Spielberg Page #7

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was 10 times as huge.

But Steven was in the process

of inventing himself.

I don't think

he himself knew

where this road

was gonna take him.

I'm sure,

like everybody else

at that age,

he was wondering

was he really as good

as he thought he was.

And turned out he was.

Scorsese:

Once you do "Jaws"

and then "Close Encounters,"

well, where do you go?

The bar, as they say,

is set a certain level.

And what do you do?

You get yourself

into shape

and you jump

over the bar again.

( crickets chirping )

- ( rustling )

- ( heavy breathing )

( screaming )

( screams )

- ( rustling )

- ( both screaming )

Spielberg:

Originally,

my idea for "E.T."

didn't include

an extraterrestrial.

It was gonna be

about how a divorce

affects childhood

and how it really

kind of traumatizes children.

- Dad's shirt.

- Yeah.

( chuckles )

Remember when he used to

take us out to the ball games

and take us

to the movies,

and we'd have

popcorn fights?

So, the overriding theme

was gonna be about

how do you fill the heart

of a lonely child?

Me, human.

Boy.

- Elliott.

- Spielberg:
And what

extraordinary event

would it take

to fill Elliott's heart

after losing his dad?

It would take something

as extraordinary

as an extraterrestrial

coming into his life.

( music playing )

Drew Barrymore:

Steven, as a filmmaker,

can create otherworldly,

almost impossible scenarios,

but do it

in a suburban setting

and with real families

and real people,

and so, you are able to go

outer worldly, outer space,

extraterrestrial,

implausible scenario,

because it's grounded

in human beings

and human stories.

Okay, he's a man

from outer space

and we're taking him

to his spaceship.

- Well, can't he just beam up?

- This is reality, Greg.

Spielberg:

"E.T." was a suburban

American story,

and suburbia

was all I knew

growing up.

So, the movies I made

in the '70s, the '80s,

were a reflection

of what I knew.

My main religion

was suburbia.

You know, the families

all getting together,

nobody gets divorced,

nobody's unhappy

with each other.

'Course, it's all false.

Maybe you just

probably imagined it...

- I couldn't have imagined it.

- Maybe it was a pervert or

deformed kid or something.

A deformed kid.

Maybe an elf

or a leprechaun.

It was nothing like that,

penis breath!

Elliott!

( laughs )

Sit down.

- ( clears throat )

- Dad would believe me.

( sighs )

Maybe you ought

to call your father

and tell him about it.

I can't.

He's in Mexico

with Sally.

Where's Mexico?

Spielberg:

I saw my childhood

through this family

and those young,

wonderful actors.

Peter Coyote:

When Steven works

with children,

he brings a kind of

"let's play" feeling.

He'd have to pull you back.

Grab on to this, right here.

Coyote:

It's not like somebody

talking baby talk to kids.

It's just he's really

communicating to them.

And it's sort of like

direct transmission.

Now he suddenly turns to you,

his eyes come open.

( screams, panting )

Do that to E.T.

Give that joyful scream

to E.T.

Do the line again,

really excited about

"Are they coming?"

Breathing, breathing,

breathing, breathing,

breathing.

- Work yourself up.

- Does this mean they're coming?

No, work

yourself up even more.

Work yourself up.

( panting )

Does this mean

they're coming?

Bigger, bigger.

"Does this mean

they're coming?"

Does this mean

they're coming?

- Yes!

- ( screams )

Melissa Mathison:

He had to be a bit

of a father, a bit of a pal,

but he was,

more than anything,

an observer of them,

and I think that was

a lot of fun for him.

- All of the kids

were fun for him.

- You gotta take me seriously.

- This is Halloween, folks.

Hello, my love.

- Hi, Granny.

Wait a sec.

Drew, this is for you,

my darling.

- Your apple.

- Spielberg:
I wanted to shoot

"E.T." in continuity.

It gives the kids

a context for the work

they're doing that day,

'cause they know

that tomorrow will be

tomorrow in the script

and yesterday was

yesterday in the script.

So, for young kids,

it gives them

a real confidence

that they're living a life

and they're living

a story's life.

Now they put the machine

on his chest,

and they're gonna give him

a shock to try to make him

come back.

And when they give him

the shock,

it's very loud

and it makes you jump

and cry even more.

They're putting it

on his chest now,

and he presses the button,

and it goes, "Pow!"

- ( crying )

- Are you okay, honey?

Huh? Are you okay?

Let's see.

Wipe your doll's face, too.

Thank you.

Thank you.

- ( crying )

- Okay. Oh.

For many years I wondered

about the universal appeal

of this movie,

and one day,

it hit me.

There are no two humans

on Earth

that are father apart

than those humans

and that alien creature.

Come.

Stay.

Coyote:

And if Elliott,

and the mother,

and the little girl,

and the scientist,

could all love and empathize

and make

a rapprochement

and a rapport

with this creature,

so, too, can any two humans

on Earth,

and I think that was

a subtext that bubbled up

through the film

and must have

touched something,

because you don't

get many films

that are universally

loved and appreciated

40 years later.

And it spoke

to something.

Some desire to be able

to reach across boundaries

and touch other people.

I'll be right here.

Bye.

Leonardo DiCaprio:

It's a very difficult

balance as a director

to push a young child

to do a dramatic sequence,

because you're obviously

manipulating them

to some capacity.

But Steven knew

how to take them as a director

into some

of these darker places

while handling them

with kid gloves.

( music playing )

A.O. Scott:

The children

in Spielberg's world

may be vulnerable,

may be unhappy,

but they're also very--

they're very powerful

and they're heroic.

( music playing )

Spielberg:

I think all of my movies

that have dealt

with young people

and their stories

are about the importance

of empowering these children

to take control

of the story,

at least take control

of their lives.

( yelps )

Kathleen Kennedy:

Steven intuitively

looks at the world

through

a lens of innocence,

and children

do that naturally.

So, it became

the kind of go-to lens

that he wanted to use

for his storytelling.

George Negus:

One of the most interesting

things that I've read about you

was a headline which said,

"Steven Spielberg is making

movies and a fortune

while he's still growing up.

He's really

just a big kid."

Is that how you see yourself?

Is that a reasonable comment?

I think it's reasonable.

You have to understand--

how do you define a big kid?

A responsible big kid,

or just an irresponsible

big kid?

Because I think

you have to be responsible,

but you don't want

to lose the child in you,

because that's

what keeps you young,

and that's what

keeps you in touch,

and keeps a smile

on your face.

I don't quite know

what it would be like

to become an adult.

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