50 Fun Facts About E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Who directed E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?

He also produced; it was his first summer blockbuster for Universal since Jaws.

What is the surname of Elliott's family?

Pauline Kael noticed that Elliott's name begins with an E and ends with a T.

Which candy is used to lure E.T. into the house?

Mars refused to license M&M's, fearing E.T. would frighten children; Hershey said yes and sales soared.

Who played the boy who befriends the alien?

He auditioned in an Indiana Jones costume and won the part with an improvised scene, crying over memories of his dead dog.

Which future star played little sister Gertie?

She impressed Spielberg with a story about leading a punk rock band.

Who wrote the screenplay?

Her first draft, titled E.T. and Me, took about eight weeks and Spielberg thought it was perfect.

What was the title of the darker abandoned project that E.T. grew out of?

In that script, malevolent aliens terrorised a family; only Buddy, the friendly one, survived into E.T.

Which studio rejected E.T. as 'a wimpy Walt Disney movie'?

Columbia kept 5% of the net profits and reportedly made more from it than any of its own 1982 films.

How much did Universal pay to acquire the script from Columbia?

MCA president Sid Sheinberg made the deal at Spielberg's request.

What was the film's production budget?

It went on to gross $619 million worldwide in its first run.

Who designed E.T.'s animatronics?

He had designed the aliens for Close Encounters; the puppet cost $1.5 million and took three months.

E.T.'s face was inspired by Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway and which poet?

Rambaldi's own painting Women of Delta gave the creature its extendable neck.

How did 12-year-old Matthew DeMeritt perform E.T.'s awkward walks and falls?

Born without legs, he shared the suit with little people Tamara De Treaux and Pat Bilon.

Who provided the main voice of E.T.?

Her two-packs-a-day voice earned $380 from sound designer Ben Burtt for nine and a half hours of work.

Which star's scene as the school principal was cut from the film?

His face is never seen; the footage surfaced on the 1996 LaserDisc.

Under what cover name was the film shot to keep the plot secret?

Scripts were read behind closed doors and everyone on set wore an ID card.

What was unusual about the sequence in which E.T. was filmed?

Spielberg wanted the children to be genuinely saying goodbye to E.T. at the end.

Where were the film's final six days of shooting, the woodland scenes, filmed?

The flying-bicycle chase and Halloween exteriors were shot in Porter Ranch.

Which cartoon director's style inspired showing adults only from the waist down early on?

Dee Wallace, as the mother, was the one exception.

Which director suggested the scene of E.T. hiding among stuffed toys in the closet?

He proposed it after Spielberg sent him a draft of the screenplay.

What game do Michael and his friends play at the kitchen table?

The young actors played it between takes too, along with riding bikes around the sound stages.

Which comic strip inspires E.T. to build his communication device?

Science educator Henry Feinberg built the actual prop from household parts.

Which 1952 film is E.T. watching when the boy kisses a girl at school?

John Wayne kissing Maureen O'Hara on TV drives Elliott's impulse through their shared feelings.

Why does the boy become intoxicated at school?

He then frees the frogs about to be dissected in biology class.

What flower does E.T. revive, which Gertie later gives him as a farewell gift?

The plant wilts and blooms again in step with E.T.'s own health.

What is the name of the lead government agent played by Peter Coyote?

He is identified by the keys jangling on his belt before his face is ever shown.

Who plays Mary, the children's single mother?

She was the only adult shown from the waist up in the film's first half.

Which actor played Tyler, one of Michael's friends on the bikes?

Macchio was considered; the two later co-starred in The Outsiders.

Who composed the score, including the famous Flying Theme?

Spielberg loved the chase music so much he re-edited the sequence to fit it.

Who narrated the film's 1982 audiobook album, produced by Quincy Jones?

It came out exactly two weeks before Thriller and won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children.

At which festival did E.T. premiere as the closing film in May 1982?

Roger Ebert recalled even that jaded audience whooping at the flying bicycles.

Which film did E.T. overtake in 1983 to become the highest-grossing film ever?

It held the record until Spielberg's own Jurassic Park in 1993.

Which film finally broke E.T.'s worldwide box-office record in 1993?

Both films were directed by Spielberg.

How many weekends did E.T. spend at number one in the US, a record that still stands?

It also had a record eight weekends above $10 million, unmatched until Home Alone.

Which film beat E.T. to the Best Picture Oscar in 1983?

Gandhi's director Richard Attenborough said he was certain E.T. would and should have won.

How many Academy Awards did E.T. win?

Original Score, Sound, Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects, from nine nominations.

What rare grade did opening-weekend CinemaScore audiences give E.T.?

It was the first film ever to earn that grade.

Spielberg received which honour after a UN screening in September 1982?

Princess Diana was reportedly in tears after watching the film.

Which Indian filmmaker claimed E.T. drew on his unproduced 1967 script The Alien?

Arthur C. Clarke flagged the similarities, but Ray chose not to sue.

What replaced the federal agents' guns in the 2002 Special Edition?

Spielberg later regretted the change and says to watch the 1982 version.

Which word replaced 'terrorist' in Mary's line about Michael's costume in the 2002 cut?

The change was made in response to the September 11 attacks.

Which animated show mocked the 2002 changes in its episode 'Free Hat'?

Critics like Peter Travers also called the edits political correctness.

Where were millions of unsold Atari E.T. cartridges buried in 1983?

Thought an urban legend, the landfill was dug up in April 2014 and the cartridges were found.

How long did programmer Howard Scott Warshaw have to make the Atari 2600 game?

The rushed, panned game is often cited as a cause of the 1983 video game crash.

What was the proposed title of the cancelled sequel Spielberg and Mathison outlined?

Evil aliens would have kidnapped Elliott; Spielberg felt it would rob the original of its innocence.

What is the name of E.T.'s home planet in William Kotzwinkle's 1985 sequel novel?

In The Book of the Green Planet, E.T. is demoted and exiled after returning home.

Members of E.T.'s species appear as background characters in which 1999 Lucas film?

George Lucas added the Star Wars cameo at Spielberg's suggestion.

Which company's 2019 Thanksgiving commercial reunited a grown-up boy with E.T.?

Henry Thomas returned; the spot used a practical puppet and John Williams's score.

What is the name of the family's dog?

A photo of him appears on the fridge in the 2019 reunion commercial.

The film's E.T. Adventure ride opened at Universal Studios Florida in which year?

The $40 million attraction has E.T. say goodbye to riders by name.