5 Fun facts you didn’t know about E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial

This year marks the forty years since the release of E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial from the prolific filmmaker Stephen Spielberg. At the time of its release, the film saw massive success at the box office and to the masses – rightfully so.

Today, Phantom Filmmaker takes a look back at this gem of a film by sharing the top 5 fun facts you didn’t know about it. Let’s dive in!

1. The story behind the camera

It might’ve been a while since you’ve seen E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial but if you check, you’ll find that the film’s camera placement stays at Elliot’s eye level. This was an intentional move so the audience immerses themselves in the movie by witnessing it all in, essentially, a kid’s perspective. 

2. E.T.’s facial inspiration

Anyone who’s seen E.T. will know that he’s got a unique look to him. But do you know who he was modeled after? It turns out his look was inspired by famous personalities such as Albert Einstein, Carl Sandburg, and Ernest Hemingway. 

The man behind this iconic design is Carlo Rambaldi who was also the designer of the aliens for another of Spielberg’s film, Encounters of the Third Kind.

3. Henry Thomas’ stellar audition

The film’s central character, Elliot, played by Henry Thomas, had a memorable audition that landed him the iconic role. Thomas used his dog’s recent passing as a motivation to cry during his audition, channeling just the right emotion to stand out among fellow auditionees. As a result, he nailed the scene and brought Steven Spielberg to tears, who then told him, “Kid, you got the job.”

4. E.T.’s favorite snack

In the film, Elliot tries to lure ET out of hiding by using a trail of Reese’s Pieces that leads directly into Elliot’s house. According to rumors, Reese’s Pieces was used instead of M&M’s after Mars Inc. declined the offer.

As the story goes, Universal Studios reached out to The Hershey Company with a proposal to include Reese’s Pieces in the film. After a long day of negotiation, Jack Dowd, one of Hershey’s executives who met with Universal’s producers and attorneys at the time, committed a million dollars for the film’s promotion. This was done in exchange for permission to use E.T. for Hershey’s own advertising efforts. 

Here’s what happened from Dowd’s recollection, taken from the book called The Emperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn Brenner: “So I came home and told the staff what we were going to do, and that we were going to spend a million dollars on a movie that I couldn’t show them the script for, that was going to employ a little green creature from outer space that I couldn’t show them a picture of. I didn’t even know at that point what E.T. would look like.”

Though a risky move at the time, the tie-in proved to be a smart move on Jack Dowd’s part, especially since E.T. ‘s instant popularity boosted their sales within just two weeks of the film’s initial release.

5. Drew Barrymore’s Gertie

Drew Barrymore who played Elliot’s younger sister Gertie was hired for the role after she auditioned for Poltergeist, a film which Spielberg was producing. She originally tested for the role of Carol Anne in Poltergeist but the famed director stated that she wasn’t right for the horror genre. However, her striking audition earned her a spot on the ET cast.

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