Critically acclaimed director Steven Spielberg has recently revealed how much the experience of making E.T. ended up having such a profound impact on his personal life.
Today, Spielberg is known as one of the most successful directors to exist in the industry. His career started back in 1969 when he had the opportunity to direct Joan Crawford in the television anthology series titled Night Gallery. From that moment forward, Spielberg has gone on to direct and produce some of the most popular, successful films of all time, including Jaws, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, and his latest Oscar-award winning adaptation of West Side Story. Although Spielberg seems to have a never-ending list of classics under his belt, perhaps his most beloved movie unanimously amongst his fans might just be his 1982 science-fiction blockbuster, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The film had quite the impressive cast list, starring Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, and Drew Barrymore.
Since E.T.'s 40th anniversary is steadily approaching, a grand celebration is in order. To mark the occasion, a brand-new IMAX rendering of the film was presented at the TCM Classic Film Festival, which, of course, Spielberg attended. To introduce the screening, Spielberg took a moment to look back on his outstanding career. During a conversation with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, the director shared the meaningful impact E.T. continues to have on his life. He talked about the rare connection he felt at the time to the film’s child stars, particularly Barrymore. He had never really quite felt that strong kinship with a child before where he felt as though he could see himself as a father figure one day in the future.
E.T. altered and changed the perspective Spielberg had on fatherhood, and he potentially saw that as a part of his reality for the first time in his life. "I didn’t want to have kids because it was not a kind of equation that made sense for me as I went from movie to movie to movie, script to script… It never occurred to me till halfway through ‘E.T.’: I was a parent on that film. I was literally feeling like I was very protective of Henry (Thomas) and Mike (McNaughton) and my whole cast, and especially Drew (Barrymore), who was only 6 years old." Spielberg said. "And I started thinking, ‘Well, maybe this could be my real life someday.’ It was the first time that it occurred to me that maybe I could be a dad. And maybe in a way, a director is a dad, or a mom. I really felt that that would be my big production."
Quickly after its theatrical debut, E.T. became the highest-grossing film ever made at the time of its release and received an abundance of critical acclaim to match. Even though E.T.'s box-office record has most definitely been beaten and surpassed over the years, its legendary influence on the industry still remains the same.
E.T. also stood out as a film for the accurate, unique way that Spielberg was able to tap into a child's perspective and lens by engaging their curiosity, creativity, imagination, and purity. Fans should also note that Spielberg has a total of seven children, so E.T. definitely worked its magic on ensuring he became a Dad.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Turner Classic Movies (via Variety)