News items in the 22 and 28 Feb 1978 Var and DV announced filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s intent to develop a project for Universal Pictures, titled Growing Up, expected to begin production in spring of that year. The story, written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, was rumored to involve only child characters, and would be filmed over twenty-eight days in Spielberg’s hometown of Phoenix, AZ, for just $1.5 million. Two years later, the 25 Mar 1981 Var reported the casting of Donald James. By 12 Jun 1981, DV claimed that the title had been changed to A Boy’s Life, which the Apr 1982 edition of Moviegoer identified as a working title Spielberg frequently used in order to conceal plot details from rival movie producers. Conflicting information in an 18 Jul 1982 LAT article indicated that in Apr 1980, Columbia Pictures began development on Spielberg’s latest film, tentatively titled E.T. and Me, but ten months and $1 million later, the project was moved to Universal. Although Columbia claimed they gave up the property due to Spielberg’s contractual obligation to make another film for Universal, the latter studio asserted that Columbia executives rejected E.T. and Me as a “kid’s picture,” compared to their more adult-oriented science-fiction project, Starman (1984, see entry), concurrently in development. However, a 15 Jul 1982 LAHExam story suggested that Columbia negotiated a deal to receive five percent of the film’s net profits.
       According to production notes in AMPAS library files, Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy, who began their professional partnership on 1941 (1979, see entry), thought of the idea for the project before starting production on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, see entry). Kennedy reportedly suggested the script be written by Melissa Mathison, who had worked on one of her favorite films, The Black Stallion (1979, see entry), and was accompanying them on various Raiders of the Lost Ark locations with her boyfriend and eventual husband, Harrison Ford. Although Mathison initially declined, claiming she intended to quit writing altogether, she eventually accepted the job. Beginning 8 Oct 1981, Mathison consulted with Spielberg once a week for eight weeks throughout completion of the first draft. The 13 Jul 1981 LAHExam claimed that the film was co-written by Jack Sayles, who does not receive onscreen credit and whose involvement has not been confirmed by other contemporary sources. Mathison told the 23 Aug 1982 People that she and Spielberg collaborated on three drafts of the script, which changed “very little.” An earlier version featured Elliott’s friend, “who later becomes his nemesis,” but the character was omitted from the final film.
       Production notes indicated that Spielberg cast actress Dee Wallace after seeing her guest performance in the television series, Skag (NBC, 6 Jan 1980--21 Feb 1980). Actor Peter Coyote had previously auditioned for the role of “Indiana Jones” in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and ran into Spielberg again at an industry event in 1981. According to a 14 Jun 1982 article in Film Journal, Kennedy spent over six months auditioning child actors, including ten-year-old Henry Thomas, who was cast as “Elliott.”
       The Jan 1983 American Cinematographer indicated that filming was originally scheduled to begin May 1981, but was repeatedly postponed while Spielberg finished sound looping on Raiders of the Lost Ark. Almost immediately following the completion of Spielberg and Kennedy’s Poltergeist (1982, see entry) on 17 Aug 1981, principal photography for E.T. began 8 Sep 1981 in and around Los Angeles, CA. The first two days of production took place at a high school in Culver City, CA, before moving to Northridge and Tujunga, CA, for eleven days. American Cinematographer stated that since the house exterior selected in Northridge, CA, was not located close enough to the mountain landscape, a second house was found in Tujunga, CA, and edited to look as if it was part of the original neighborhood. According to production notes, filming continued over forty-two days on three Laird International Studios sound stages in Culver City. One stage contained the bedrooms of “Elliott,” “Gertie,” and their mother, “Mary.” The first floor and backyard areas of the family’s onscreen home was recreated on the second stage, while the third housed the forest landing area for “E.T.’s” spaceship. Six final days were spent shooting some of the forest sequences near Crescent City, CA, and production completed in Dec 1981, four days ahead of its estimated sixty-five day shooting schedule. American Cinematographer stated that additional scenes were filmed Jan—Feb 1982, by which point the title had been changed to E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The 12 Nov 1981 edition of Rolling Stone noted that Spielberg formed a company called Extra Terrestrial Productions, Inc., to produce the film in conjunction with his Amblin’ Entertainment banner, but the company is not credited onscreen.
       Director of photography Allen Daviau, who collaborated with Spielberg on their 1968 short film, Amblin’, was approached in early 1981 after the director viewed his recent camerawork in television. Production designer James D. Bissell joined the production six months later than most of the other technical crewmembers. American Cinematographer indicated that Bissell and Daviau developed a cohesive visual style by watching and drawing inspiration from Night of the Hunter (1955, see entry), Alien (1979, see entry), Apocalypse Now (1979, see entry), and Last Tango in Paris (1972). Unlike Spielberg’s other productions, none of the film was storyboarded except for special visual effects shots, since Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was paid by the exact frame count. Interior lighting for the bedroom scenes was diffused through a muslin sheet mounted on the ceiling, and Daviau kept the camera dolly mounted around four feet eight inches from the ground, in order to reinforce the child’s perspective of the story.
       The 31 May 1982 issue of Time reported that an unnamed special effects crew spent $700,000 on an unsuccessful prototype of the E.T. alien before Italian artist Carlo Rambaldi constructed the creature with an aluminum and steel skeleton under layers of sculpted fiberglass, polyurethane, and foam rubber. Each “muscle” was connected to a control mechanism, operated by Rambaldi and his ten assistants, responsible for 150 individual, complex motions. Since not all the necessary controls could fit into one model, Rambaldi built three E.T.s. People stated that the simulation of E.T.’s pulse and breathing was achieved by pumping air into his body though plastic bags, and the creature’s eyes were modeled off the designer’s Himalayan cat. In total, Rambaldi devoted 5,000 hours to the design and spent $1.5 million. Although Spielberg conceived the alien’s long neck “so nobody could think there was anyone inside,” a fourth model was built which allowed space for an actor. Two little people, Pat Bilon and Tamara De Treaux, and a legless boy named Matthew De Meritt, shared responsibility for providing E.T.’s waddling movements: Bilon spent the most time inside the “costume,” while De Treaux walked up the ramp to the spaceship, and De Meritt stood on his hands to simulate E.T.’s intoxication. Bilon died 27 Jan 1983, a few months after the film’s release, but the 28 Jan 1983 LAT stated that he frequently toured as the character, once accompanying composer John Williams at a concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, CA.
       According to an article in the 24 Jul 1982 LAT, the script originally contained scenes in which Elliott is reprimanded by the school nurse and principal for drunkenly releasing his biology class frogs. The roles were respectively played by Mathison and Harrison Ford, but Mathison later insisted the scene be removed. However, the writer’s hands served as a model for the creation of E.T.’s slender fingers.
       People reported that Spielberg sought a cardiopulmonary resuscitation expert from University of CA, Los Angeles, to advise on E.T.’s medical scene. Anesthesiologist Dr. Robert Murphy referred him to Dr. Alexander Lampone and Dr. James Khan of St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, CA. The director hired the three doctors, along with a team of nurses and technicians, to serve as the onscreen “medical unit,” filming roughly fifty takes of the scene. Murphy reportedly ad-libbed his dialogue describing E.T.’s condition, but the 19 Feb 1984 LAT indicated that Spielberg later chose to eliminate most of the lines in the script which detailed the alien’s physiology. The 9 Jul 1982 LAT indicated that although he is not credited onscreen for his work as a medical consultant, Khan was also recruited by Spielberg to lend his science-fiction writing experience to revise the novelization of Poltergeist.
       The Sep 1985 edition of Ford Times revealed that E.T.’s voice designer, Ben Burtt, overheard Marin County, CA, resident Pat Welsh speaking in a store and asked her to audition for the alien’s voice. Although Spielberg originally considered the voices of an eighty-two year-old Tibetan woman and actress Debra Winger, who ultimately provided two of E.T.’s words and some heavy breathing, he chose Welsh to record the creature’s fourteen spoken lines. She earned $380 for nine-and-a-half-hour’s work repeatedly reciting the dialogue in English, French, German, and Spanish for the film’s international release. People reported that E.T.’s belch was provided by ILM employee Howie Hammerman, and various animal sounds, including an otter’s shriek and a dog’s growl, were electronically processed to create other reaction effects. The 20 Jul 1982 Us magazine alleged that Winger also had an uncredited role as a trick-or-treater in a Halloween costume.
       Production materials stated that post-production continued until mid-May 1981. According to the 30 Apr 1982 HR, the film was first shown 26 May 1982, as the closing night feature of the Cannes Film Festival. The 7 Jun 1982 HR announced that the world premiere was expected to take place on 10 Jun 1982 at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, CA, with funds benefitting the new Cinema-Television Center at the University of Southern California. The 18 Jul 1982 LAT noted that due to a lack of exhibitor interest, E.T. was originally only booked in 500 theaters, but a successful May 1982 test screening in Houston, TX, prompted Universal to increase the number to 1,600. When Spielberg protested such a wide opening, the studio settled on 1,100 theaters. Following the 30 May 1982 sneak previews, the 2 Jun 1982 Var anticipated bookings in 600—700 U.S. theaters, with later expansions throughout the summer. A 9 Jun 1982 DV article disputed earlier reports referring to an 18 Jun 1982 release date, stating that the picture was purposely scheduled for 11 Jun 1982, to avoid conflict with the 4 Jun 1982 release of Spielberg’s Poltergeist. Expansion would then follow on 25 Jun 1982 and 30 Jul 1982.
       Various contemporary sources, including the 15 Jun 1982 LAT, reported the opening of E.T. as a national phenomenon, with audiences lining up for hours outside their local theater to obtain tickets. As a result, the film broke numerous box-office records: the 15 Jun 1982 NYT stated that the picture earned $13 million in its first three days of release, making it the largest opening weekend in Universal’s history. After thirty-one weeks on the market, the 19 Jan 1983 Var announced that E.T. had surpassed Star Wars (1977, see entry) as the film with the highest domestic rentals, totaling $194,081,000.
       A 9 Jun 1982 DV brief named Dan Polier and David Knopf as consultants on all aspects of the film’s distribution and marketing. During its initial release, E.T. spawned massive advertising and publicity campaigns with multiple product tie-ins, most notably Hershey’s Reese’s Pieces candy. According to the 26 Jul 1982 People, Universal approached Hershey’s about the use of the candy in Oct 1981, after Mars declined Spielberg’s offer to feature M&M’s in the film. Upon accepting, Hershey’s spent $1 million in related promotional efforts, and Reese’s Pieces sales reportedly tripled within the first two weeks of release. 6 Aug 1982 LAHExam and 19 Jul 1982 WSJ news stories stated that an additional forty-three companies were approved to sell officially-licensed E.T. merchandise, which included dolls, sheets, posters, books, an Atari home video game, and Texas Instruments’ Speak & Spell toy like the one used onscreen, all personally overseen by Spielberg and Kennedy. The 1 Dec 1982 DV announced the opening of the $1 million “E.T. Earth Center” store on the Universal Studios lot in Universal City, CA, containing $700,000 worth of items to accommodate holiday sales demands. In addition, the 13 Dec 1982 HR stated that CBS aired a one-hour television program produced by Spielberg’s Amblin’ Entertainment, Andrew Solt, and Malcolm Leo, entitled E.T. & Friends (14 Dec 1982), detailing the depiction of extra-terrestrials in science-fiction films.
       On 18 May 1983, Var announced that, after earning $375 million worldwide, Universal decided to withdraw all theatrical, television, and ancillary media distribution for two years. According to the 13 Aug 1984 DV, the hiatus began 9 Jun 1983, and was scheduled to end 19 Jul 1985, when E.T. would be given a full-scale theatrical reissue, complete with a new marketing campaign.
       Rumors of a sequel were first published in the 23 Jul 1982 HR, and the 24 Nov 1982 Var suggested that Spielberg had almost immediately approached Sidney Sheinberg, president of Universal’s parent company, MCA, who dismissed the idea until E.T. grossed more than $100 million. An article in the 23 Aug 1982 issue of People magazine stated that Spielberg and Mathison decided on a story idea, but were forced to prolong development due to the director’s commitment to film a segment of the anthology, Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983, see entry), and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984, see entry). A 15 Jan 1983 LAHExam brief also indicated that actor Robert MacNaughton was uninterested in reprising his role as Elliott’s brother, “Michael,” in a potential sequel. Plans for additional E.T. films did not move forward.
       In addition to three Golden Globe nominations and two wins for Best Motion Picture—Drama, and Best Original Score, E.T. won four Academy Awards for Music (Original Score), Sound, Sound Effects Editing, and Visual Effects, and received nominations for Best Picture, Directing, Cinematography, Film Editing, and Writing.
       In 1998 and 2007, AFI ranked E.T. #25 and #24, respectively, on the list of Greatest American Films of All Time. The film was also named by AFI the #6 Most Inspiring, #14 Greatest Film Score, and #44 Most Thrilling, while “E.T. phone home,” was named the fifteenth Greatest Movie Quote of All Time.
       End credits note: Sesame Street segments courtesy of Children’s Television Workshop; excerpts from ‘Peter Pan’ courtesy of Hospital for Sick Children, London, England; and, "Photographed at Laird International Studios, Culver City, California." Acknowledgements also state: “The Producers wish to thank the following for their contributions: American Hi-Lift; Everything Bicycles; Beckman Instruments, Inc.; Fieldtec, Inc.; Dynatech Laboratories, Inc.; Gould, Inc.; Hershey Chocolate Company; Ivac Corp.; Piker International; ILC Dover; Quantel Business Computers; Perkin-Elmer, Inc.; Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; The North Face Company; Texas Instruments Incorporated.”