20 facts you might not know about 'E.T.: The Extraterrestrial'

A lot of Spielberg’s movies involve divorced parents, and there’s a reason for that. His parents split in 1960, and it had a tremendous impact on him. One of the ways he coped was by creating an imaginary friend who was an alien. Hey, why not take that imaginary friend and make him real?

Two different ideas Spielberg had were combined into bringing “E.T.” to life. One was “Growing Up,” a slice-of-life movie about childhood. The other, though, was “Night Skies.” “Night Skies” was going to be a follow up to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” but it was not going to be as family-friendly instead focusing on a story about aliens terrorizing a family.

One of the producers on “E.T.” was Kathleen Kennedy, a name any “Star Wars” fan knows. She’s been the president of Lucasfilm for quite some time. Additionally, the screenwriter of the movie was Melissa Mathison, who wrote films such as “Kundun” and “The BFG” in her career. On top of that, Mathison was married to Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford, from 1983 until 2004. In fact, Ford acted in “E.T.” in a cut scene.

E.T. has a distinct look created by special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, who won three Oscars in his career. The specific look of E.T.’s face was inspired by some notable people, including the poet Carl Sandburg, Ernest Hemingway, and Albert Einstein.

Reese’s Pieces play a key role in “E.T.,” and this led to a huge increase in sales of the candy after the film. However, Hershey only got the opportunity for the Reese’s Pieces product placement because another company turned the movie down. The candy company Mars was asked by the producers if they could use M&M’s but they declined. We bet that red M&M took it pretty hard.

Drew Barrymore started acting incredibly young, even hosting “Saturday Night Live” before she was a teenager. It was in her blood. The Barrymore family are an esteemed acting family. Lionel Barrymore won an Oscar, while Ethel Barrymore was called “The First Lady of the American Theater.” Ethel’s brother John is Drew’s grandfather, who was once called “the greatest living American tragedian.” That’s quite the good press!

E.T.’s voice was primarily provided by Pat Welsh. The actress was a two-packs-a-day smoker, which gave her voice a distinct raspiness that worked for what they wanted for E.T. (and also probably wasn’t great for her health). Some other voices and noises went into creating the distinct sound of the extraterrestrial though. Spielberg and actress Debra Winger helped out a bit, as did raccoons, horses, and otters.

These days, it is not uncommon for big films to be shot under false names to try and avoid attention and leaks. That is not some new practice, though. Spielberg did it with “E.T.,” as the movie was filmed using the generic name “A Boy’s Life” as cover.

Spielberg was a mentor to a young director named Robert Zemeckis. It paid off for both of them when Spielberg produced a little film called “Back to the Future.” That movie came out a few years after “E.T.” The two still bandied about ideas prior to that, and Zemeckis is the one that came up with E.T. hiding among Elliott’s stuffed toys. Spielberg returned the favor on “Back to the Future” by preventing the studio from renaming it “Space Man from Pluto.”

The famed Indian director Satyajit Ray said that he believed Spielberg was inspired by his 1967 script for “The Alien,” which led to accusations of plagiarism. There are certainly parallels, and even Martin Scorsese has said that Spielberg was probably influenced by “The Alien.” Ray did not take legal action, though, not wanting to be “vindictive.” In 1984, a playwright did sue Spielberg for $750 million saying that “E.T.” was stolen from her play. She lost definitively.

Spielberg had already made major box office splashes with movies like “Jaws,” but Spielberg’s “E.T.” took it to the next level. It debuted at number-one in the box office, a position that it got used to. By the end of its run, “E.T.” was the number-one movie in the U.S. box office for 16 total weeks. That’s the record in America, even besting “Titanic.”

Even though it’s something of a “family film,” E.T. was a critical darling and a beloved movie. It racked up nine Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture. In the end, it won four Oscars: Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

As you can tell, Best Picture did not go to “E.T.” Instead, it went to the period epic “Gandhi.” One person who did not agree with that decision -- "Gandi" Director Richard Attenborough. He was quoted as saying, “I was certain that not only would “E.T.” win, but that it should win.” Attenborough went on to call his own films “more mundane.”

Like his good buddy George Lucas, Spielberg couldn’t leave well enough alone. A 20th-anniversary version of the film was released into theaters in 2002, and it featured some tweaks. Some of that was just using CGI to modify some shots and to make E.T. look “better.” Weirdly, he also replaced guns in the hands of federal agents with walkie-talkies. This was greeted with derision at the time. The 20th-anniversary version is now out of circulation, and other anniversary releases do not feature those tweaks.

Wanting to capitalize on the popularity of the film, Atari rushed an “E.T.” video game into production. When we say “rushed,” we mean the game designers were given all of five weeks to complete the game to have it available for Christmas 1982. The “E.T.” was a disaster. Many consider it the worst game ever. It was a flop, and it’s considered a big part of the video game industry’s crash in 1983. The long-standing rumor was that a bunch of the game cartridges were buried in a landfill in New Mexico. This claim was put to the test in 2014 for a documentary. It turns out the rumor was true.

Naturally, “E.T.” inspired imitators. Why not make a movie about a sweet alien befriending a lonely kid? It was simple enough to do. To do well, though? One film that seemed like a clear rip off of “E.T.” was “Mac and Me.” This movie featured some truly egregious product placement and is a beloved “so bad it’s good” film. Paul Rudd has made a running gag out of showing one of its infamous scenes on various Conan O’Brien shows, and “Mac and Me” was featured on “Mystery Science Theater 3000” as well.

E.T. wasn’t the only member of his species, of course. He was trying to phone home for a reason. The species pop up in another film, “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.” Aliens that look like E.T. can be seen in the background of a meeting of the Intergalactic Senate. This was, of course, Spielberg’s buddy Lucas doing him a solid.

We never got a sequel to “E.T.,” but we sort of did thanks to Xfinity. They created a four-minute “short film,” which is just a fancy way of saying “long commercial,” called “A Holiday Reunion” that brought E.T. back. The film featured Henry Thomas reprising the role of Elliott, now as an adult. He and E.T. reunite before the holidays. All to sell Xfinity, of course.

Have you ever heard Neil Diamond’s song “Heartlight?” It was a big hit, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Though the song doesn’t reference “E.T.” explicitly, the whole “Turn on your heart light” thing definitely seems like it is inspired by the light in E.T.’s heart. It has been said that Diamond paid Universal a sum of money (reportedly $25,000) for his E.T. inspiration.

If you have watched a movie produced by Spielberg, you have seen the Amblin Entertainment logo. That production logo features a bicycle flying in front of the Moon. It is, of course, taken from “E.T.” Perhaps the iconic image from “E.T.” is Elliott, with E.T. in the basket of his bike soaring through the air. Spielberg has so many beloved films and memorable moments, but this is the one he chose to represent his production company.