Justin Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Atari I/O Movie Club Presents A Steven Spielberg Film 1982 Universal Pictures [PG] Rated [PG] Directed by Steven Spielberg Produced by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy Written by Melissa Mathison Story by Steven Spielberg Starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert McNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote Music by John Williams Cinematography by Allen Daviau Special Effects by Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren Edited by Carol Littleton Production company: Amblin Entertainment Distributed by Universal Pictures Video Game Adaptation by Atari Released June 11, 1982 (United States) Running time: 114 minutes Budget $10,500,000 Box office $792,910,554 Prologue: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was always nestled between Halloween and Thanksgiving for me and my family. The events in E.T. take place over Halloween, though I've always associated it more with Thanksgiving as NBC routinely ran E.T. on television Thanksgiving night, and more often than not still does. For many years, Sears, a store I often associate with Atari, would always set up an E.T. display beginning on Black Friday with special deals for E.T. on VHS for as little as two dollars. Thanksgiving was always a nice time of year to warm up by a fire, enjoy a nice meal and watch this family movie with special people in our lives. About the Movie: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction-family film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison, featuring special effects by Carlo Rambaldi and Dennis Muren, and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore and Peter Coyote. It tells the story of Elliott (Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. He and his siblings help it return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government. The concept for the film was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents' divorce in 1960. In 1980, Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the stalled science fiction/horror film project Night Skies. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was shot from September to December 1981 in California on a budget of US$10.5 million. Unlike most motion pictures, it was shot in rough chronological order, to facilitate convincing emotional performances from the young cast. Released on June 11, 1982 by Universal Pictures, E.T was a blockbuster, surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time—a record it held for eleven years until Jurassic Park, another Spielberg-directed film, surpassed it in 1993. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is the highest-grossing film of the 1980s. Critics acclaimed it as a timeless story of friendship, and it ranks as the greatest science fiction film ever made in a Rotten Tomatoes survey. In 1994, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It was re-released in 1985, and then again in 2002 to celebrate its 20th anniversary, with altered shots and additional scenes. Learn More: The Retroist | IMDB | Wikipedia | Rotten Tomatoes Watch: iTunes | Amazon | Netflix | eBay | Rent on YouTube Movie Trivia: After his parents' divorce in 1960, Spielberg filled the void with an imaginary alien companion. He said that the imaginary alien was "a friend who could be the brother I never had and a father that I didn't feel I had anymore." During 1978, he announced he would shoot a film entitled Growing Up, which he would film in 28 days. The project was set aside because of delays on 1941, but the concept of making a small autobiographical film about childhood would stay with him. He also thought about a follow-up to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and began to develop a darker project he had planned with John Sayles called Night Skies in which malevolent aliens terrorize a family. Filming Raiders of the Lost Ark in Tunisia left Spielberg bored, and memories of his childhood creation resurfaced. He told screenwriter Melissa Mathison about Night Skies, and developed a subplot from the failed project, in which Buddy, the only friendly alien, befriends an autistic child. His abandonment on Earth in the script's final scene inspired the E.T. concept. She wrote a first draft titled E.T. and Me in eight weeks, which Steven Spielberg considered to be perfect. The script went through two more drafts, which deleted an "Eddie Haskell"-esq friend of Elliott. The chase sequence was also created, and he also suggested having the scene where E.T. got drunk. Columbia Pictures, which had been producing Night Skies, met Spielberg to discuss the script. The studio passed on it, calling it "a wimpy Walt Disney movie”. After this experience Steven Spielberg approached a more receptive Sid Sheinberg, president of MCA Universal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Great idea! I'm in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosweargamer Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 You mean they made a movie about the Atari game !?!?! Wow! Don't forget the 3 Easter Eggs! In Order: Are there any Easter Eggs is this game turned movie? The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 We're starting a bit late in the month, but Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to enjoy this film Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Zero Charisma!Did you know that a fateful Dungeons & Dragons game changed the course of cinema history? "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Zero Charisma! Sine supremus. Did you know that a fateful Dungeons & Dragons game changed the course of cinema history? Way to share some movie trivia there, Rowsdower! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leolinden Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Did you know that a fateful Dungeons & Dragons game changed the course of cinema history? interesting Retro obsessed dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosweargamer Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 The only movie podcast I listen to, The Retro Rewind Podcast, did and episode on E.T. not to long ago full of trivia, info and how well they think it still holds up today. http://retrorewindpodcast.com/episodes/et-the-extraterrestrial-podcast/ http://traffic.libsyn.com/joyfulgain/RRP069-E-T.mp3 The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 interesting Naturally this begs the questions: Who was the pushy kid that nobody liked? Did he end up being an actor or was that his one shot? "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Just FYI in case anyone else was looking: ET is NOT on Netflix or Amazon Prime streaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Adventure Square Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 This is a terrific idea! I just love hearing people's experiences with the retro culture that we shared in our youth. Movies are such a cool thing in that they encapsulate a time and place in their moment of theatrical release but are also like a shared dream. That's one thing I missed growing up at the movie theater. Saw a crapton of films, but didn't have a lot of discussions about 'em. The Star Wars universe was the exception, but there is just as much conversational value in lesser-known earth-bound fare. ... Just watched that audition vid, Row. Wow! You can't take any elements of making a movie for granted. Kid-casting must be insanely hard and require insane luck (just look at SW Ep 1 for opposite results). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted November 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Just FYI in case anyone else was looking: ET is NOT on Netflix or Amazon Prime streaming. Typically we are going to try to post movies that are. E.T. is a special exception however, and it's not available to stream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I have the collector's edition from when I worked for Blockbuster Online: Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew author of "The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion" book series available on Amazon! www.amazon.com/author/brianmatherne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBrian Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Pretty funny, I took E.T. from the junk box and we started watching it this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I have the collector's edition from when I worked for Blockbuster Online: "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeJ07 Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Did you know that George Lucas placed an ET easter egg in The Phantom Menace? "I'd buy that for a dollar!" -Smash T.V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Pretty funny, I took E.T. from the junk box and we started watching it this month. No regrets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 It includes the 1982 DVD, 2002 DVD, Bonus Materials DVD, & Soundtrack CD - along with the storybook and a film cell from the movie w/ COA........ Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew author of "The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion" book series available on Amazon! www.amazon.com/author/brianmatherne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video 61 Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 good idea to get people watching old movies! lots of movies on that list to enjoy. VIDEO 61 & ATARI SALESwww.atarisales.com22735 Congo St. NE, Stacy, MN 55079 651-462-2500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosweargamer Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 I haven't seen this in a while and may have only seen it twice. I remember when they released it into theaters during college with a new CGI scene or two and some changes. At the time, the movie actually didn't impress me as much as it used to. The CGI actually took away from the magic and I didn't care much for the drunk ET scene either. On a side note, I remember the ride at Universal Studios being solid. The main gimmick was that an ET would say your name at the end I think. The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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