 will open the series at 7 p.m. Saturday and include an in-person conversation with Zemeckis and UCSB film historian Ross Melnick.

Screenings continue Saturday nights in August: “Back to the Future” on Aug. 17, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” on Aug. 24 and “Forrest Gump” on Aug. 31, which will include a live conversation with Melnick and the film’s producer, Steve Starkey, a Carpinteria resident. Zemeckis’ holiday film “Polar Express” will screen in December.

Ticket prices are $5 per film, available online or at the door.

The credit goes to actor Michael Douglas for bringing Zemeckis and his family to Santa Barbara in 1991.

“Michael was the star and producer of ‘Romancing the Stone’ and the first of my generation of Hollywood people to move here,” Zemeckis said on the phone from his Montecito home.

“He talked about how great it was and we visited him here. It was close enough to Los Angeles, which was the center of the film business at that time. Now, you can live anywhere, but then, that mattered.”

Though he had made several films, “Romancing the Stone” was Zemeckis’ big break.

The success of “Romancing the Stone” in 1984 was director Robert Zemeckis’ big break, allowing him to make “Back to the Future” the following year.
The success of “Romancing the Stone” in 1984 was director Robert Zemeckis’ big break, allowing him to make “Back to the Future” the following year. Credit: Courtesy photo

“Michael was a fan of my early work and thought I’d be a good fit to direct the story,” Zemeckis said. “I think his instincts were correct.”

Starring Kathleen Turner as a dowdy writer of bodice-rippers who has a romantic escapade of her own with Douglas as a handsome mercenary, the film was a surprise hit and the sixth highest-grossing film of 1984.

Zemeckis credits the film’s success with paving the way for his next project, “Back to the Future.” Co-written with Bob Gale in 1980, it was rejected more than 40 times before being produced in 1985.

Marty McFly’s time-traveling adventure became that year’s highest-grossing film in the world. He directed two sequels, in 1980 and 1990; both stories were co-written with Gale.

“It is obviously a timeless story,” Zemeckis said. “It hasn’t aged over four decades. There’s something about it, a universal theme, that touches everyone. It still works.”

Zemeckis read an early script of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” while in pre-production for “Romancing the Stone,” but it wasn’t until 1986 that filming began. Post-production took 14 months.

When released, it was the most expensive animated film ever made because of the premise that animated characters (“toons”) interact with the human, live-action actors. Optical compositing, prosthetics, robots, puppetry and stop-motion animation were all used to create special effects, which were too involved for computers at that time. It paid off, as “Roger Rabbit” was 1988’s second-highest-grossing film worldwide.

When released, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit," directed by Robert Zemeckis, was the most expensive animated film ever made because of the premise that animated characters interact with live-action actors.
When released, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” directed by Robert Zemeckis, was the most expensive animated film ever made because of the premise that animated characters interact with live-action actors. Credit: Courtesy photo

“I never let tech drive the creative muse,” Zemeckis said. “Tech is just another tool that you use, and it keeps evolving. What I like is presenting stories using ways that I haven’t seen before.”

The filmmaker has a special fondness for “Forrest Gump” – beyond it winning six Oscars in 1994, including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects and Best Director, for Zemeckis.

“It is one of the movies where absolutely every cast and crew member was inspired,” he said. “Everything in the movie was done exceptionally well.”

The then-innovative special effects inserted actor Tom Hanks as Gump into archive footage, including meeting Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, facing desegregation in Alabama, and fighting in the Vietnam War.

“Forrest Gump” won six Oscars in 1994, including Best Director for Robert Zemeckis of Montecito.
“Forrest Gump” won six Oscars in 1994, including Best Director for Robert Zemeckis of Montecito. Credit: Courtesy photo

“I’m excited that we’re at a point where filmmaking technique and special effects are no longer part of the conversation,” Zemeckis said. “No one cares anymore, because everyone knows you can do anything using digital technology. The task for filmmakers now is to go back to storytelling. Audiences are starved for compelling characters.”

His latest project reunites “Gump” co-stars Hanks and Robin Wright, and is based on a graphic novel by Richard McGuire. “Here” is set to be theatrically released in November.

Zemeckis is scheduled to attend Saturday’s screening of “Romancing the Stone,” but he never went to the 100-year-old Granada when it was a movie theater.

“My memories of the Granada are as a beautifully remodeled theater,” he said. “I’ve only attended screenings of classic movies with the Santa Barbara Symphony performing the score live. The acoustics are fantastic. It’s pretty spectacular.”