One of the most well-known and beloved films of all time is, without a doubt, the classic sci-fi adventure “ET The Extra-Terrestrial.”
In 2022, the production will be no less than 40 years old, and to celebrate its anniversary, Universal Pictures will re-release the film in domestic theaters.
‘ET The Extraterrestrial – 40th Anniversary’ premieres November 3, 2022.
Released in 1982 by the legendary Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison, the plot revolves around Elliott, a boy who befriends a being from another planet, who was left alone on Earth, protecting him by all means to prevent it from being captured and transformed. in guinea pig. Gradually, a strong friendship develops between the two.
The film’s concept was based on an imaginary friend created by Spielberg as a child, after his parents divorced – and became an automatic critical and box office success, grossing over $790 million worldwide and acclaimed by the experts, who characterize it as one of the best productions of all time. Nominated for nine Oscar categories, the project brought Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore and others to the cast.
To celebrate the relaunch, we’ve prepared a short special article separating some behind-the-scenes curiosities.
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Spielberg shot most of the film at a child’s eye level, to provide even more connection between Elliott and ET. To date, the film’s finale has been one of the most significant musical experiences of composer John Williams’ career. After several attempts to construct the film’s score, Spielberg pulled the film from screens and encouraged Williams to conduct the orchestra the same way he would in a concert. He did, and Spielberg re-edited the film to match the music – something quite unexpected in the film industry. The result won Williams the Oscar for Best Original Score in 1983.
During the auditions, Thomas thought of the day his dog died to express his sadness. The audition went so well that Spielberg cried and immediately offered him the role of Elliott. Ford had filmed a cameo in the film as Elliott’s school principal, but the scene was deleted from the final cut. In June 1982, Spielberg organized a personal screening of the film at the White House, for President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan.
At one point, Gertie looks at ET and says, “I don’t like their feet.” This line, in fact, was improvised by Barrymore and referred to the grouping of threads coming out of the titular character’s puppet. She also improvised the line “Give me a break!” after Elliott said only small children could see ET During a certain filming season, Barrymore constantly forgot the lines, irritating Spielberg to the point where the director yelled at him. Shortly after, he discovered that she had come to the set with a high fever. Feeling guilty, he hugged her and apologized as she cried. He then sent her home with a note from the headmaster himself. Much of the script was written during the filming of Raiders of the Lost Ark, also by Spielberg, between breaks. The filmmaker dictated the story to Mathison, who was there with her then-boyfriend and future husband Harrison Ford.
The producers had requested that M&Ms be used to attract ET, but the company denied the request, fearing the characterization of the character would scare children. Reese’s Pieces candy was used instead, and as a result, sales of the products grew exponentially. For this reason, more and more companies began to request that their products be used in films – a common practice that had already been done with the ‘007’ franchise. Spielberg worked simultaneously on ‘ET The Extraterrestrial’ and the horror ‘Poltergeist: The Phenomenon’ (directed by Tobe Hooper but produced by Spielberg). The two were created to complement each other: “ET” stood for suburban dreams, while “Poltergeits” for suburban nightmares. Don’t forget to watch: