Biographie

Frequently casts Tom Hanks, Christopher Lloyd and Robin Wright. Generally finds a role for Wendie Jo Sperber and/or Marc McClure.

[Citation] Likes to cite/imitate famous movies/commercial spots

[Celebrities] Frequently includes actual celebrities as characters, generally through the use of archival footage or look-alikes (Forrest Gump (1994)).

[State-of-the-art] Often produces movies at the fore-front of technology (Retour vers le futur (1985), Qui veut la peau de Roger Rabbit (1988), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Le Pôle Express (2004)).

[Opening long-take] Often utilizes long, complicated opening shots (Retour vers le futur (1985), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997)).

Has in his archives a letter of rejection from every studio rejecting Retour vers le futur (1985), because they thought it was too soft for the type of teen movie at the time, except for Disney who thought it was too racy.

Has directed three actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Tom Hanks (twice), Gary Sinise and Denzel Washington. Hanks won for his first nominated performance in a Zemeckis feature, Forrest Gump (1994).

Spent one year developing Cocoon (1985), but was fired by 20th Century Fox when he screened the final cut of À la poursuite du diamant vert (1984) for studio executives, who thought it was a disaster and destined to become Zemeckis' third straight box office failure.

His first wife, Mary Ellen Trainor, appeared in four of his films: À la poursuite du diamant vert (1984) (as Joan Wilder's kidnapped sister, Elaine), Retour vers le futur 2 (1989) (as Officer Reese), La mort vous va si bien (1992) (as Vivian Adams), and Forrest Gump (1994) (as Jenny's babysitter).

He has directed three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Retour vers le futur (1985), Qui veut la peau de Roger Rabbit (1988) and Forrest Gump (1994).

I was raised a Catholic on the South Side of Chicago, and I felt I had to undo a lot of serious damage. But as I was getting older, I began coming off my absolutely young, arrogant, agnostic beliefs. I was thinking more about coming to terms with human spirituality.

No matter how many obstacles that are thrown in our path, there are ways to accept them and to live through them. Understand life's mysteries, - as mysteries to be lived.

It's the most unrealistic thing you can do to shoot a close-up, and it's the most unrealistic place you can be as a performer. And yet, actors grouse about having to do visual effect shots. But they love close-ups.

From where I sit, I see the digital cinema creating sloppiness on the part of filmmakers because they know if they really get in trouble they can fix it later. So they don't pay that much attention, and of course it costs a lot of money.

I guess you can say, I have been remaking my student films forever.