E.T. Page #10

EXT:
COMMUNITY: DAY

Establishing shot of the neighborhood. On a hilltop by a fence stands

another person in a white sheet (presumably Gertie). She kicks dirt at the

bicycle near the fence.

[This is the end objective of Mike, Elliot and E.T.: to connect up with

Gertie at the lookout. Their obstacle is to get E.T past all the children

on the streets.]

EXT:
STREET: DAY

The sun is setting. Children in Halloween costumes walk through the

streets. E.T. walks between Mike and Elliott, as he watches the other

children parade by. One child dressed as YODA from RETURN OF THE JEDI walks

by. E.T. turns and walks after him saying "HOME,HOME."

[The laughter is obviously the result of E.T. misinterpreting the situation

by believing that the child is another alien.]

They walk towards the setting sun as Mike reminds Elliott that he must be

back by one hour after sunset. Elliott promises to try, but he wants Mike

to cover for him.

[This creates jeopardy for the characters, because if they don't complete

their mission within the time frame, they will have trouble with Mary.]

EXT:
HILLTOP: DAY

The sun is setting as Mike, Elliott, and two small characters covered with

sheets stand on the hilltop overlooking the city. Elliott asks Mike to help

him lift E.T. onto the bike. Mike does and then tells Elliott that they

will be waiting for him.

[They have reached this objective. The next objective for Elliott and E.T

is to get to the landing site in the forest.]

EXT:
FOREST: DAY

Elliott, with E.T sitting in the front basket, rides his bicycle through

the forest. The road becomes very bumpy. Elliott tells E.T. that they will

have to walk from there. Suddenly, E.T. takes control of the bike through

the use of his telekinetic powers and speeds it forward. Eliott becomes

frightened as E.T. speeds the bike towards a cliff and then drives it over

the edge. E.T. then makes the bike up through the air.

[The audience gulps from suspense and then goes into elation by this

surprising and magical turn of events.]

They continue to fly over the tree tops. Elliott yells "Not so high, not so

high."

[E.T and Elliott both have white hoods over their heads, which further

visually reinforces their identification.]

They ride across the front of the moon, the guiding light of magic. Elliott

laughs with glee. When they start their descent he begs E.T. not to crash.

They hit the ground. The bike turns over, and both E.T. and Elliott are

thrown to the ground.

INT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: NIGHT

The grandfather clock indicates 9:45. Mary watches the clock as she sits in

front of lighted candles. The time has long passed when Elliott was

supposed to be home. The lighted candles give a church like effect as if

Mary was praying for the safety of her children. She is upset that they

haven't returned. She blows out the candles, then taps out another candle

with her wand.

[There is jeopardy for the children as Mary and the audience wonder if they

are okay. Empathy is generated for Mary who is truly concerned for the

safety of her children.]

EXT:
FOREST: NIGHT

The sun has set. It's nighttime in the forest. E.T opens a box which

contains the saw blade brought to him by Elliott. Elliott ties a rope up to

a tree branch. He then opens the umbrella which is lined with aluminum foil

and points it towards the star-filled sky. It will function as a

transmitter. E.T. places a coat hanger with nails above the saw blade,

plugs a cable into a battery, then activates the toy language teaching

device.

[They succeeded in completing their objective to reach the landing site.

Their new objective is to communicate with E.T.'s fellow aliens in order to

accomplish E.T.'s primary objective, which is to return home.]

INT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: NIGHT

Mary, still dressed in her leopard outfit, leaves the house. She is very

upset that her children have not yet returned home. She mumbles to herself,

sticks the wand in her mouth, and shakes the car keys. She gets into the

car and mumbles that their father is going to hear about this one.

"Mexico!" she says. She drives down the driveway and into the street to

search for her children.

[This creates more empathy for Mary, who is very upset that her small

children are out this late. The parents in the audience can easily identify

with her. But the real function of this scene is to get her out of the

house so that the antagonist can invade their home. She could have stayed

inside, we never see her in the car searching for the children, and the

next time we do see her is by the refrigerator in the kitchen.]

Men get out of a parked car as Mary drives away. They take suitcases out of

a second car, then walk up the driveway to Elliott's house.

EXT:
FOREST: NIGHT

Elliott watches the treetops sway. He scratches his face, as does E.T.

Together they stare at the stars. The wind causes the branch to sway, which

then pulls the rope, which, in turn, pulls a fork across the saw blade.

This drags the nails in the hanger across the flat surface of the blade,

and sends signals out into space. Elliott is overjoyed and shouts that it

works, while E.T. repeats the word "Home." Together they gaze up to the

stars.

[They have accomplished their objective of sending a message into space.

Now, they wait to receive a signal back.]

INT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: NIGHT

The light from a flashlight crosses in front of a pumpkin's face. More

light floods through the slits of Gertie's door. A hand holding a

flashlight opens Gertie's door, and shines the light into the face of a

black doll.

[This has an irritating and frightening effect on anyone in the audience

who has ever had the experience of having a light shined into their face.]

Light from the flashlight searches around Gertie's room.

INT:
HALLWAY: NIGHT

A pile of yellow electrical cord is stacked on the floor near a chair. It

slowly unwinds as it is pulled by someone in Elliott's room. The door to

Elliott's room is shut, with a poster sign hanging on it saying "DO NOT

ENTER." The silhouette of a man passes behind the door, as sounds of a

Geiger counter filter into the air. Muffled voices are heard as the cord is

pulled to its fullest extent. It forces a chair to slam against the wall.

[This last action has a jarring effect on the audience. Emotionally, the

audience is outraged at the invasion of the children's rooms, and this

creates hatred for the antagonist and his cohorts. They are still faceless

so the audience can project the face of the persons they most hate onto

these characters. This personalizes the story for them and gets them more

intensely involved on an emotional basis. They also become intellectually

involved, because the sounds of the Geiger counter and the extension of the

cord to its maximum length forces them to infer that the antagonist has

found E.T.'s "home" in the closet. This involves the audience in the story

much more than if the filmmaker had shown the antagonist poking around in

the closet.]

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