E.T. Page #3

[The stalks are obstacles that obstruct both his path and his vision. It

also clutters the visuals and forces the audience to pay closer attention.

The suspense increases because they aren't sure whether he'll meet up with

the alien or the coyote.]

Elliott pushes aside some stalks and shines the light into the face of E.T.

Together, in unison, the scream. Elliot drops his light, then continues to

scream as he looks around the field. E.T. cries out and runs away through

the cornfield.

[Their reactions upon seeing each other were identical. This is the first

instance of a series of situations which will "merge" their characters to

such an extent that whatever empathy the audience has for one they will

also have for the other.]

EXT:
BACKYARD: NIGHT

Elliott runs into his backyard. His play swings sway back and forth in the

air, as if someone had just bumped into them. Two garbage pails fall over

near an open metal gate at the top of a stone stairway. The garbage rolls

out of the cans and down the stone stairs. A red light by the gate lights

the stone stairway.

[The audience psychologically associates this red light with E.T.'s red

lighted heart, and makes the inference that he had run up the staircase and

out the gate.]

Elliott has an expression of wonderment and gratification on his face as he

looks up the staircase, for he has just established the existence of the

creature in the shed.]

EXT:
GARAGE: DAY

Elliott rides down the driveway on his bicycle. He next rides down a dirt

road that overlooks the suburban community.

[Elliott's new objective is to locate the creature.]

EXT:
FOREST ROAD: DAY

Elliott holds a bag of candy in one hand as he pours some into the other

hand. He tosses candy onto the round as he walks through the woods calling

out for the creature.

In another part of the woods Elliott lays his bike down, then continues to

toss candy and yell out "hello!" He sees a man on the road below and

quickly hides behind a tree.

["Keys," the faceless antagonist, is still pursuing the alien.]

Elliott runs back to his bike, then rides down the forest road past a wire

fence. The alien's fingers side down the side to the tree. He was watching

Elliott.

[Elliott is in jeopardy both from the faceless man and the faceless alien.]

INT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: DAY

Elliott's mother sits at the tale with the dog, Harvey, at her side.

Elliott, Michael and Gertie are eating supper.

[This is a home without a father, which creates more empathy for the

protagonist.]

Gertie asks Elliott what he's going as for Halloween. He's depressed, and

replies that he's not going. Mike mocks him by suggesting that he go as a

goblin. Elliott snaps back, telling Mike to shut up. The mother tries to

explain that it's not that they don't believe him, but Elliott cries out

that the creature was real.

[The audience also knows that the creature is real. This generates more

empathy for the protagonist, because he is mocked and not believed when he

is expressing the truth.]

Mike offers other suggestions: perhaps it was an iguana, a deformed child,

or maybe an Elf or a Leprechaun. Elliott gets angry and shouts "It was

nothing like that, penis breath." Mary, his mother shouts at him to sit

down. Elliott responds with "Dad would believe me." Mary replies "Maybe you

ought to call your father and tell him about it." "I can't. He's in Mexico

with Sally" says Elliott. Both Mary and Mike are upset, while Gertie asks

"Where's Mexico?" Mary excuses herself and leaves the table. She walks to

the window as Mike tells Elliott that he's going to kill him. "If you ever

see it again, don't touch it. Just call me and we'll have someone come and

take it away," says Mary. "Like the dog catcher?" says Gertie. "But they'll

give it a lobotomy, or do experiments on it or something," says Elliott.

[This sets up the audience's expectations about the harm that will befall

the alien when he is captured.]

After a bit of dialogue concerning who should be doing the dishes, Mary

leaves the room saying "He hates Mexico."

[This scene explores the emotional relationships between the family members

in greater detail. Empathy is also generated for Mary who was abandoned by

her husband. She is left with the responsibility of raising the children

while he's traveling with his new girlfriend to Mexico, a country which he

hates.]

Elliott takes some dishes to the sink, turns on the faucet and gazes out

the kitchen window as water steams up from the sink.

EXT:
BACKYARD: NIGHT

A crescent moon floats in the sky. A bright light is on in the shed. In

front of the shed Elliott lies inside a sleeping bag on a folding chair

with a flashlight in his hand. He hears the sound of feet walking in the

underbrush.

Elliott sits up to see the alien standing in front of the shed. The alien

groans as Elliott freezes from fear in his chair. He tries to call out for

his mother, but can't get the words out of his mouth. He next tries to call

Mike, but fear makes him choke on his words.

The alien approaches Elliott. The bright light from the shed makes it

impossible to see his face: only the outline of his form is visible. The

alien walks right up to the edge of the lawn chair.

[The scene is filled with suspense because Elliott may be in jeopardy from

the creature.]

The alien slowly moves its hand over the chair, then drops candies onto the

blanket. Elliott relaxes.

[This non-verbal gesture by E.T. demonstrates that he is harmless. The

tension in the scene is thereby released. Elliott has achieved his

objective:
he established contact with the alien.]

INT:
ELLIOTT'S HOUSE: NIGHT

Elliott places candy on the carpet, then walks backwards down the hallway

towards his room. E.T. walks up the stairs and reaches out for the candy,

which he then takes into his hand and eats.

[Elliott's new objective is to get the alien into his room. His main

obstacles are to somehow persuade the alien to come into the house, while

not waking his family.]

[This scene also is a good example of how to structure a scene's beginning.

In real life, the scene would have started in the backyard, tracked through

the kitchen, the living room and then up the stairs. But since all of that

information would have been redundant, picking the action up from the top

of the stairs was sufficient.]

INT:
ELLIOTT'S ROOM: NIGHT

Elliott places candy on the floor by the entrance to his room. A sign on

his door contains the word "ENTER." E.T picks up the candy.

Elliott has run out of candy. He goes to his desk in search for more. He

opens some drawers, but doesn't find any. When he returns to the doorway,

E.T. has already entered the room. E.T. pulls a box down from the table,

then knocks a can filled with pens onto the floor. This makes a loud noise,

and forces Elliott to quickly close the door to his room.

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