Back to the Future II

The Back to the Future trilogy drops next week on Blu-ray, but you don't have to wait until then to get a behind the scenes glimpse at the making of future Hill Valley — I got your clips right here!

This behind the scenes footage comes straight from the special features of the Blu-ray edition of BTTF and shows how the futuristic team came up with the concepts for cars, buildings, and scenes of 2015. Get excited for Oct. 26, and check out the video after the jump.

Corresponding with the 25th anniversary release of the original, Back to the Future II has seen a resurgence on the Internet over the past few days. Maybe it was the long weekend that left minds to wander to their favorite geeky movies, but I'm not complaining. Back to the Future II was one of my most-watched flicks in my younger days, mostly because it got me excited for the future — flying cars, hoverboards, and self-drying jackets? Count me in!

Here, we'll take a look back at some of the most notable tech from BTTFII and see how close we are to achieving them. We only have five years left to make it all happen!

• Self-tying shoes — Finally, someone has developed a self-tying Nike hightop sneaker! Sure, they aren't as sleek as Marty's, but give Nike some time — it'll make it happen.
• Hoverboards — I was stoked to learn that there was a real-life hoverboard in the wild. I'll take up skateboarding now so I can be ready when Mattel really does decide to bring the floating device to the mass market.
• Flying cars — The FAA has already approved the road- and sky-ready Terrafugia, but I don't think the sleek and stylish models we saw in Back to the Future II will make it before Oct. 21, 2015.

See the rest of my Back to the Future II tech rundown after the jump.

Hold on to your flux capacitors — French artist Nils Guadagnin has created a real-life hoverboard. It may not be the same working model you see in Back to the Future II (since you can't actually stand on it yet), but the board is designed to copy the original found in the famous 1989 film, and hopefully, with time, will be on sale at your local Target stores for $200.

Using laser stabilization technology and electromagnetism, Nils was able to float the board like David Blaine — a few inches above the ground — and just enough to swipe a ruler underneath so you know it's really floating. Check out the (must-see) demonstration video after the jump.