Prisoners of the World: E.T. wants out. Considering the state of Planet Earth, even as far back as 1982, who can blame him? Standing next to E.T., Henry Thomas wonders if there's enough room for him in the spaceship.
Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the saga of an outer-space creature that — quite understandably — wants to get the hell out of Planet Earth, will have its 25th anniversary celebrated with a screening on Thursday, November 29, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. According to the Academy's press release, several members of the film's cast and crew — no word on Spielberg — will take part in a panel discussion following the screening.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial depicts the close friendship that develops between E.T. and an American boy (Henry Thomas) as both are pursued by government forces. Even as a teenager way back when, I found E.T. not only moving and entertaining but also more than a little manipulative.
In the film, children are all good and innocent (have the people who write those stories ever had a childhood?) while adults are almost invariably evil, greedy, ruthless, or just plain stupid (ok, they have a point there). Compounding matters, Spielberg slaps you around in case you don't know exactly when you're supposed to get a knot in the throat, while John Williams' music amps up the gooeyness of the plot.
Also in the cast: Dee Wallace as the boy's mother, Drew Barrymore as his younger sister, and Peter Coyote as a government agent who lusts after E.T.'s body.
E.T. was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning four: Music – Original Score (Williams), Sound (Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don Digirolamo, Gene Cantamessa), Sound Effects Editing (Charles L. Campbell, Ben Burtt) and Visual Effects (Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren, Kenneth F. Smith). Its nominations were for Best Picture (Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, producers), Cinematography (Allen Daviau), Directing (Spielberg), Film Editing (Carol Littleton) and Writing – Screenplay written directly for the screen (Melissa Mathison).
Tickets to the Academy's 25th anniversary screening of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. Tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org until noon PDT on the day of the event. There are no minimum order requirements and no transaction or processing fees. Tickets may also be purchased by mail or in person at the Academy box office during regular business hours.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For additional information, call (310) 247-3600.
Photos: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library
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