[Back To The Future] dodged another bullet as it was almost released under the titled “Spaceman From Pluto.” Universal president Sidney Sheinberg was convinced that no movie with “Future” in the title had ever been successful. Coming off the hugely successful E.T., Sheinberg loved the idea of Marty being mistaken as an Alien, and sent a memo suggested the “Spaceman From Pluto” title, and included a bunch of suggestions on how to incorporate the idea better into the story. Zemeckis was freaked out, and everyone was afraid to argue with Sheinberg about his new idea. Spielberg eventually dictated a memo back to Sheinberg saying “Dear Sid, Thank you for your most humorous memo. We got a big laugh out of it. Keep ‘em coming.” Spielberg said that Sheinberg would be so embarrassed to tell them that he was actually serious, and that they’d probably never hear from him again. And Speilberg was right.
