E.T. Page #8

Gertie, watching the TV monitor, responds to the program by practicing the

"B" words. E.T. pokes his head up from behind the monitor and says

"BBBBBBB." Gertie stares at him as he repeats the "B" sound, then lowers

his head back down below the TV.

"You said 'B'," says Gertie. "B," repeats E.T. "You said 'B,' good," says

Gertie. "B...GOOD," repeats E.T.

[This is a set up for the closing communication between E.T. and Gertie

before he flies away in the spacecraft. This is also the first moment that

he spoke an English word. Many children and parents in the audience can

identify with this moment, and the first moral precept usually taught to a

child:
be good.]

Mary hangs up the phone and tells Gertie that she has to pick up Elliott.

She asks Gertie to be a good girl. "Mommy, he can talk," says Gertie. "Of

course he can talk," says Mary, referring to the TV program.

[The humor is generated from Mary's misunderstanding of Gertie's

statement.]

As Mary leaves, E.T. walks out from behind the TV. He walks to a phone and

stares. "Phone," says Mary. "Phone," says E.T. E.T. presses the numbers of

the phone. "You want to call somebody?" asks Gertie.

[This establishes E.T.'s objective: to communicate with his fellow

creatures so that he can return home.]

INT:
HOUSE: DAY

Elliott walks up the stairs to his room. Mary's voice can be heard from

below saying she refuses to pay for frogs.

[This is a fine example of the point of attack for a scene: Instead of

showing what would happen in real life (Mary's discussions with the teacher

about Elliott's behavior in the classroom), the scene picks up with what is

important for the audience: Elliott's discovery that E.T. can now talk. A

scene showing Mary in school would be redundant and dramatically

irrelevant.]

Elliott is walking towards his room when he hears Gertie talking to E.T. in

her room. He drops his bags on the floor, and quickly enters her room.

"Be good, be good," says Gertie as she closes the doors to her closet.

Elliott pushes Gertie away from the closet and opens it. Inside is E.T.

dressed up in girl clothes with a blonde wig on his head. He has a rabbit

fur around his neck and wears a black hat with flowers.

[This is completely inappropriate attire for an alien, whether male or

female. The visual incongruity of E.T. in girl's clothes generates the

laughter.]

"Oh God!" says Elliott. "Elliott," says E.T. "What?" says Elliott, not yet

realizing that it was E.T. who spoke. "Elliott, Elliott," repeats E.T. "I

taught him how to talk. He can talk now," says Gertie.

[Elliott, with the help of Gertie and the TV program, has completed one of

Elliott's objectives: communicating with E.T.]

Gertie points out the things that E.T. has brought upstairs: electrical

toys and the plant. She wonders what he needs this for. E.T. holds the

cartoon page of the newspaper out to Elliott. "E.T., can you say that? Can

you say E.T.?" asks Elliott. "E.T.," repeats E.T. Elliott laughs with joy.

E.T keeps repeating his name as he turns and walks through the closet into

Elliott's room.

"E.T., be good," says E.T. "Be good," I taught him that too," says Gertie.

["Be good" is a fundamental value taught children, as basic as the

principle "There's no place like home," taught in the WIZARD OF OZ.]

"You should give him his dignity. This is the most ridiculous thing I've

ever seen," says Elliott.

E.T. hands Elliott the newspaper, and points to the Buck Rodgers comic

strip. He then says "PHONE". Elliott is amazed at this. E.T. walks into the

closet and says "HOME." Elliott confirms that this is E.T.'s home. E.T.

then turns, walks to the window, points to the sky, and says "E.T. HOME

PHONE."

"E.T. PHONE HOME" says Gertie. "E.T. PHONE HOME" says Elliott.

"He wants to call somebody," says Gertie.

[This reconfirms E.T.'s objective.]

Mike walks into the room and laughs at E.T.'s attire.

"E.T. Phone Home," says E.T.

"Oh my God, he's talking now," says Mike.

E.T. once again points out the window and repeats that he wants to call

home.

"And they'll come?, says Elliott.

"Come?" responds E.T. "Home, home" he repeats.

EXT:
STREET: NIGHT

A truck drives down the street. Inside a man with earphones listens to the

conversations in the neighborhood homes, as he fine tunes his electronic

eavesdropping equipment. He focuses in on Elliott's voice.

[Jeopardy:
the forces of the antagonist are getting closer and closer. They

are now inside the privacy of the protagonist's home, listening to their

most intimate conversations.]

INT:
GARAGE: NIGHT

Elliott, Mike and Harvey are in the garage searching for objects that E.T.

could use in building his communications device. Elliott restates that he

has "absolute power" and that E.T. belongs to him.

[Elliott's objective is to possess E.T., not set him free. Freeing the one

he loves is the lesson he will have to learn in this story.]

EXT:
STREET: NIGHT

The van containing electronic eavesdropping equipment drives past Elliott's

house.

[They are still in jeopardy: their actions and words are being monitored.]

INT:
GARAGE: DAY

Mike tells Elliott that E.T. doesn't look too good anymore.

"Don't say that, we're fine!" says Elliott.

"What's all this we stuff. You say we all the time now. Look Elliott,

I think he might be getting sick," replies Michael.

[This confirms Elliott's belief that he considers himself and E.T. to be

one being. It also introduces further jeopardy for E.T. Besides being

tracked by the antagonist, he is also becoming sick.]

INT:
VAN: NIGHT

The man with the earphones is listening to Elliott and Michael's

conversation as they discuss E.T.'s sickness.

INT:
GARAGE: DAY

Mike tells Elliott to grab the fuzzbuster. Elliott pulls his father's blue

shirt out from the shelf. They reminisce about the days when he used to

take them to baseball games and the movies, where they would have baseball

fights. Mike says that they'll do that again, but Elliott doesn't really

believe him. They each smell their father's shirt.

"Old Spice," says Mike.

"Sea Breeze," says Elliott.

[Here a prop (their father's shirt) is used to reveal the emotional

relationships between the two boys and their father. Audience empathy is

generated for them because they have been abandoned by their father. The

audience's anger is transferred from the father to the antagonist who is

eavesdropping on this private intimate moment.]

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