E.T. The Extraterrestial: 29 interesting trivia

The 30th anniversary of ‘E.T.: The Extraterrestial’ will be next year, which means that I should write a special post by next 11th of June. Obviously the 29th anniversary doesn’t make the news as much as a round figure like 30 years... however, a couple of days ago I saw E.T. and I couldn't resist: I started looking up information on the Internet and I gathered plenty of interesting facts about the Steven Spielberg’s classic film. Because today has been 29 years since its release on 1982, here you have 29 interesting trivia on one of my favourite movies as a kid:

1. The screenplay for the film was written by the Harrison Ford’s second wife Melissa Mathinson.

2. The concept for E.T. was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents' divorce in 1960.

3. Spielberg said the film’s main theme isn't the friendship between Elliott and E.T., but the emotional situation of kids when their parents get divorced.

4. Religious parallels between E.T. and Jesus were found by some critics. As Andrew Nigels said, E.T. was crucified by military science and then resurrected by love and faith.

5. Although Spielberg refuses the Christian parable, Universal Pictures appealed directly to the Christian market with a poster that reminds the Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam.

6. Henry Thomas, best known as Elliott, auditioned in an Indiana Jones costume and he didn’t perform well. However, an improvised scene convinced Spielberg: Thomas tears caused by thoughts of his dead dog were more than enough to get the role.

7. Drew Barrymore (Gertie) was chosen because her invented story about a punk rock band leaded by her. For Spielberg that story proved her right imagination for the film.

8. E.T. ‘creature’ was created in 3 months and the final cost was $1,5 million.

9. Spielberg declared E.T. was "something that only a mother could love”.

10. The major voice work for E.T. was done by Pat Wels, an elderly woman who used to smoke two packets of cigarettes a day, which gave her that particular voice sound. According to the Spanish magazine Cinemania, she did the voice for every language.

11. The sound effects creator Ben Burtt’s sleeping wife, who had a cold, was used as well for the alien’s voice.

12. Two dwarfs, Tamara de Treux and Pat Billon, as well as a 12-year-old Mathew de Meritt, who was born without legs, wore the E.T. costume. Billon died a few weeks after the shooting and he did the sequence in which E.T. is having a walk with Elliot and Michael, covered by a blanket. The final scene was made by Tamara de Treux and de Meritt did the fridge scene.

13. Looking for funding, Spielberg got in touch with M&M company, but its sales representatives though it wasn’t a good idea that an alien eat the candies. They got wrong: the Reese’s Piece that E.T. eats increased its sales by 65% after the film’s release.

14. The project was filmed under the cover name A Boy's Life, as Spielberg did not want anyone to discover and plagiarize the plot.

15. The film was shot in chronological order to get a better actors’ emotional performance.

16. The film was shot so adults, except for the kids' mother, are never seen from the waist up in the first half of the film, as a tribute to the cartoons of Tex Avery.

17. Spielberg decided to cut a scene featuring Harrison Ford as Elliott's headmaster.

18. ‘Real’ doctors were recruited to play the doctors who try to save E.T’s life.

19. Spielberg liked so much John Williams’ music that the final scene was adapted just to match it.

20. In July 1982 Spielberg and Mathison wrote a treatment for a sequel to be titled E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears. Later, Spielberg decided against pursuing the sequel, feeling it "would do nothing but rob the original of its virginity”.

21. Amblin Entertainment's logo features the silhouette of E.T. riding in the basket on Elliott's bicycle flying in front of the moon. That production company was founded by Spielberg.

22. The 20th anniversary version was criticized as political correctness because the guns feds carried were replaced by walkie-talkies. In a recent interview, Spielberg regrets for those changes.

23. There were allegations that the film was plagiarized from 1967 script The Alien. The Spanish comic drawer Joaquín Blázquez allegated as well that the E.T. design was plagiarized from a comic character he created 7 years before.

24. In an American Film Instute poll, E.T. has been voted the 24th greatest film of all time. It was also listed by Time as one of the 100 best films ever made.

25. Henry Thomas has appeared in more than 40 films but still is best known for his role as Elliott. He was also involved in The Blue Heelers band from the mid to late ‘90s as a player, singer and lyrics writer.

26. Robert MacNaughton, Elliott's brother Michael, gave up acting and works as a mail handler in Arizona.

27. Drew Barrymore is just as well known for her films (Charlie's Angels, The Wedding Singer, Never Been Kissed) as for her pre-teen slide into alcoholism and drug abuse.

28. Erika Eleniak, the girl kissed by Elliot, has become an American Playboy Playmate and actress, perhaps best known for her role in Baywatch as Shauni McClain.

29. The budget was $10,500,000 and gross revenue reached the overwhelming amount of $792,910,554.