August 2, 2023 – THEME WEEK DAY 3

We’re halfway through our theme week on aliens! Today we’re talking about one of the most famous aliens of all time, E.T.!
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released in 1982, directed and produced by Steven Spielberg. The concept was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents divorce in 1960. Special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, who had also designed the aliens for Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, was hired to design the animatronics for the movie. Spielberg wanted him to create an alien form that audiences could sympathize with. Rambaldi took inspiration from one his own paintings, titled “Women of Delta”, which depicted a shriveled character with stumpy legs, a long neck, oblong head, and big eyes. Spielberg also had him study photos of elderly people who had lived during the Great Depression. E.T.’s face was inspired by Carl Sandburg, Albert Einstein, and Ernest Hemingway.
There was a team of puppeteers who controlled E.T.’s face with animatronics. Two little people as well as a 12-year-old named Matthew DeMerritt, who was born without legs, took turns wearing the costume, depending on the scene. A professional mime played E.T.’s hands, wearing long gloves that looked like his leathery skin to mimic his long, slender, 4-fingered hands. When it came to E.T.’s voice, a majority was performed by actress Pat Welsh. She was a chain smoker who smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day, so she had the raspy voice producers were looking for to give E.T. his trademark sound. The sound effects creator also recorded 16 other people and animals for E.T.’s voice. These included Spielberg, actress Debra Winger, his sleeping wife sick with a cold, raccoons, otters, and horses.
In the movie, E.T.’s favorite candy was Reese’s Pieces. It was originally supposed to be M&Ms, but Mars refused, thinking E.T. would scare children. So Spielberg went to Hershey to see if they could use Hershey Kisses, but the company wanted to promote their newest creation, Reese’s Pieces instead. The produce placement resulted in a huge increase in sales of the candy – the company reported a 65% increase in profits just 2 weeks after the film was released.
E.T. was released in the U.S. in June 1982. It was an immediate blockbuster, eventually surpassing Star Wars as the highest-grossing film of all time. It held that record for 11 years, until Spielberg’s own Jurassic Park overtook it in 1993. Today, E.T. is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. Learn more here.