E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial/Trivia

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• Cast the Expert: The doctors are real doctors. The commentary mentions that this was because actors wouldn't quite speak as if they had been using the proper terms for years because, well, they hadn't been.
• Deleted Scene: Harrison Ford filmed a scene as the principal of Elliot's school, set after he frees the frogs, which Spielberg cut because he felt Ford's presence was too distracting.
• Enforced Method Acting: When Gertie bursts in on Elliot and sees E.T. for the first time, Drew Barrymore was actually scared when E.T. suddenly stretched his neck up.
• What Could Have Been: The first choice to play Gertie? Juliette Lewis. Her father made her turn down the role and Barrymore was cast instead.
  • Stan Winston turned down the opportunity to work on E.T.. He would regret doing so.
  • The book "E.T. from Concept to Classic" features many plot points and scenes cut from the script. One subplot from an early draft was to have a rival to Elliott named Lance who wanted to expose E.T.. The spaceship was going to land in a parking lot, but it was changed to a forest because that sounded more magical, amongst many others.