This Saturday June 11, “ET the extraterrestrial” turns 40 years old. Turned into a cult film, Steven Spielberg’s film pleased the public and achieved great popularity in 1982.
With more than one enjoying the story of Elliot (Henry Thomas), Michael (Robert MacNaughton) and Gertie (Drew Barrymore), there are several who are unaware of the beginning of this plot, which It was born to be a horror movie and not a science fiction one. Review some little known facts about “ET the extra-terrestrial”.
YOU CAN SEE: “Betty, la fea”: Netflix confirms the last day that the soap opera can be seen
- The concept of “ET” was dark and was born to be a horror film
When Spielberg was looking to make an alien-themed sequel to his 1977 film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” he called on screenwriter John Sayles to write a script called “Night Skies,” in which a farming community is terrorized by aliens. As The Guardian reported in 2002, “The tone of this film was marked by horror and violence.”
With pre-production underway, Spielberg hired special effects expert Rick Baker to bring the film’s central character to life. With the project scrapped, his ideas eventually served as the inspiration for “ET the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Poltergeist.” In 2014, Baker shared images of his designs.
- A story based on a true event: “Night Skies” was inspired by a UFO sighting
According to the New York Post, “Night Skies” used the Kelly-Hopkinsville UFO incident as a source for its plot, which was reported in 1955 in Kentucky, United States. According to what was reported on August 21 of that year, a family appeared before the local police claiming to have been attacked by aliens. Spielberg had heard the story from ufologist J. Allen Hynek while researching “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
- “Boy, you got the job”
Henry Thomas (Elliot) auditioned impromptu with Steven Spielberg in which he played a scene where he had to cry while begging a government agent not to take ET “The improvisation was so sincere and honest that I gave him the role at that moment,'” Spielberg told Premiere magazine. .
YOU CAN SEE: “Betty, la fea” leaves Netflix: discover where to watch the telenovela online and for free
- “ET” and the sequel that was thought, but never made
“’ET II: Night Fears” was going to be the name of the second part of Spielberg’s iconic film, which would take up the dark essence of “Night skies”. The plot would follow other aliens seeking to exterminate the “ET” race, so to achieve this they would kidnap Elliott and his friends. The project was eventually cancelled.
In the special “The making of ‘ET The Extra-Terrestrial’ (1996)”, the director revealed that he told special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi that he would be inspired by “celebrity faces” to mold the character. “I gave him some photos of Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway and Carl Sandburg. I love her frivolous and sad eyes too,” he shared.
“ET, the extraterrestrial” can be seen on Amazon Prime Video.
#years #history #classic #film #horror #violence