E.T. Page #2

The men with flashlights pointed up towards the sky watch the space- craft

fly away. They hear E.T.'s groan, and in unison point their flashlights in

his direction.

[Not only is the small childlike creature abandoned, but he is still in

jeopardy of being captured by those who pursue him.]

[This is the inciting event in E.T.'s story: his spacecraft has deserted

him.]

EXT:
HILLTOP: NIGHT

Below lies the city, lit up against the dark night sky. E.T slowly makes

his way down the slope.

Men with flashlights follow. They reach the hilltop, search the underbrush

for the alien, then start down the slope after him.

[This concludes the prelude to the story. Both the protagonist and

antagonist have been introduced, and audience empathy has been established

for the protagonist. The protagonist's primary objective is to survive and

find a way home, while the antagonist's primary objective is to capture the

alien.]

EXT:
SUBURBAN HOUSE: NIGHT

[This is an establishing shot.]

INT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: NIGHT

A group of boys are sitting around a table playing a DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS

game. One boy is on the telephone ordering a pizza. They throw wads of

paper at each other as they play.

Elliott, the youngest boy, sits behind the counter. He's separated from the

other boys. After a few moments he yells that he's ready to play the game.

[The character's positions are structured to emphasize Elliott's separation

from the others.]

One of the boys tells Elliott that he can't join when they are in the

middle of the game.

[Audience empathy is generated for the young child who is being excluded

from the game.]

Elliott walks up to the table and yells at his brother, Mike. Michael says

that Elliott has to ask Steve, who is the Game Master, and who has absolute

power.

[The notion of "absolute power" is set up here, for a "payoff" later when

Elliott uses it to keep Michael silent about E.T.]

[Elliott's objective here is to play the game, but also to be accepted by

the group and gain the respect of the older boys.]

Steve tells Elliott that first he has to wait for the pizza, then when he

brings it back he can play. Steve gives him money for the pizza. Elliott

picks up his baseball and glove, then leaves the room.

[The ball and glove are props that will be used in the story.]

[Elliott's sub-objective is to get the pizza. Once this is accomplished,

he'll be able to play the game.]

EXT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: NIGHT

It's a rainy, misty night. Elliott, with ball and glove in hand wait at the

bottom of the driveway for the pizza. A car pulls up and parks in the

driveway. Elliott pays the driver, then takes the pizza box from him as the

car pulls out of the driveway.

Elliott walks up the driveway and into the garage. He hears a noise in the

backyard, then calls out the name "HARVEY," presumably his dogs name.

INT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: NIGHT

Elliott's mother wears an orange outfit as she works in the kitchen. She

bends over to put dishes into the dishwasher. When she does this one of the

young boys reaches out to put his finger on her rear. Mike yells for him to

stop. He pulls his finger away.

INT:
PATIO: NIGHT

Elliot walks past the ping pong table when he hears more noises in the

backyard. Again he calls out the name "Harvey."

[This generates tension and suspense in the audience.]

With the pizza box in hand, Elliot walks past the patio table and towards

the shed in the backyard. A bright crescent moon hangs in the night sky.

[This adds enchantment to the scene.]

There is a mist in the air, and a bright light shines in the shed. Elliott

places the pizza box on the ground as he approaches the shed. He's still

carrying the baseball and glove as he stands in front of the shed's

entrance. He tosses the ball into the shed. After a few seconds the ball is

tossed back out at him and hits him on the foot.

[This is the payoff to the setup of the baseball prop. This event surprises

both Elliott and the audience.]

Elliott becomes frightened, turns and steps on the pizza box as he runs

towards the house.

[This is the inciting event in Elliott's story: there is some creature

hiding out in his shed that will change his whole life.]

INT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: NIGHT

Elliott's mother is talking to the boys when Elliott runs into the house

screaming that there's something in the tool shed. He tells them that it

threw a ball at him, but they continue to ignore him until he screams

"QUIET!" "Nobody go out there," says Elliott. The boys immediately jump up

from the table. Two boys grab kitchen knives as Michael tells his mother to

stay inside. He and his friends will check it out. She yells at them to put

the knives back as she follows them outside.

EXT:
SHED: NIGHT

The light is still on in the shed.

EXT:
PATIO: NIGHT

Elliott's mother walks into the yard with a flashlight in her hand. She is

surrounded by the boys as they approach the shed. The mother says that

there's nothing in there as Michael walks through the entrance. Michael

bends down and finds tracks on the dirt floor. "The coyote's come back

again, Ma." he says. His mother becomes frightened and orders them all back

into the house.

[Jeopardy is introduced into the situation. Even though the audience knows

that it is probably the alien in the shed, the scene increases the

tension.]

On his way back to the house, Michael sees the pizza box. He bends down,

opens the box, then takes out a piece. He's angry at Elliott. Elliott tries

to explain that it was just an accident, but his brother is still angry.

When the mother asks who ordered the pizza, Elliott points to one of Mike's

friends. This makes the friend mad at Elliott. Elliot tries to persuade his

mother that there is a creature in the shed, but she doesn't believe him.

They walk into the house.

[Empathy is generated for Elliott because the two boys are unfairly angry

at him and his mother doesn't believe him.]

INT:
SHED: NIGHT

The alien's fingers point out into the shed entrance, then wrap around the

side of the door. The sound of his heavy breathing is heard.

[This establishes for the audience that he really is in the shed. They feel

sorry for Elliott because he was telling the truth and no one believed

him.]

INT:
ELLIOTT'S BEDROOM: NIGHT

The clock on the end table indicates 2:00. Next to the clock is a picture

of a dog, presumably Harvey. This same dog lies asleep in the bed. He hears

a noise and picks up his head. He is in the lower half of a bunk bed. On

the top bunk sits Elliott. He is awake as he listens to the noise outside.

[Elliott's objective is to prove there's a creature in the shed.]

EXT:
BACKYARD: NIGHT

Elliott opens a gate and walks into the backyard. He carries a flashlight

in his hand and shines it into the cornfield next to his house. He walks

into the field.

EXT:
CORNFIELD: NIGHT

Elliott walks into the cornfield. He whistles, and gets entangled in the

cornstalks as he walks. He sees tracks in the dirt with his baseball

nearby. He continues to walk through the field.

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