The Future Was Now

Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982

By: Chris Nashawaty

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

“Hollywood boldly went where it hadn’t gone before and Nashawaty chronicles the journeys.” —Los Angeles Times ("Books You Need To Read This Summer")

“Written with a fan’s enthusiasm . . . An important inflection point in Hollywood filmmaking.” —New York Times ("Nonfiction Books to Read This Summer")

In the summer of 1982, eight science fiction films were released within six weeks of one another. E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior changed the careers of some of Hollywood's now biggest names―altering the art of movie-making to this day.

In The Future Was Now, Chris Nashawaty recounts the riotous genesis of these films, featuring an all-star cast of Hollywood luminaries and gadflies alike: Steven Spielberg, at the height of his powers, conceives E.T. as an unlikely family tale, and quietly takes over the troubled production of Poltergeist, a horror film he had been nurturing for years. Ridley Scott, fresh off the success of Alien, tries his hand at an odd Philip K. Dick story that becomes Blade Runner―a box office failure turned cult classic. Similar stories arise for films like Tron, Conan the Barbarian, and The Thing. Taken as a whole, these films show a precarious turning-point in Hollywood history, when baffled film executives finally began to understand the potential of high-concept films with a rabid fanbase, merchandising potential, and endless possible sequels.

Expertly researched, energetically told, and written with an unabashed love for the cinema, The Future Was Now is a chronicle of how the revolution sparked in a galaxy far, far away finally took root and changed Hollywood forever.

©2024 Chris Nashawaty (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“An absolute must read.”—Booklist (starred review)

“An exemplary film history.”—Kirkus (starred review)

“Entertaining. . . . The behind the scenes stories will make readers feel like they’ve stepped on a set.”—Publishers Weekly

Love the background stories of a lot of my favorite movies growing up!

As a teen growing up in the early 1980s, it was amazing to hear the back stories and general craziness of how some of my favorite movies came about. Definitely worth the listen!

Living in the 80s

Terrific, fast-moving overview of a seminal year in motion-picture history. As a lifelong fan of these films, it’s great to see these classics get their due.

interesting, informative, nostalgia trip

It's a fun story of films I loved as a teenager. As an adult, hearing the back story of how they were created is interesting, sometimes informative, especially learning more about the personalities of the directors who made them. Sometimes it focuses too much on the business story and studio politics. It's well written, with lively prose that made me laugh outloud a few times. I do wish he'd gone further into the meaning and impacts of the films. His story concentrates on what it took to create them. But his reporting on what they created culturally and in the movie world is thin. Overall I had a fun time listening to it.

I Remember the Summer of ‘82

I love this book and it helped that I saw all of those films in ‘82, several of them I watched repeatedly, including E.T., Tron, and Blade Runner. This book brought back many memories and the inside scoop on how these iconic films got made. There will never be another summer like that one. That summer was one for the books and this is that book. I highly recommend it.

Fantastic listen

Author did a great job sharing the backstory of the sci-fi summer of 1982. He didn't belabor anything, and had good insights into everything he discussed. If you're a movie fan you'll enjoy this. Narrator was great, too.

Great story about an incredible year in sci fi film making.

Worth the listen if you were an 80s or 90s kid or if you just love film

Great summer popcorn book!

I enjoyed the book, the inside Hollywood stories and the walk down memory lane. A great popcorn book!

Flew through this

Fascinating details about all the movies I love and the importance of their trendsetting beginnings.

A Great Summer to Remember

Eight science fiction movies that are all viewed as ground breaking today (E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior) all came out in the Summer of 1982. I remember that year well. It was a science fiction extravaganza—but with so much competition and so many cutting-edge films, some of these greats had to initially fail.

That’s what this book is about. How did these eight films come to be and what happened when they were released? To accomplish that the author explores the directors’ film histories, so there is a lot of discussion of other great films as well. In fact, those films and the build up is almost the entire book. When the Summer of 1982 finally arrives, it felt like we just flew through the releases without taking the time to enjoy and really analyze them. That being said, I still really enjoyed this book and its discussion of a couple of dozen amazing films that culminated in 1982.

Movie Geeks! This is for YOU!

This is a terrific book for all film aficionados, especially those who love sci-fi and horror. The backstory for all these films is fascinating. How some of them were made at all is amazing. The narrator is excellent and his enthusiasm for film bubbles over into the audible presentation. Listen and ENJOY!