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"Back to the Future," which opens today across the country, officially launches TV star Michael J. Fox in feature films. But the feature he actually made first comes second.
"Teen Wolf," a low-budget horror spoof in which Fox plays a timid teen-ager whose genetic clock turns him into both a werewolf and the high school hunk, was made just before "Back to the Future," but won't be released until Aug. 9, nearly five weeks later.
The two films actually overlapped in production, but when Eric Stoltz was fired from "Back to the Future" after four weeks of work in the lead role, there was Fox-engine running-ready to take over.
"For a while, we were part of the limousine shuffle between `Family Ties,' `Back to the Future' and `Teen Wolf,' " says Kathryn Galan, creative affairs vice president at Atlantic Releasing Corp., which produced and is distributing "Teen Wolf." "Michael actually shot two special-effects scenes for us after he started on `Back to the Future.' "
Atlantic Releasing, a New York-based company that specializes in low-budget films, usually watches its advertising and distribution pennies by opening its films regionally (to avoid expensive national ad costs) and moves its prints from market to market (to save on print costs, which invoice out at about $1,200 each).
Not this time.
Atlantic is going national with the $4-million "Teen Wolf," planning to open it in more than 1,200 theaters and back it, says marketing vice president...