Spielberg on E.T.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of E .T. The Extra -Terrestrial, we raid our Hol lywood archives for this candid and personal interview with Steven Spielberg from the ’80s.

- ADAM TANSWELL

Back in October 1982, Steven Spielberg sat down in Beverly Hills to discuss his latest blockbuster, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. The heartwarming story of a suburban kid (played by Henry Thomas) and his homesick alien buddy had already won over American audiences, following an early summer release, but Universal Pictures had yet to launch the project overseas. In the States, E.T. was well on its way to becoming the highest-grossing movie of 1982, but British film fans had to wait until December to discover the delights of a young Drew Barrymore, an intoxicated extra-terrestrial and the iconic line “Phone home.”

The quintessential ’80s classic went on to win four Academy Awards, two Golden Globes and a BAFTA (for John Williams’ emotional score), but there were only whispers of awards chatter when the 37-year-old director met with the press for this interview. A bearded and bespectacled Spielberg looked casual and relaxed in his (Indiana Jones-esque) leather jacket as he prepared to discuss the personal origins of the movie’s story, his first-day jitters, and the baking-based casting process he’d cooked up. There was even time to compare E.T. with Errol Flynn. So to celebrate the 40th anniversary of E.T. The ExtraTerrestrial, Total Film takes you back to 1982…

How did you come up with the initial idea for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial?