Steven Spielberg reveals how Harrison Ford helped get E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial made. Spielberg's 1982 science fiction film tells the story of a boy, Elliott (Henry Thomas), who befriends an extraterrestrial, named E.T. (voiced by Pat Welsh). After the government learns of the alien's presence on Earth, Elliott must help his new friend find his way back home.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was an immediate blockbuster and surpassed Star Wars to become the highest-grossing movie at the time. Widely acclaimed by critics, the film received nine nominations at the 55th Academy Awards, winning in four separate categories. E.T. is regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, so much so that it was added to the United States National Film Registry in 1994. While the film became a massive success, it appears that it may not have even been made if it wasn't for Harrison Ford's influence.
THR reports that while attending the this year's TCM Classic Film Festival, Spielberg took a trip down memory lane and revealed how Ford helped E.T. get made. The legendary director explains that while on location in Tunisia shooting Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, he attempted to pitch a script to Ford's then-girlfriend, writer Melissa Mathison. Although Mathison first turned Spielberg down, she later enthusiastically agreed to help write the E.T. script after Ford convinced her to hear Spielberg's pitch. Read Spielberg's explanation of how Ford helped get E.T. made below:
“I pretty much had worked out most of the story and I needed a writer to write with me or, hopefully, write it based on the story. [Mathison] said, ‘Well, I’m retired from writing. I don’t write anymore. I’m not interested in writing anymore, it’s too hard.' I went to Harrison and said, ‘Your girlfriend turned me down. She doesn’t want to write my next movie.’ He said, ‘Well, let me talk to her.’ He talked to her and she came to me the next day and said, ‘OK you got Harrison so excited about this. What is it that I missed?’ I think I hadn’t told her the story very well because I told her the story again and she got really emotional and she committed right there in the Tunisian desert.”
Mathison and Spielberg's collaboration resulted in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which would go on to become a culture phenomenon. In honor of the movie's 40th anniversary, a restored IMAX version of the film premiered Thursday on the big screen at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Before the big premiere, however, Spielberg had a 30-minute discussion with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz that covered numerous topics. One such topic the pair discussed was how filming E.T. ultimately influenced Spielberg's decision to start a family. The director explained that before the film, he had never thought about having kids; however, after working with a young Drew Barrymore, who was 6-years-old at the time, Spielberg thought that "maybe [he] could be a dad."
Had it not been for Ford's convincing of Mathison to hear Spielberg's pitch, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial may never have seen the light of day. Or, if it had, the story may have been very different than what Spielberg and Mathison eventually drafted. Additionally, because the film helped sway Spielberg into starting a family, had he not made the movie, his own life may have gone differently. Fortunately for fans of the classic 1982 movie, they have the Indiana Jones action star to thank for help making it happen.
Source: THR