The Poster Memorabilia blog

Back at it Again with the Back to the Future cast

A rare four-star reunion in Portland, and the awkward etiquette of a twice-signed poster.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

Watching Back to the Future is always the most fun I have in the movies. I loved it when I first watched it as a kid, and I still love it now as an adult. The cast seems like a whole lot of fun, too, or at least, that's what I thought when I finally saw them in person.

I went to Fan Expo Portland in 2023 to see the Back to the Future cast reunite in person. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd have appeared together in previous events, but this was one of those rare times that Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson joined them in public.

This was a rare reunion, to say the least, so I just had to be there to see it all with my own eyes. I also wanted to get Thompson's and Wilson's autographs on my movie poster, which I already had Fox and Lloyd sign when I saw them at New York Comic-Con a few months before.

I'm surprised at how rare this reunion is. While they're not exactly strangers to these sorts of fan events and conventions, they're rarely seen together in public. It's usually just Fox and Lloyd, while Thompson and Wilson often appear on their own. Having the four together pushed me even further to get their autographs.

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“Like the movie itself, the cast was a whole lot of fun.”

Like the movie itself, the cast was a whole lot of fun. Fox and Lloyd were as close as ever, showing off their bond just like they did at Comic-Con the year before. Wilson played up the Biff persona for us fans, repeating jokes and lines from the film. And Thompson was as cool as a cucumber, smiling and staying calm amidst her castmates' antics.

From where I sat, the four seemed to really like each other. And from their stories, it sounded like they really enjoyed making the film together. I'm so glad that the movie that continues to bring me so much joy was also a great experience for its cast. That somehow makes it even better to me.

As much as I enjoyed listening to them speak at their panel, however, I was more interested in the autograph signing afterward. Fortunately, I managed to get a good spot in line, which meant I'd meet them before the event ended.

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Like Fox and Lloyd, I found Thompson and Wilson very pleasant. They made fans so comfortable around them that I feel like some tested the limits. Let's just say their requests for selfies got a little overboard, in my opinion. I didn't want a selfie, so I was good. Their autographs were all I wanted.

I do have to mention that it was awkward seeing Fox and Lloyd again and asking them to sign a notebook instead of the poster. What did you want me to do? It would've been weird to ask them to sign the same thing, right? And it would've been weirder to go up to them without asking for their autographs. That was the whole point of the event, after all.

So instead of the movie poster, I trotted out a notebook and got their signatures there. I didn't even dare to look back and see their faces as I brought out the poster in front of the other two. The second I got their autographs, I bolted out of there as fast as I could.

Sometimes, I still can't believe I have this Back to the Future poster with the cast's autographs on it. Meeting them was already incredible, but getting signed memorabilia out of it takes the cake!

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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