June 11, 1982: E.T.

On this day in 1982, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was released in theaters (making today a Friday in 1982). The American Film Institute ranks E.T. as the 24th Greatest Movie of All Time and the 6th Most Inspiring Movie of All Time. The family fun film earned back its $10.5 million budge during its opening weekend, grossing $11.8 million. Staring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, and Peter Coyote, the film tells the story of a lonely boy named Elliot (Thomas) who befriends a friendly alien stranded on Earth. Elliot, along with his siblings, helps the alien return home while trying to keep it a secret from their mother and the government.

Uncommon in motion pictures, Spielberg shot the movie in chronological order to help invoke convincing emotional performances from the young cast when E.T. departed at the end of the film. He also shot most of the film from the eye-level of a child to help draw one into a child’s point-of-view and to help the audience further connect with Elliot and E.T.

"I didn't pretend that E.T. was anything other than a kids movie, about kids, for kids, I was still a kid then. I still am."
-- Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg dictated the script for E.T. on the set of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) during filming breaks to Melissa Mathison. As Harrison Ford’s wife at the time, Mathison, a screenwriter, was conveniently already on set to be with her husband. Spielberg’s original concept for the film was actually a much darker movie where a family would be terrorized by aliens. When he decided to go with a friendly alien, the family0in-jeopardy plot was recycled as Poltergeist (1982). Spielberg actually worked simultaneously, producing both films at the same time. They were meant to compliment each other: E.T. representing suburban dreams and Poltergeist representing suburban nightmares.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s close relationship is no secret in the entertainment industry (or to the public in general), especially with the popularity of their Indiana Jones franchise. At the time, and maybe still, E.T. was Spielberg’s greatest film and Star War was Lucas’s. It is no surprise then that they made guest appearances in their films (or at least their characters). In E.T., with Yoda’s theme song playing in the background, E.T. approaches a kid in a Halloween Yoda costume crying “Phone home! Phone home!” as if he recognized someone familiar. Also, various Star Wars toys appear in Elliot’s bedroom. To return the favor, in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace a delegation of E.T.s can be seen when Queen Amidala calls for a Senate vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum. This seems to link the two films together, or at least a cool bit of movie trivia.

E.T. became the highest-grossing movie of all time until Star Wars (1977) was re-released in 1997 (yes that’s right, they use to re-release movies). Its domestic grosses in the United States currently rank fourth with $435,110,554. This is the highest grossing movie Universal Studios has had, and as luck would have it, its second top grossing movie is Jurassic Park, also directed by Steven Spielberg.

The film was nominated for a slew of Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Screenplay written for the Screen, winning in only the following categories: Best Sound Effects, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. It lucked out a little better in the Golden Globes, winning one for Best Motion Picture and Best Score, but still missing out on its other nominations in Best Director and Best Screenplay. It also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture. Awards aren't everything though.

A children’s classic, the film is still a favorite amongst children and those young at heart.