The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982

by Chris Nashawaty

From legendary entertainment journalist and author of Caddyshack comes a rollicking history of 1980s cinema―how eight legendary sci-fi films changed Hollywood forever

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, History, Media Tie In, Pop Culture, Audiobook, Biography

304 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 2024

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

"The summer of 1982 would mark a turning point in the way we watch movies and the types of movies that get made. It was a brief, eight-week window when eight very different films showed what the [science-fiction/fantasy/horror] genre was capable of and pushed its parameters in wild new directions. These movies would completely shift an outdated Hollywood paradigm and rewrite its rule book for decades to come . . . They became the harbingers of a new era and eventually the most dominant force in popular entertainment, not just in America, but around the globe." -- on page 250

Author Nashawaty - a former scribe at the 'Entertainment Weekly' periodical - glances back at the lively summer movie season of 1982 and the eight films - E.T., Tron, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and The Road Warrior - that were released between May and July, and when the blockbuster mentality truly settled in for permanent residence. Sometimes dubbed 'the summer of Spielberg' - he directed the wildly prosperous E.T. and produced (and possibly shadow-directed) the modest horror hit Poltergeist - it was also a time when the Disney studio was in need of a successful contemporary movie (as their theme parks were the true cash cow) like the special-effects heavy Tron, the Star Trek franchise absolutely required a bankable sequel to ensure its continuation, and those newly- christened wunderkind directors Ridley Scott and John Carpenter respectively sustained some career momentum damage from commercially and critically underperforming flicks Blade Runner and The Thing . . . only to see them both later rise up and become respectable a decade or so later in the home video market. Nashawaty put in some diligent work getting interviews with the involved players and providing many interesting and/or amusing stories from 'behind the scenes.' There were a few moments where the presented movie trivia was incorrect - director Carpenter's Escape from New York was mainly shot in the distressed small city of East St. Louis, Illinois, NOT the better-known metropolis across the river in Missouri; or that Disney's last wildly successful live-action movie was NOT Mary Poppins in 1964, but The Love Bug in 1969 (being the second-highest grossing film of that year) - and little things like that may rankle some die-hard cinephiles. However, it was still a fun and informative book about a brief period of time that offered an embarrassment of good movies which also hold up to repeat viewings years later.

[Carla Remy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love looking at cultural shifts, changes you can’t quite see until twenty years have gone by.
This book details the production of 8 sci fi, horror and fantasy movies that came out in the summer of 1982 (five years after Star Wars, and we all know how that changed everything).
These films show what the movie industry went through in the 1980s. In the old days they didn’t make movies for nerds and childish adults. Now they always will.
Speaking personally, I turned 6 in the summer of 1982. I did see E.T. in the theater.
I am not alone in thinking the famous flops from that summer, the Thing and Blade Runner have some of the most important amazing details. Neither is a perfect movie, but the astounding practical effects in the Thing put CGI to shame. And Rutger Hauer’s performance in Blade Runner is absolutely spellbinding.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In the summer of 1982, eight science fiction films were released within eight weeks*…changing the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest names and altering the art of movie-making to this day."

And…true enough, I guess? But I dunno; something here just didn't grab me. I usually really enjoy these "making of/behind the scenes" books, but this one was maybe just a little TOO behind the scenes — too much about studio deals and finding a director and going over budget, and not enough on-set gossip and first-person stories to make it truly interesting. And I'm frankly not fully convinced by the overall premise; yes, these films dominated one summer and helped launch the era of the make-or-break big blockbuster, but they weren't the first, coming as they did on the heels Star Wars, Alien, Close Encounters, Superman and the non-SF Jaws and Indiana Jones.

The movies discussed are a mixed bag in terms of both success and impact; several were huge hits at the time (E.T., The Wrath of Khan, Road Warrior), while others only became classics in retrospect, once the video industry came along and gave viewers a chance to reappraise them (Blade Runner, The Thing, Tron). Some launched long-running series — Star Trek, Mad Max — while others cemented (Steven Spielberg) or nearly tanked (Ridley Scott, John Carpenter) the careers of their directors. And to me at least, Conan the Barbarian doesn't really fit in this group at all, although as a comic-based fantasy/superhero movie it arguably played an early role in the whole MARVEL, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings thing that was to follow.

Anyway, obviously of interest to a certain readership, but this time around that didn’t quite include me.

*E.T.the Extra-Terrestrial; Tron, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Conan the Barbarian; blade Runner; Poltergeist; The Thing and The Road Warrior.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, wild ride through the sci-fi films of the 1980s. Surfing on the wake of Star Wars, these films defined a generation. With stories of the great directors (including Lucas and Spielberg) and dazzling stars, Nashawaty takes us on a magical journey and inspires us to get out our blu rays, and search the internet for showings in independent cinemas. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC/audiobook which was a real treat. Don't forget the popcorn!

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the heck out of this book. I had just graduated high school in the summer of 1982, and I remember all of these movies coming out. I loved ET, and Poltergiest was terrifying to me. Oddly, I didn't see the rest of these that summer. I liked learning how these movies came to be, and that most were influenced by Star Wars: A New Hope. Highly recommended!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this wonderful book***
Be a fly on the wall behind the scenes of the development of 8 iconic Sci-Fi movies that took the world by storm in 1982: E.T., Tron, Star Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing , and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.

This book is compulsively readable and covers not just the movies listed above, but the work of the directors/writers/actors that led them up to their respective 1982 release. A lot of these stories I had heard before but it is a real treat to have them all conveniently compiled in one location.

This is a must read for film fans, especially ones who were raised on these movies and continue to fly the flag for them to this day!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breezy look behind the scenes of 7 good films (and ET) - most of the anecdotes are pretty well worn but it's still nice to remember when blockbuster films were actually proper films.

[Katy Hilburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I am interested in the material covered but thought that the way it was presented was just fine. The topic is really interesting to me but the delivery was pretty standard. I didn't feel like I learned anything revolutionary or view-altering, this was just a delivery of facts. If you like sci-fi its a worthwhile read, if you aren't into sci-fi this probably won't get you into it or be terribly interesting.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d say more like 3.5.

First off, the positives: well researched and fairly engaging. If you are a mega fan of any of the eight movies discussed, you can likely find more detailed breakdowns of them elsewhere (especially in the case of Blade Runner and The Road Warrior). But since the book focuses on eight films, the summaries here are sufficient for the thesis… which is that the summer of 1982 was not only the first mega sci-fi summer in cinema history but that the output led to changes in the industry that is felt today.

Now the negatives: another part of the thesis is: don’t judge films by their box office or how they are received at the time. Of the eight films examined, most were either box office disappointments or outright disaster flops but later became classics. This, in itself, is fine to examine. But you can’t introduce and close your book talking about how shitty movies are now (the author’s ire is most specifically at Marvel, for example) and turn around and base your entire book on how certain genres of film sometimes aren’t understood until years or decades later. The author states genre fare is indeed art but then shits all over genre fare today. Essentially, he’s not giving today’s film the grace he’s asking us to give films released 40 years ago.

Plus, and this is more personal taste, the author really loves shitting on Star Trek: The Motion Pixture. Like, he has a hate boner for it and reminds us all the time. I found that annoying. Other readers feelings on this might vary.

Above average book for sure with some annoying aspects. Audiobook performance was solid too.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there was ever a non-fiction book that I feel was written specifically for me, this is it. The movies of the summer of '82 (and specifically a number of the films covered in this book) played a huge part in my lifelong love of and obsession with movies. I saw this book in a bookstore (Belmont Books in Belmont, MA), proceeded to check it out from the library, read it, and then immediately went back to Belmont Books and bought a copy because I knew I wanted to own it and I knew I wanted to read it again. Even thought I thought I knew so much about these films already, I learned so much about the making of these 8 films ("E.T.", "Blade Runner", "The Thing", "Poltergeist", "Tron", "Conan The Barbarian", "The Road Warrior", and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"), the director of all of these films previous films, how studios think and work, and the public and press reaction to each when they were first released.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this given that I’m not particularly a movie person in general, and definitely not a sci-fi movie person in a more specific sense.

I certainly enjoy watching a movie here and there, but generally the “how the sausage gets made” of it all, and especially the business of Hollywood isn’t of much interest to me. But I thought this book was quite good, but in terms of being informative and being fun to read.

I’ve seen a few but not all of the films discussed here, but they’re all familiar titles, and the way that the author connects them to explain the early 1980s sci-fi boom is both intriguing and compelling. The style of the book is fairly conversational, which felt really right for the material, and while the author is clearly a huge film enthusiast and a historian of sorts, it doesn’t feel inaccessible at all if you’re not a film buff.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[Douglas Cosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I may question the main thesis of this book, that the summer of 1982 was a big turning point in Hollywood where the major studios realized and acted on the fact that a huge potential movie audience of nerds was not being serviced by the current approach to making movies and that summer was the time to release these sci-fi and fantasy blockbusters, the details of how all of these movies got approved, funded, and created are far more fascinating and definitely make this book worth the read. I am not necessarily arguing with the thesis; it’s just that, like all big social turning points, it is usually more of a smooth change than one big bang. However, as I said, who cares? The specifics are so fun that Nashawaty’s overarching narrative is just fine, a simple weave to keep all of the interesting threads together. Recommended for movie lovers, especially those (like me) who were adolescents or teenagers during the early 80’s. Very fun, easy read.

[Bianca Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Nashawaty's The Future Was Now brilliantly captures a pivotal moment in cinema history, chronicling the summer of 1982, when eight groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy films redefined the industry. From the success of E.T. to the initially underappreciated Blade Runner, Nashawaty weaves a compulsively readable narrative that delves into the creative journeys of the directors, writers, and actors behind these iconic films. Beyond recounting their releases, the book explores the artistic and cultural forces that shaped their production, making it a rich exploration of this transformative period.

This compelling volume highlights 1982 as a watershed year forever changing Hollywood’s approach to moviemaking, distribution, and audience targeting. By uniting scattered stories into a comprehensive account, Nashawaty offers an essential read for film enthusiasts, especially those who grew up with these influential movies. Drawing parallels to the golden cinematic year of 1939, the book illustrates how that summer shaped modern cinema. For anyone captivated by The Wrath of Khan, The Thing, or the cultural shifts they spurred, this retrospective feels like a heartfelt tribute to an era that redefined what movies could achieve.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

1982 was the year of my geeky awakening, so when I discovered this book in the library I was ecstatic. However, now that I've read it, I'm a little disappointed. It's not a bad overview by any means...but I was just hoping for more. More about the zeitgeist of the time, and the creation of these films within that cultural milieu. It scratches the surface, and I was hoping for a much deeper analysis...though I'll take what I can get.

[Michael Samerdyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably three-and-a-half stars for this one.

I bought this book because I LOVED an excerpt from it in "The New Yorker." I saw 7 of the 8 movies this book covers in the summer of 1982. I SHOULD be the perfect reader for this book.

But "The Future Was Now" disappoints in several ways, while being good in several ways.

I don't think Nashawaty really gets science fiction. He mentions "Omni" magazine but then doesn't tie it to the movies he discusses, and his comment about John W. Campbell directly influencing Lois McMasters Bujold utterly threw me. More seriously, he utterly failed to convey what is special about the Conan stories.

The most serious problem I had with the book was its organization. At times, Nashawaty gives us the early lives of the filmmakers. Sometimes this information is interesting, but his treatment of the early life of Arnold Schwarzenengger utterly bored me. Then there is a ton of information about the financing of various films. But when you watch a film, you don't care about where the money came from.

The roads to "E. T." "Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan," "Blade Runner," "The Thing," and even "Tron" were interesting. The roads to "Poltergeist," "Conan the Barbarian," and "The Road Warrior" were not. Unfortunately, these roads were all scrambled together in the telling.

This would have been a better book if it had been less a "Making of" book and more of a "Legacy of" book. Why do people care about "Blade Runner" so much? Why does "The Thing" cast such a shadow over pop culture in the 21st Century? Those are interesting questions that deserve more thought.

[Lamadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not really about the year 1982 in film, it's about the years leading up to 1982, specifically after 1977 and the release of Star Wars. It goes over the years where the production companies, who had been caught unawares of the potential of a movie like Star Wars, were trying to quickly produce any sci-fi or fantasy project they could to cash in. So the book does not ignore the ones that managed to come out before 1982, and in fact focuses on them as well. Those are the ones that mostly were already started in preproduction and could therefore get out faster. Due to the production time of many of these projects, it all sort of came to a head in the summer of 1982 when a huge slate were all released within a few weeks of each other.

It also goes into the influence this new culture of the blockbuster summer tentpole movie had on things like the importance of opening weekend, the driving of budgets into only these types of movies, and the take over of the fan subculture by major production companies. It was a very interesting look at recent film history and some of the most classic 80s movies. My only complaint would be the sudden shift from one topic to another. The chapters didn't seem to have a reason that they were a chapter break, except maybe the number of pages since the last chapter break. Within the chapter, it would suddenly change to talking about one of the other movie productions with no transition at all. I'd have to suddenly change gear. This would often come with a jump back in time as well to cover the same period of time covered previously about the other movie productions. It needed a film editor to create some transitions. Other than that, it was an excellent dissection of a specific time in film.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a complete sucker for the summer of 1982. I was 11 at the time. In a span of six weeks, we got Conan, E.T., TRON, Star Trek II, Blade Runner, The Thing, Road Warrior, and Poltergeist. Just a RIDICULOUS run of movies that changed the face of cinema, both commercially and aesthetically, forever. We're still living in its shadow. This is a nicely-researched and accessibly-written run down of most of the facts that went into the production of each movie and how they all came to be miraculously released within such a small frame of time, as well as breaking down the results of the disastrous-for-a-few, cinematic-eight-car-pileup that went on as a result. It's very much in my wheelhouse so it was preaching to the converted. I had a good time with this quick read. A rare foray into non-fiction and I didn't mind it at all.

[Melayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book via a goodreads give away contest.

Overall this was an intriguing look at the rise of sci-fi films and blockbusters that focused in on movie productions from 1981-1982.
At times it was hard to tell where Nashawaty was going with the book though. Not to say it wasn’t an enjoyable read, it was, but sometimes it felt more like I was reading a well written blog post on the history of a movies production, not a book.
He does tie it together in the final two chapters but not really enough to prove the point he set out for about how this particular instance in film history affects the film industry today.
However, as a context piece as to why so many sci-fi and fantasy films happened to get released the summer of 1982 it nailed it.

[Jeremy Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun breakdown of a crazy summer for genre movies : 1982 brought ET, Conan the Barbarian, Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan, Blade Runner, John Carpenter’s The Thing, The Road Warrior, Poltergeist and TRON. Does get into a few nuggets on each film or the people behind it that I was not previously aware of, but never gets particularly deep or in the weeds. Still fun to hear the stories, even if you know them many of them. I actually was not aware how ET and poltergeist were sort of dark, twin movies, and both springing from ideas off a spec script by John Sayles.

Anyhow. Fun “read. “

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was waiting for me when I got home from work today and I gobbled it up by bedtime.

My two earliest childhood memories are from the Summer of ‘82. The first was my fourth birthday party at McDonald’s which was rudely interrupted by my little brother’s birth. The second is of a shopping mall called Fox Valley Mall where I was being dragged - heels dug in - past the entrance of a small movie theater lobby displaying E.T. posters.

This book helps put those memories in context for me.

[John Schorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the author does a good job detailing the stories behind each of the eight movies that make up this book, he doesn't quite make the case for them being as memorable as he thinks. Some of the inclusions are a little odd (Poltergeist is a science fiction film? Really? Conan The Barbarian?), but the book sweeps through the reasons why the films have made their mark in the years since 1982, when more time to explain that impact would have been good. We're left with a few sentences on why the reputations of films like Blade Runner and The Thing have grown, and that just isn't enough. Still, this book is recommendable because the author has the good sense to write this about Sigourney Weaver and her most famous role: "Thanks to the newcomer's fearlessness and ferocity, Ripley would end up becoming not just one of the greatest female movie heroes of the decade but one of the greatest heroes in cinema, full stop."

[Dave Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading (if you like books about movies)

Conan the Barbarian, Star Trek: Wrath of Kahn, Blade Runner, Mad Max: The Road Warrior, Poltergeist, E.T., The Thing, and Tron all come out within weeks of each other in the summer of 1982.
This is the book about that summer, the lead up to it, and how it changed the entertainment industry forever.

[BRIAN MCVICKAR · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough overview of 8 specific movies released during Summer 1982. Most genre fans might already be familiar with the production stories on most but it’s fascinating to get the comparisons and timelines between all of these films at once. Entertaining for film fans and especially for those fans of Sci-fi, fantasy and horror.

[Jordan Feiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute blast from start to finish. Fun inside look at some of the most iconic (and some far less iconic) sci-fi movies not just of ‘82 but before. Even having only seen 5/8 of these movies I had a blast. Highly recommend.

[Kris Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great dive into the summer of 1982 and the movies that influenced box office receipts to this day. I won't go into detail, but each movie and director got enough attention to satisfy and uncover a few nuggets of trivia. Great read A+

[☮ morgan ☮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This did not work for me. I feel like there was a lot of filler stories that didn't feel relevant to what the book was supposed to be about...

[Alan P Brocavich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you need to know about the glorious summer of 1982. Amazing amount of research that really shows.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great summer and great movies. It was fun to revisit.

[Chris Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

We spend all this time talking about George Miller and there isn’t one mention of Happy Feet?????

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so fun to read. Lots of good Hollywood gossip and backstory I never realized about movies from the 80s. Highly recommend.