Random Behind-The-Scenes Stories From 'E.T. Extra-Terrestrial' (15 items)

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  (#1) Three Actors Wore E.T.'s Costume, One Of Which Was A 12-Year-Old Walking On His Hands

  Scenes that featured E.T. moving around called for a full-sized costume (made with hidden slits in the alien’s chest so the wearer could see), which was worn by three different actors over the course of production.

  The first person to embody the character was Matthew DeMeritt, a 12-year-old born without legs whom Spielberg found through the UCLA Medical Center. DeMeritt's suit was rigged so that he could place his hands into E.T.'s feet and use them to walk. He's the one operating the suit for E.T.'s intoxicated scenes in the kitchen (when he falls on his face). 

  Eventually, the costume proved too taxing for DeMeritt, and production brought in Tamara de Treaux and Pat Bilon, two little people hired to complete additional scenes. The actors were often cooled off with blow dyers between scenes. 
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  (#2) Reese's Pieces Weren't The First Choice Of Candy

  Elliott and E.T.’s intergalactic friendship begins thanks to Reese’s Pieces, with the former leaving the latter a trail of candies in the woods. Hershey (which made the candy) went on to see its profits go up nearly 300% thanks to the use of the product, but it might surprise you to know that Reese’s Pieces weren't the first choice of candy. 

  According to William Kotzwinkle (who wrote his novelization based on the screenplay), the original script specified the use of M&M's. However, the Mars Company refused to go along with the deal, believing it was doing just fine, and didn’t want to peddle its product in Spielberg's film.

  Mars’s loss proved to be Hershey’s gain: The film made Reese's Pieces a regular commodity at movie theaters around the world. 
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  (#3) The Movie Was Partially Inspired By How Lonely Spielberg Felt Making 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark'

  According to Steven Spielberg, the director always wanted to tell a story about a disenfranchised and lonely young boy. This desire stemmed from Spielberg’s relationship with his siblings and the divorce of his parents when he was a child. E.T. features this story, and Elliott’s loneliness is ultimately diminished by his friendship with the titular character. 

  While filming Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg knew the spirit of the tale he wanted to tell, but he didn’t have much of a plot. In between set pieces, Spielberg walked out into the desert, picking up prehistoric seashells (the Tunisian desert used to be an ocean). In his solitude, the director felt “separate from himself," and pondered the question, “How do I tell this story of a lonely boy?”

  Over the next two to three days, Spielberg came up with the bare bones of what would become E.T. He then asked Melissa Mathison - Harrison Ford’s girlfriend at the time, and the screenwriter of The Black Stallion (which Spielberg enjoyed) - to write the film’s first draft. 
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  (#4) Harrison Ford Had His Cameo Cut From The Final Film

  E.T.’s screenwriter, Melissa Mathison, asked her boyfriend at the time (and future ex-husband), Harrison Ford, if he’d be up for a brief cameo in the movie. The scene took place in the principal's office after Elliott, under E.T.’s influence, releases all of the frogs in his biology class (and kisses the girl he likes).

  The principal in this scene was played by Ford, and though he is never seen, Ford’s unmistakable voice can be heard reprimanding Elliott.

  Ultimately, Spielberg cut this scene due to Ford’s rising popularity at the time. He thought the star of Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark would distract audiences and take away from the immersion factor. 
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  (#5) Young Drew Barrymore Thought E.T. Was A Real Alien

  Spielberg put everyone to work creating the illusion of E.T. In addition to raising sets and building a mechanical version of the character, Spielberg had the special effects designers meticulously test out all of the puppet movements before production so the extraterrestrial seemed real. The director even went as far as convincing a young Drew Barrymore that the puppet was a living, breathing alien.

  Thus, while filming the scene in which E.T. perishes, Barrymore’s reaction was genuine - she actually believed that E.T. had passed. "It had to be a great experience for her while it was happening," says Robert MacNaughton. "But then it must have also been terrible when it ended, because we really were like a family, and she really thought E.T. was real. So when it ended it had to be horrible for her."
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  (#6) Spielberg Dressed Up And Trick-Or-Treated With The Kids While Filming The Halloween Scenes

  E.T. 's famous Halloween scene - in which Elliott and his brother dress their alien pal up as their little sister - was filmed in October 1981. Spielberg joined in on the Halloween antics by dressing up as an old woman for the entire day.

  When they wrapped filming for the day, Spielberg even bobbed for apples and went trick-or-treating with the cast.  
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  (#7) The Full Moon Shot Was Filmed Practically With Puppets

  The famous image of Elliott and E.T. flying across the full moon was created using practical effects and puppets that were superimposed on the moon in post-production. According to the Industrial Light & Magic archive:

  ILM created the now iconic image of E.T. and [Elliott] flying over the face of a full moon using the studio’s Go-Motion technology combined with exquisitely crafted miniatures and puppet characters shot on a blue screen and then seamlessly inserted into live action plates.
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  (#8) The Young Cast Played With The Kids From 'Poltergeist' Between Takes

  In the summer of 1982, Poltergeist and E.T. were both released. Spielberg was not only the director of E.T., but also the producer and co-author of Poltergeist’s screenplay (many believe he also helped direct).

  The films were also filmed at the same time (and near each other), leading the casts and crews to hang with one another. The kids spent the most time together (as seen in the production still of Spielberg and the kids above). 
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  (#9) Sets Were Built On Platforms So E.T. Could Move Around With Puppeteers Under Him

  For a handful of scenes, like the ones in Elliott’s room or his family’s living room, the filmmakers used an animatronic puppet to depict E.T. Spielberg had those sets built on a platform (with the robotic puppet bolted down) so that the puppeteers could coordinate the character's movements by looking at small TV monitors located in another room.

  The bulk of E.T.'s hand and arm movements were performed by a professional mime, Caprice Rothe, underneath the various platforms by stretching her arms up into four-fingered gloves. A miniature puppet was even used for at least one wide shot.  
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  (#10) Initially, Spielberg Himself Was The Voice of E.T.

  Spielberg acted out most of E.T.'s dialogue by positioning himself beside the camera for the child actors to see (and better connect them with the character). In post, a raspy-voiced smoker by the name of Pat Welsh was hired (whose voice was mixed with the voices of 18 other people and various animal noises) to complete E.T.’s dialogue.

  Welsh was reportedly only paid $380 for her role. She also went on to be hired by George Lucas to be the voice of Boushh in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.  
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  (#11) Henry Thomas Accessed True Heartbreak During His Audition

  Henry Thomas accessed true heartbreak to win the role of Elliott. When Thomas came in to read for Spielberg, the director had the young actor improv a scene with a government agent who is trying to take his alien friend away. In the moving audition (which you can watch here), Thomas breaks down in tears and pleads with the casting director (playing the government agent) not to take his friend away.

  Thomas was able to get to such an authentic place by thinking about his pet chihuahua, Urso, who perished after being attacked by his neighbor’s dog. Spielberg ended the session and immediately said, “Okay, kid, you got the job.”
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  (#12) Steven Spielberg Filmed The Movie Chronologically In Order To Get Authentic Reactions From The Child Actors

  For the sake of time and money, most movies are filmed out of order. This was not the case with E.T.

  Spielberg filmed E.T. in chronological order so that the child actors could get to know one another organically, and have authentic emotions - especially in regards to the goodbye scene at the end of the film (which was, of course, filmed last). 
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  (#13) There Were Plans For A Sequel

  Spielberg and Mathison wrote a story treatment for an E.T. sequel. The treatment is entitled E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears, and takes place the summer after the first film. In it, Elliott and his friends are abducted by a mutated race related to E.T.’s, led by an evil alien named Korel. E.T. shows up and rescues the kids, ultimately helping them get back to Earth.

  Spielberg abandoned this idea because he felt it would rob the original film of its purity, but you can read the treatment here. 

  William Kotzwinkle, who wrote E.T.’s novelization, penned a sequel to E.T. called E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet (fun fact: E.T. is technically a vegetable), which is set on the character’s home planet, Brodo Asogi. 
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  (#14) The Original Ending Was Much Different

  In E.T.’s final scene, the friendly alien says farewell to Elliott. The alien points to his friend's forehead and says, “I’ll be right there,” before leaving with his family in a spaceship as a rainbow appears in the sky. 

  However, Spielberg’s original ending for the film saw it go out on less of a high note. According to actor Michael MacNaughton:

  The last scene was going to be all of us playing Dungeons & Dragons again, except this time, Elliott’s the dungeon master. Because he was the one that found E.T., he sort of got in with the group... And then they would pan up to the roof and you’d see the communicator and it’s still working - in other words, Elliott is still in touch with E.T. But after they did the score [composed by John Williams] and they saw what they had with the spaceship taking off and everything... How can you follow that? I mean, it was a wise choice.

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