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Michael J. Fox

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Actors Jodie Foster and Michael J. Fox have led an anti-Trump protest two days before the Oscars in Beverly Hills.

The United Voices rally was staged by Hollywood’s United Talent Agency instead of its usual pre-Oscars party.

Jodie Foster said she rarely spoke out in public but that it was now “time to show up”.

Michael J. Fox told the crowd “we are the lucky ones” and that he wanted to “share a bit of that luck” with refugees who want to enter the United States.

The Canadian-born star, who became a US citizen two decades ago, showed only relatively small signs of the Parkinson’s Disease he has lived with since 1991.

Michael J. Fox added that he believed “in the power of the arts to change not just our hearts but the world”.

Jodie Foster, who has won Oscars for The Silence of the Lambs and The Accused, said the rally was “exactly the way to celebrate our industry, to celebrate all of you, to celebrate artistic expression and our commitment to humanities on screen and off”.

Image source Wikimedia

The actress did not air her views in public often, she told the crowd during her impassioned speech.

“I’m not somebody who’s very comfortable using my public face for activism.

“And so in my life I’ve found the small ways, much like most of you, to serve and to show up and to give somebody a lift at the bottom of the hill when they’re going to the top.

“But this year is a very different year and it’s time to show up. It’s a singular time in history. It’s time to engage.”

The rally comes ahead of an Academy Awards ceremony that is likely to be highly politically charged.

President Donald Trump has previously been dismissive of celebrity protests and of stars who have criticized him, such as Meryl Streep.

The rally was also shown a video message from Oscar-nominated Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi, who has said he is staying away from February 26 ceremony following President Trump’s attempt to ban travel from Iran and six other mainly Muslim countries.

Also on February 24, all the nominees for best foreign language film – including Asghar Farhadi – issued a joint statement denouncing the current “climate of fanaticism and nationalism”.

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The 1980s time travel film Back to the Future is set to become a musical on London’s West End stage in 2015.

Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote and directed the 1985 Michael J. Fox film, will reunite with co-writer Bob Gale to pen the book for the stage adaptation.

Back to the Future saw Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travel back to 1955 at a crucial point in his parents’ high school relationship.

According to Bob Gale, the musical will be “true to the spirit of the film without being a slavish remake”.

“We intend to use music from the movie along with brand new songs to make a version of Back to the Future that is fresh, entertaining and takes advantage of all the amazing things that can now be done on stage,” he said.

Back to the Future is set to become a musical on London's West End stage in 2015

Back to the Future is set to become a musical on London’s West End stage in 2015

“We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film.”

The comedy adventure, which co-starred Christopher Lloyd, was a huge hit for Robert Zemeckis and spawned two sequels.

Composer Alan Silvestri – who scored many of Robert Zemeckis’s films, including Romancing the Stone, Forrest Gump and Cast Away – will co-author the music and lyrics for the show with songwriter Glen Ballard.

Glen Ballard, a six-time Grammy winner, co-wrote and produced Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill album and co-wrote the music for the stage adaptation of Ghost.

Jamie Lloyd – who directed James McAvoy last year in a sell-out production of Macbeth at London’s Trafalgar Studios – will direct the production.

The 33-year-old’s other credits include a Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac, The Duchess of Malfi at the Old Vic and She Stoops to Conquer at the National Theatre.

Back to the Future joins a number of hit films from the 1980s that have spawned stage musicals, among them Dirty Dancing, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Ghost.

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