1 00:00:09,562 --> 00:00:10,162 Speaker 1: Originals. 2 00:00:10,322 --> 00:00:19,602 Speaker 2: This is an iHeart original. It's late summer nineteen eighty one. 3 00:00:20,202 --> 00:00:23,162 Speaker 2: Eleven year old Matt de Merit is at his house 4 00:00:23,322 --> 00:00:27,962 Speaker 2: in Torrance, California. When the phone rings, his mother picks 5 00:00:27,962 --> 00:00:32,802 Speaker 2: it up. Matt can hear just one side of the conversation. 6 00:00:33,562 --> 00:00:39,402 Speaker 1: Yes, Yes, that's my son. Who jaws Steven Spielberg. 7 00:00:40,162 --> 00:00:44,762 Speaker 2: Jaws Steven Spielberg, the same director who has spent the 8 00:00:44,802 --> 00:00:49,282 Speaker 2: past six years on top of Hollywood and who currently 9 00:00:49,482 --> 00:00:53,322 Speaker 2: has the highest grossing movie of the summer in Raiders 10 00:00:53,362 --> 00:00:54,362 Speaker 2: of the Lost Arc. 11 00:00:55,042 --> 00:00:56,762 Speaker 1: In the distance, I could hear my mom and I 12 00:00:56,842 --> 00:00:59,962 Speaker 1: keep having this very interesting conversation with someone who is 13 00:01:00,002 --> 00:01:05,242 Speaker 1: interested in hiring me. That's Matt, and basically told my 14 00:01:05,282 --> 00:01:08,282 Speaker 1: mom that they're doing a movie and it involves someone 15 00:01:08,362 --> 00:01:10,602 Speaker 1: being in a costume. Didn't want to give away too 16 00:01:10,682 --> 00:01:13,962 Speaker 1: much for someone being in a costume to walk around. 17 00:01:14,442 --> 00:01:18,282 Speaker 2: To put this call in perspective, Matt wasn't a child 18 00:01:18,402 --> 00:01:22,522 Speaker 2: actor or a performer of any kind at eleven. He 19 00:01:22,602 --> 00:01:27,442 Speaker 2: also wasn't a cinematographer or effects artist. He was just 20 00:01:27,602 --> 00:01:31,202 Speaker 2: a suburban kid enjoying his summer before he had to 21 00:01:31,242 --> 00:01:35,082 Speaker 2: go back to school, and school wasn't going so well 22 00:01:35,122 --> 00:01:39,202 Speaker 2: for Matt, which we'll get too shortly. But Matt had 23 00:01:39,242 --> 00:01:43,882 Speaker 2: something no other kid had, something that made him shy 24 00:01:44,082 --> 00:01:48,562 Speaker 2: at times, but something Steven Spielberg needed in order to 25 00:01:48,642 --> 00:01:52,962 Speaker 2: embark on his most ambitious movie yet, a movie that 26 00:01:53,362 --> 00:01:57,922 Speaker 2: for many years held the title highest grossing film of 27 00:01:58,002 --> 00:02:02,522 Speaker 2: all time, and from a certain point of view, a 28 00:02:02,602 --> 00:02:05,602 Speaker 2: movie that would feature Matt as the star. 29 00:02:06,642 --> 00:02:06,922 Speaker 3: The movie. 30 00:02:06,922 --> 00:02:11,482 Speaker 2: Movie went by many different names during its development, Watch 31 00:02:11,602 --> 00:02:16,522 Speaker 2: the Skies, Night Skies, a Boy's Life, Et and Me, 32 00:02:17,162 --> 00:02:23,282 Speaker 2: and finally Et the Extra Terrestrial, And for Matt Demerit, 33 00:02:23,322 --> 00:02:27,322 Speaker 2: it would prove a bitter sweet experience, one that would 34 00:02:27,402 --> 00:02:30,562 Speaker 2: help him through one of the most formative events in 35 00:02:30,602 --> 00:02:33,482 Speaker 2: his life. For now, all he knew was that he 36 00:02:33,562 --> 00:02:37,282 Speaker 2: needed to have a conversation with his parents and go 37 00:02:37,362 --> 00:02:41,762 Speaker 2: meet Steven Spielberg, And well there was one other thing. 38 00:02:42,202 --> 00:02:44,562 Speaker 3: Mom, Who's Stephen Spielberg? 39 00:02:46,322 --> 00:02:52,002 Speaker 2: For iHeartRadio? This is very Special episodes an iHeart original podcast, 40 00:02:52,482 --> 00:02:56,722 Speaker 2: I'm your host Danish Schwortz and this is Et and Me. 41 00:03:01,322 --> 00:03:03,442 Speaker 2: Et is one of those movies that I have such 42 00:03:03,482 --> 00:03:06,522 Speaker 2: a distinct memory of my dad taking us to see 43 00:03:06,562 --> 00:03:09,442 Speaker 2: the re release in theaters when we were kids. So 44 00:03:09,482 --> 00:03:12,122 Speaker 2: it was very, very exciting for me just to listen 45 00:03:12,122 --> 00:03:14,722 Speaker 2: to this episode because, to be honest, I knew absolutely 46 00:03:14,962 --> 00:03:16,882 Speaker 2: nothing about how it was made. 47 00:03:17,042 --> 00:03:17,522 Speaker 3: I love it. 48 00:03:17,642 --> 00:03:20,522 Speaker 4: One of our best episodes last season was the Titanic 49 00:03:20,562 --> 00:03:24,242 Speaker 4: episode about how the cast and crew got poisoned on set, 50 00:03:24,282 --> 00:03:26,362 Speaker 4: and it's similar. This is a good lane for us 51 00:03:26,402 --> 00:03:29,402 Speaker 4: where we have some beloved film and we're getting a 52 00:03:29,402 --> 00:03:31,202 Speaker 4: lot of the behind the scenes from the people who 53 00:03:31,242 --> 00:03:32,122 Speaker 4: actually made it. 54 00:03:32,242 --> 00:03:32,442 Speaker 3: Yeah. 55 00:03:32,442 --> 00:03:34,562 Speaker 5: Also this speak surprises like the creature for the Black 56 00:03:34,602 --> 00:03:36,402 Speaker 5: Lagoon shows up. I love this one for I was 57 00:03:36,402 --> 00:03:37,362 Speaker 5: all the Hollywood history. 58 00:03:37,402 --> 00:03:38,962 Speaker 3: Should we dive back in hell y. 59 00:03:42,682 --> 00:03:45,642 Speaker 2: In a lot of ways, Matt de Merritt's childhood looked 60 00:03:45,682 --> 00:03:50,042 Speaker 2: a lot like everyone else's, maybe like yours. He grew 61 00:03:50,122 --> 00:03:53,202 Speaker 2: up in the suburbs of Torrance, a coastal city in 62 00:03:53,242 --> 00:03:58,282 Speaker 2: southern California with beautiful views and a laid back atmosphere. 63 00:03:58,722 --> 00:04:02,202 Speaker 2: The local newspaper is named the Daily Breeze, if that 64 00:04:02,322 --> 00:04:07,122 Speaker 2: tells you anything. Matt had some artistic inclinations, which he 65 00:04:07,202 --> 00:04:10,642 Speaker 2: might have inherited from his father, an illustrator for the 66 00:04:10,682 --> 00:04:11,442 Speaker 2: Post Office. 67 00:04:12,002 --> 00:04:14,362 Speaker 1: I would draw a lot as a kid. I love 68 00:04:14,482 --> 00:04:17,122 Speaker 1: to look at my dad's drawings and ask him to 69 00:04:17,202 --> 00:04:19,882 Speaker 1: draw me monsters and stuff. I was so fascinated when 70 00:04:19,882 --> 00:04:22,842 Speaker 1: he could draw creatures for me, so I tried to 71 00:04:22,922 --> 00:04:26,522 Speaker 1: emulate him. That was kind of kid I was. I 72 00:04:26,642 --> 00:04:30,562 Speaker 1: drew a lot, and I skateboarded a lot, and I 73 00:04:30,682 --> 00:04:33,082 Speaker 1: like to hang out with my friends and go to 74 00:04:33,122 --> 00:04:37,642 Speaker 1: the park and do stuff like that. That's Matt. 75 00:04:37,882 --> 00:04:41,162 Speaker 2: And while there was plenty of normal kid stuff to do, 76 00:04:41,722 --> 00:04:45,642 Speaker 2: Matt did it a little differently. That's because Matt was 77 00:04:45,722 --> 00:04:47,082 Speaker 2: born without legs. 78 00:04:47,562 --> 00:04:51,362 Speaker 1: Well, apparently, my mother took an anti nausea medication which 79 00:04:51,362 --> 00:04:54,842 Speaker 1: she was pregnant with me called ben Deckton, and that 80 00:04:54,962 --> 00:04:58,002 Speaker 1: was a popular drug at the time for that condition, 81 00:04:58,562 --> 00:05:01,082 Speaker 1: and it turned out that there were a lot of 82 00:05:01,082 --> 00:05:04,322 Speaker 1: birth defects that seemed to be correlated with the drug, 83 00:05:04,922 --> 00:05:08,362 Speaker 1: and so all the parents filed a class action lawsuit 84 00:05:08,402 --> 00:05:12,522 Speaker 1: against the maker the drug, Meryl Dow. Meryl Dao had 85 00:05:12,522 --> 00:05:17,322 Speaker 1: a lot of lawyers and basically were able to counter 86 00:05:17,402 --> 00:05:19,522 Speaker 1: all the evidence that they had that it might have 87 00:05:19,642 --> 00:05:22,962 Speaker 1: caused birth effects. So nothing really ever came for it 88 00:05:23,002 --> 00:05:24,522 Speaker 1: could either have been that or could have been a 89 00:05:24,602 --> 00:05:27,362 Speaker 1: natural birth effect. You know, sometimes it happens where you 90 00:05:27,362 --> 00:05:29,202 Speaker 1: can't really attreat to anything specific. 91 00:05:29,682 --> 00:05:32,962 Speaker 2: For a variety of reasons, prosthetic legs were a poor 92 00:05:32,962 --> 00:05:37,602 Speaker 2: solution for Matt, who learned to locomot around in a wheelchair. 93 00:05:37,922 --> 00:05:41,122 Speaker 2: In addition to walking on his hands. He even learned 94 00:05:41,162 --> 00:05:42,202 Speaker 2: to use a skateboard. 95 00:05:42,922 --> 00:05:45,002 Speaker 1: I loved skateboard parks when I was a kid. I 96 00:05:45,002 --> 00:05:48,082 Speaker 1: couldn't do tricks, you know, quite at the Tony Hawk level, 97 00:05:48,442 --> 00:05:50,282 Speaker 1: but I could go on those bowls, and I could 98 00:05:50,362 --> 00:05:53,202 Speaker 1: do like hand plants and stuff like that. 99 00:05:53,802 --> 00:05:57,162 Speaker 2: Matt says that because he didn't lose his legs exactly, 100 00:05:57,482 --> 00:05:59,242 Speaker 2: he never really missed them. 101 00:05:59,602 --> 00:06:02,322 Speaker 1: I just always perceived my condition as normal. That's all 102 00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:05,082 Speaker 1: I was used to. It wasn't struggling with the loss 103 00:06:05,082 --> 00:06:08,322 Speaker 1: of limbs. I just always got around own naturally, you know. 104 00:06:08,402 --> 00:06:10,802 Speaker 1: I learned to walk on my hands, just like anyone 105 00:06:11,042 --> 00:06:14,162 Speaker 1: learns to walk on their legs. Reaching for stuff or 106 00:06:14,202 --> 00:06:16,762 Speaker 1: asking for help wasn't of a problem. I could either 107 00:06:16,802 --> 00:06:19,162 Speaker 1: climb up and get the thing that I needed, or 108 00:06:19,562 --> 00:06:22,202 Speaker 1: I always aid the support system for people who could 109 00:06:22,282 --> 00:06:24,002 Speaker 1: get stuff that was out of my reach. 110 00:06:25,562 --> 00:06:29,082 Speaker 2: But there were other challenging things about Matt's life. His 111 00:06:29,162 --> 00:06:33,682 Speaker 2: father had been diagnosed with a serious issue bipolar disorder. 112 00:06:34,242 --> 00:06:37,722 Speaker 2: The condition used to be referred to as manic depression. 113 00:06:38,402 --> 00:06:42,722 Speaker 2: According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the diagnosis 114 00:06:42,802 --> 00:06:48,402 Speaker 2: is characterized by clear changes in mood, energy, and activity levels. 115 00:06:48,442 --> 00:06:53,402 Speaker 2: Depending on the particular diagnosis, people can experience moods that 116 00:06:53,522 --> 00:06:58,122 Speaker 2: range from euphoric or energized to extremely despondent. 117 00:06:59,042 --> 00:07:02,002 Speaker 1: My dad was in denial that he had bipolar, and 118 00:07:02,042 --> 00:07:06,202 Speaker 1: so he wouldn't take this medication, and he'd be very withdrawn, 119 00:07:07,082 --> 00:07:09,642 Speaker 1: which is one of the symptoms of being depressed. So 120 00:07:10,122 --> 00:07:12,842 Speaker 1: the times he wouldn't communicate at all. 121 00:07:12,882 --> 00:07:16,042 Speaker 2: But there was something that did help strengthen the bond 122 00:07:16,122 --> 00:07:21,802 Speaker 2: between Matt and his dad. Creature features monster movies, men 123 00:07:21,922 --> 00:07:25,842 Speaker 2: in rubber suits. It was a fantasy escape from a 124 00:07:25,922 --> 00:07:29,522 Speaker 2: reality that could often prove challenging, and a way to 125 00:07:29,562 --> 00:07:33,802 Speaker 2: get closer to his father, who sometimes seemed far away. 126 00:07:34,442 --> 00:07:37,842 Speaker 1: My dad and I used to watch monster movies on Saturdays. 127 00:07:37,922 --> 00:07:40,122 Speaker 1: There was a kind of a marathon that happened every 128 00:07:40,122 --> 00:07:45,282 Speaker 1: Saturday on Channel five called Monster Rally, and so the 129 00:07:45,322 --> 00:07:48,722 Speaker 1: first horror film I saw was a Creature from the 130 00:07:48,802 --> 00:07:49,562 Speaker 1: Black Lagoon. 131 00:07:51,602 --> 00:07:55,322 Speaker 2: While all this was happening, Steven Spielberg was grappling with 132 00:07:55,562 --> 00:07:59,042 Speaker 2: something of a creature feature of his own, one that 133 00:07:59,122 --> 00:08:03,922 Speaker 2: would require Math's unique abilities, though no one quite knew 134 00:08:03,922 --> 00:08:07,282 Speaker 2: that yet. By this point in the nineteen eight eighties, 135 00:08:07,362 --> 00:08:11,642 Speaker 2: the director was enjoying that rare blend of critical, commercial 136 00:08:11,962 --> 00:08:16,882 Speaker 2: and financial success that proved elusive for a lot of filmmakers. 137 00:08:17,322 --> 00:08:21,562 Speaker 2: His adaptation of Peter Benchley's beach read Jaws in nineteen 138 00:08:21,602 --> 00:08:26,362 Speaker 2: seventy five was a phenomenon. In nineteen seventy seven, he 139 00:08:26,442 --> 00:08:30,362 Speaker 2: led Jaws co star Richard Dreyfuss to a fateful meeting 140 00:08:30,362 --> 00:08:35,042 Speaker 2: with aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Raiders 141 00:08:35,082 --> 00:08:37,962 Speaker 2: of the Lost Arc meanwhile, was waiting in the wings. 142 00:08:38,442 --> 00:08:42,562 Speaker 2: It would spawn four sequels and make Indiana Jones one 143 00:08:42,602 --> 00:08:47,202 Speaker 2: of the great movie heroes. Spielberg's only misfire had been 144 00:08:47,402 --> 00:08:51,282 Speaker 2: nineteen forty one, a big World War II comedy that 145 00:08:51,442 --> 00:08:56,242 Speaker 2: audiences didn't find very funny in Hollywood terms. Spielberg had 146 00:08:56,282 --> 00:09:01,442 Speaker 2: a blank check, the ability to make practically anything he wanted, 147 00:09:01,922 --> 00:09:04,962 Speaker 2: and what Spielberg was looking to do was tell a 148 00:09:05,002 --> 00:09:08,962 Speaker 2: story about a skiddish, harmless alien who comes to Earth 149 00:09:09,322 --> 00:09:14,122 Speaker 2: and befriends a boy still coming to terms with his parents' separation. 150 00:09:14,922 --> 00:09:18,402 Speaker 2: It would be a family movie, something with themes that 151 00:09:18,562 --> 00:09:23,202 Speaker 2: resonated deeply with Spielberg, who was himself a product of divorce. 152 00:09:23,802 --> 00:09:27,082 Speaker 2: His parents, Arthur and Leah, had gone their separate ways 153 00:09:27,162 --> 00:09:32,282 Speaker 2: when Spielberg was nineteen after several years of acrimony. His 154 00:09:32,362 --> 00:09:36,442 Speaker 2: mother had grown close with his father's best friend. Though 155 00:09:36,562 --> 00:09:40,322 Speaker 2: Arthur told his children he was responsible for the separation, 156 00:09:41,162 --> 00:09:45,322 Speaker 2: it strained Spielberg's relationship with his dad for years, and 157 00:09:45,362 --> 00:09:49,482 Speaker 2: there's no question it informed his filmmaking. But e T 158 00:09:49,802 --> 00:09:53,722 Speaker 2: would be his most personal work to date, a close 159 00:09:53,802 --> 00:09:57,082 Speaker 2: look at a child dealing with the anger of a 160 00:09:57,202 --> 00:10:03,002 Speaker 2: fractured household, not yet able to process the convoluted adult world, 161 00:10:03,562 --> 00:10:07,682 Speaker 2: something plenty of kids, including Matt, could understand. 162 00:10:08,402 --> 00:10:12,082 Speaker 6: It was the story of his youth, It was his childhood, 163 00:10:12,122 --> 00:10:13,402 Speaker 6: It was his parents' divorce. 164 00:10:14,322 --> 00:10:17,842 Speaker 2: That's Simon brew Simon is the founder of the Den 165 00:10:17,842 --> 00:10:21,642 Speaker 2: of Geek website and a pop culture historian. Jason and 166 00:10:21,722 --> 00:10:24,322 Speaker 2: I actually used to work with him at Mental Floss, 167 00:10:24,762 --> 00:10:29,042 Speaker 2: and he hosts a podcast, Film Stories, that goes deep 168 00:10:29,202 --> 00:10:32,922 Speaker 2: into the making of great films. You should listen after 169 00:10:33,002 --> 00:10:35,122 Speaker 2: you finished this episode, of course. 170 00:10:34,842 --> 00:10:37,882 Speaker 6: And the idea wasn't that this would be his biggest film. 171 00:10:38,082 --> 00:10:40,882 Speaker 6: Although you can't ever design how an audience will react, 172 00:10:40,922 --> 00:10:43,842 Speaker 6: the whole idea was, this is something smaller, This is 173 00:10:43,882 --> 00:10:46,082 Speaker 6: me going right back to my roots. I'm just gonna 174 00:10:46,322 --> 00:10:47,442 Speaker 6: almost do one for me. 175 00:10:49,842 --> 00:10:53,482 Speaker 2: A couple of years prior, Spielberg had envisioned a movie 176 00:10:53,522 --> 00:10:58,602 Speaker 2: with a spaceship full of sinister aliens descending on a farmhouse. 177 00:10:59,362 --> 00:11:02,642 Speaker 2: Just one of the aliens in that script, called Watch 178 00:11:02,682 --> 00:11:07,602 Speaker 2: the Skies and later Night Skies was friendly. But after 179 00:11:07,642 --> 00:11:11,482 Speaker 2: developing the film and even having its alien creatures designed, 180 00:11:12,042 --> 00:11:16,842 Speaker 2: Spielberg realized that wasn't the movie he wanted to make. Instead, 181 00:11:16,922 --> 00:11:20,602 Speaker 2: he commissioned a script for his alien buddy story from 182 00:11:20,642 --> 00:11:24,362 Speaker 2: Melissa Matheson, whom he had met filming Raiders of the 183 00:11:24,442 --> 00:11:28,962 Speaker 2: Lost Arc. Matheson was the future wife of that movie's star, 184 00:11:29,282 --> 00:11:33,522 Speaker 2: Harrison Ford, but more importantly, she was a screenwriter who 185 00:11:33,642 --> 00:11:37,122 Speaker 2: was extremely adept at getting to the beating heart of 186 00:11:37,202 --> 00:11:42,202 Speaker 2: Spielberg's story, the bond between an alien stranded on Earth 187 00:11:42,762 --> 00:11:46,562 Speaker 2: and Elliott, a boy mourning the absence of his father 188 00:11:47,122 --> 00:11:52,002 Speaker 2: after his parents separate. That left just one major piece 189 00:11:52,082 --> 00:11:56,962 Speaker 2: of the puzzle, how to create E T. While the 190 00:11:57,002 --> 00:12:02,402 Speaker 2: technology was rapidly finding itself in summer blockbusters, artists couldn't 191 00:12:02,442 --> 00:12:06,522 Speaker 2: just turn to computer animation. The alien would have to 192 00:12:06,562 --> 00:12:11,042 Speaker 2: be the scene with the actors. Early on, someone broached 193 00:12:11,082 --> 00:12:14,682 Speaker 2: the idea of sticking a monkey in a costume. That 194 00:12:14,962 --> 00:12:19,842 Speaker 2: was quickly discarded. Then someone suggested putting a person in 195 00:12:20,002 --> 00:12:24,562 Speaker 2: a suit, but Spielberg vetoed that as well. The entire 196 00:12:24,722 --> 00:12:28,082 Speaker 2: point of ET's physique was that it was something other 197 00:12:28,282 --> 00:12:31,362 Speaker 2: than human. He didn't want anyone to think it was 198 00:12:31,482 --> 00:12:37,162 Speaker 2: merely someone encased in rubber. Instead, Spielberg approached his close 199 00:12:37,362 --> 00:12:43,602 Speaker 2: encounter's colleague, a special effects artist named Carlo Rambaldi. A 200 00:12:43,722 --> 00:12:49,042 Speaker 2: prop expert, Carlo had helped reimagine King Kong for the 201 00:12:49,282 --> 00:12:54,762 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy six remake, but despite that movie's giant ape, 202 00:12:55,242 --> 00:12:59,922 Speaker 2: Et would prove to be the bigger problem. Carlow was 203 00:12:59,962 --> 00:13:03,402 Speaker 2: given just a few months to conjure up Et as 204 00:13:03,402 --> 00:13:08,562 Speaker 2: an animatronic puppet. He'd be animated by servos and wires 205 00:13:08,682 --> 00:13:12,962 Speaker 2: by a team of puppeteers. They would control everything from 206 00:13:12,962 --> 00:13:16,642 Speaker 2: his eyes to his mouth to his elongated neck, which 207 00:13:16,682 --> 00:13:19,122 Speaker 2: went up and down like a carjack. 208 00:13:19,882 --> 00:13:23,122 Speaker 6: It was in the end production illustrator Ed Verrow, who 209 00:13:23,442 --> 00:13:26,442 Speaker 6: got kind of the eureka moment of what he was 210 00:13:26,482 --> 00:13:29,482 Speaker 6: the one who twigged what Spielberg was actually afterwards that 211 00:13:29,602 --> 00:13:33,082 Speaker 6: he wanted. It was described as a combination of the 212 00:13:33,122 --> 00:13:35,802 Speaker 6: innocence of youth and the wisdom of age, and that 213 00:13:36,002 --> 00:13:38,402 Speaker 6: was in the design and the sketches that were being 214 00:13:38,442 --> 00:13:42,442 Speaker 6: done for the creature. There was also the idea that 215 00:13:42,482 --> 00:13:45,362 Speaker 6: they wanted ET to be quote a creature that only 216 00:13:45,362 --> 00:13:48,362 Speaker 6: a mother could love, which I really really love as well. 217 00:13:49,722 --> 00:13:53,962 Speaker 2: Rambaldi was a master and ET quickly evolved into a 218 00:13:54,122 --> 00:13:59,122 Speaker 2: highly convincing presence with big, bulbous eyes that took inspiration 219 00:13:59,282 --> 00:14:05,962 Speaker 2: from Albert Einstein. The various ets Rambaldi built could express themselves, blink, 220 00:14:06,282 --> 00:14:08,242 Speaker 2: move their mouth, health furrow a brow. 221 00:14:09,002 --> 00:14:11,922 Speaker 6: And what Rambaldi told Spielberg is you're gonna need nine 222 00:14:11,962 --> 00:14:14,522 Speaker 6: months to do this. Spielberg gave him six, and they 223 00:14:14,602 --> 00:14:17,402 Speaker 6: just worked around the clock to put this creature together. 224 00:14:18,042 --> 00:14:21,202 Speaker 6: And I mean they really made it. I think they 225 00:14:21,282 --> 00:14:24,882 Speaker 6: made in the end three different ets with different electronics 226 00:14:25,242 --> 00:14:30,322 Speaker 6: and different capabilities within them. And what Spielberg was wanting 227 00:14:30,642 --> 00:14:33,402 Speaker 6: really that he wanted a creature that was slow and 228 00:14:33,482 --> 00:14:36,922 Speaker 6: sure footed, and as Spielberg said, he's much more conditioned 229 00:14:36,922 --> 00:14:40,722 Speaker 6: to a heavier atmosphere, a heavier gravity. And they got really, 230 00:14:40,762 --> 00:14:44,682 Speaker 6: really forensic on what this creature and what this character was. 231 00:14:44,762 --> 00:14:47,562 Speaker 6: It's supposed to be an alien walking on a planet 232 00:14:47,962 --> 00:14:49,682 Speaker 6: which it wasn't familiar with. 233 00:14:50,802 --> 00:14:54,522 Speaker 2: But even Rembaldi didn't have a perfect solution for Et 234 00:14:54,802 --> 00:15:00,322 Speaker 2: walking or performing big physical movements like falling down. To 235 00:15:00,482 --> 00:15:05,282 Speaker 2: try and control his feet via remote robotics would make 236 00:15:05,362 --> 00:15:09,082 Speaker 2: him look like a jerky ma net or a clumsy 237 00:15:09,122 --> 00:15:13,642 Speaker 2: battery operated toy. It would also cost another million dollars 238 00:15:13,722 --> 00:15:17,882 Speaker 2: for what was supposed to be Spielberg's tiny movie, So 239 00:15:18,002 --> 00:15:23,002 Speaker 2: Spielberg listened as his producer, Kathleen Kennedy suggested having a 240 00:15:23,122 --> 00:15:27,322 Speaker 2: human performer inside of a costume, provided it was someone 241 00:15:27,442 --> 00:15:33,802 Speaker 2: close to ET's stature that eliminated most adults. Rambaldi quickly 242 00:15:33,842 --> 00:15:37,002 Speaker 2: created a simple mock up suit that the four year 243 00:15:37,042 --> 00:15:41,522 Speaker 2: old daughter of Spielberg's lawyer climbed into for a screen test. 244 00:15:42,042 --> 00:15:47,122 Speaker 2: She hated every minute of it, throwing a tantrum, but 245 00:15:47,242 --> 00:15:50,802 Speaker 2: the idea itself was sound. The kid in a suit 246 00:15:51,082 --> 00:15:54,562 Speaker 2: looked convincing. Now all they had to do was find 247 00:15:54,722 --> 00:16:00,202 Speaker 2: the right kid. Someone had the idea to call UCLA 248 00:16:00,402 --> 00:16:05,042 Speaker 2: Medical Center. UCLA had a program devoted to the treatment 249 00:16:05,162 --> 00:16:10,402 Speaker 2: of individuals with uniek physical attributes. One of the physicians 250 00:16:10,442 --> 00:16:15,482 Speaker 2: at UCLA recommended Matt, who had undergone physical therapy there. 251 00:16:16,242 --> 00:16:20,562 Speaker 2: What made Matt unique was how he got around. Walking 252 00:16:20,602 --> 00:16:25,242 Speaker 2: on his hands gave Matt a very specific skill, giving 253 00:16:25,282 --> 00:16:29,802 Speaker 2: him a profile similar to Et. By using his hands 254 00:16:29,882 --> 00:16:33,642 Speaker 2: as ET's feet, he could step in when Et needed 255 00:16:33,682 --> 00:16:38,442 Speaker 2: more agility than the puppeteers could provide. Matt could tackle 256 00:16:38,562 --> 00:16:42,362 Speaker 2: stunt that might prove too daunting for a little person 257 00:16:42,522 --> 00:16:43,482 Speaker 2: inside the suit. 258 00:16:44,682 --> 00:16:48,482 Speaker 1: So Universal Studios reached out to UCLA Medical Center to 259 00:16:48,522 --> 00:16:51,562 Speaker 1: see if there was anyone with dwarfism or was in 260 00:16:51,602 --> 00:16:54,602 Speaker 1: a small stature that could fit in the costume. And 261 00:16:54,722 --> 00:16:56,962 Speaker 1: the only one they had on hand who was short 262 00:16:57,122 --> 00:17:00,762 Speaker 1: was me, and I think they kind of pitched it 263 00:17:00,762 --> 00:17:02,962 Speaker 1: to them. They said that I could walk on my 264 00:17:03,082 --> 00:17:05,602 Speaker 1: hands just like my hands were legs, and they said, 265 00:17:05,602 --> 00:17:09,242 Speaker 1: that's intriguing be able to come down for an audition, 266 00:17:09,762 --> 00:17:11,362 Speaker 1: so that the doctor gave him my number. 267 00:17:12,122 --> 00:17:17,962 Speaker 2: Matt's doctor acted as his talent agent very la That's 268 00:17:18,002 --> 00:17:22,002 Speaker 2: how a producer wound up phoning Matt's mom and how 269 00:17:22,082 --> 00:17:26,642 Speaker 2: Matt wound up going to audition for Steven Spielberg, a 270 00:17:26,682 --> 00:17:30,602 Speaker 2: guy he barely knew. In fact, Matt's father needed to 271 00:17:30,642 --> 00:17:33,522 Speaker 2: take him to see Raiders that summer to give Matt 272 00:17:33,562 --> 00:17:36,602 Speaker 2: a better idea of just what he was getting himself into. 273 00:17:37,562 --> 00:17:41,482 Speaker 2: Oddly enough, Matt was already a fan of Carlo Rambaldi. 274 00:17:42,002 --> 00:17:45,362 Speaker 2: Carlo had done the mechanical effects for the alien head 275 00:17:45,402 --> 00:17:49,522 Speaker 2: in the movie Alien the R Rated Gorefest, which Matt 276 00:17:49,522 --> 00:17:53,122 Speaker 2: had seen in nineteen seventy nine as a nine year old. 277 00:17:53,682 --> 00:17:58,202 Speaker 2: He was a monster kid, remember, So for Matt, going 278 00:17:58,242 --> 00:18:02,722 Speaker 2: to Rambaldi's effects house was like going to Willywanka's chocolate factory. 279 00:18:03,242 --> 00:18:05,242 Speaker 2: He was in creature Heaven. 280 00:18:05,642 --> 00:18:09,282 Speaker 1: Got in a studio in Oh. It smelled so interesting too. 281 00:18:09,322 --> 00:18:10,802 Speaker 1: It was like a workshop, you know. It was like 282 00:18:10,802 --> 00:18:15,482 Speaker 1: Geppetto's workshop. Smelled like wood and sawdust and plaster. And 283 00:18:15,562 --> 00:18:20,362 Speaker 1: that was very intriguing that I was going into this 284 00:18:20,562 --> 00:18:23,562 Speaker 1: very creative environment, you know, where there are all these 285 00:18:23,682 --> 00:18:26,602 Speaker 1: creatures that Carlo had designed for other movies. 286 00:18:27,442 --> 00:18:31,282 Speaker 2: At the shop, Matt met Spielberg, who did something that 287 00:18:31,442 --> 00:18:36,602 Speaker 2: immediately endeared him to his would be Et. Spielberg didn't 288 00:18:36,722 --> 00:18:40,322 Speaker 2: loom over him like a gargoyle, hands on knees. He 289 00:18:40,402 --> 00:18:42,922 Speaker 2: bent down so he could look Matt eye to eye, 290 00:18:43,362 --> 00:18:47,282 Speaker 2: the same way ET's telescoping neck allowed him to come 291 00:18:47,362 --> 00:18:51,722 Speaker 2: face to face with new friends. Spielberg understood how looking 292 00:18:51,802 --> 00:18:55,242 Speaker 2: up at the world can be intimidating. He wanted Matt 293 00:18:55,242 --> 00:18:57,002 Speaker 2: to feel comfortable. 294 00:18:57,722 --> 00:19:00,202 Speaker 1: That was something interesting about him. Not everybody did that. 295 00:19:00,242 --> 00:19:03,282 Speaker 1: I remember Carlo doing that, and it's not that it's 296 00:19:03,402 --> 00:19:06,162 Speaker 1: rude that other people don't do that. They just it's 297 00:19:06,202 --> 00:19:09,522 Speaker 1: something that some people think about immediately and some people 298 00:19:09,522 --> 00:19:13,282 Speaker 1: don't really take into consideration until maybe later. He did 299 00:19:13,322 --> 00:19:15,442 Speaker 1: it immediately, and I thought that that was pretty cool. 300 00:19:15,882 --> 00:19:20,362 Speaker 2: Spielberg asked Matt about getting around on a skateboard. Matt 301 00:19:20,402 --> 00:19:23,562 Speaker 2: offered that it wasn't his only way of travel. In 302 00:19:23,602 --> 00:19:27,482 Speaker 2: the shop, Matt was stuffed into another makeshift et suit 303 00:19:27,882 --> 00:19:30,962 Speaker 2: and then showed them a couple different ways he got around. 304 00:19:31,362 --> 00:19:35,362 Speaker 1: Then I demonstrated to him the walk that I did 305 00:19:35,602 --> 00:19:38,882 Speaker 1: eventually use in the movie, where my hands are the 306 00:19:38,962 --> 00:19:41,322 Speaker 1: feet and I lift my torso up so it's not 307 00:19:41,402 --> 00:19:44,402 Speaker 1: touched any ground at all, and my hands ambled back 308 00:19:44,442 --> 00:19:47,522 Speaker 1: and forth, just like legs, wood or feet, And he 309 00:19:47,562 --> 00:19:49,642 Speaker 1: said that's the one that he thinks is going to work. 310 00:19:49,682 --> 00:19:54,522 Speaker 1: And they captured me doing that walk on camera, played 311 00:19:54,522 --> 00:19:57,842 Speaker 1: a back and looked really good to them. 312 00:19:58,242 --> 00:20:03,802 Speaker 2: The hands for feet method proved surprisingly effective. It gave 313 00:20:03,882 --> 00:20:07,522 Speaker 2: et the kind of distinctive not of this earth Gate 314 00:20:07,882 --> 00:20:13,402 Speaker 2: Spielberg wanted one people weren't used to seeing, and practically 315 00:20:13,602 --> 00:20:16,682 Speaker 2: no one but Matt could do it. But it would 316 00:20:16,722 --> 00:20:21,002 Speaker 2: be a little while before Matt heard anything definitive. Then 317 00:20:21,162 --> 00:20:26,642 Speaker 2: came another phone call. Matt was offered the job. Matt 318 00:20:26,642 --> 00:20:30,042 Speaker 2: and his parents had a talk. Sure it was cool, 319 00:20:30,202 --> 00:20:33,682 Speaker 2: but it would also interrupt the start of Matt's school year. 320 00:20:34,242 --> 00:20:39,562 Speaker 2: The movie would shoot from September to December nineteen eighty one. 321 00:20:39,682 --> 00:20:42,562 Speaker 2: They wanted to be sure it was something he really 322 00:20:42,762 --> 00:20:46,762 Speaker 2: wanted to do. But for Matt, delaying school was no 323 00:20:46,882 --> 00:20:50,282 Speaker 2: big deal. On top of everything else, he had the 324 00:20:50,362 --> 00:20:56,122 Speaker 2: bane of any shy kid's existence. Bullies, and Matt's bullies 325 00:20:56,242 --> 00:20:57,922 Speaker 2: were especially cruel. 326 00:20:59,322 --> 00:21:02,082 Speaker 1: Boy, was it great to get away from school because 327 00:21:02,122 --> 00:21:05,402 Speaker 1: around that time I was bullied a lot. That was 328 00:21:05,442 --> 00:21:09,122 Speaker 1: like the peak time of my bullying. Some of the 329 00:21:09,162 --> 00:21:11,442 Speaker 1: bullies would come up from behind my wheelchair. I'd take 330 00:21:11,482 --> 00:21:15,322 Speaker 1: my wheelchair to school and they'd tip the wheelchair over. 331 00:21:15,922 --> 00:21:18,282 Speaker 2: That would be enough for any kid to have to 332 00:21:18,322 --> 00:21:22,202 Speaker 2: deal with, but the situation at home was also coming 333 00:21:22,242 --> 00:21:26,682 Speaker 2: to a head. Matt's mother was frustrated his father wasn't 334 00:21:26,722 --> 00:21:28,562 Speaker 2: willing to get the help he needed. 335 00:21:29,042 --> 00:21:30,802 Speaker 1: They would get a lot of fights about that kind 336 00:21:30,802 --> 00:21:34,082 Speaker 1: of stuff. He wasn't abusive, or he wasn't emotionally abusive. 337 00:21:34,122 --> 00:21:36,442 Speaker 1: He didn't yell, he wasn't that kind of person, but 338 00:21:37,042 --> 00:21:42,242 Speaker 1: just the general atmosphere at home when he was deep 339 00:21:42,282 --> 00:21:47,162 Speaker 1: in depression was something that was great to escape from 340 00:21:47,282 --> 00:21:48,402 Speaker 1: during that time. 341 00:21:49,162 --> 00:21:53,402 Speaker 2: So in September nineteen eighty one, Matt went off to 342 00:21:53,442 --> 00:21:57,242 Speaker 2: do something he never dreamed of, play a crucial role 343 00:21:57,402 --> 00:22:02,242 Speaker 2: in making the Ultimate Creature feature come to life. Like Elliott, 344 00:22:02,402 --> 00:22:06,162 Speaker 2: he'd be taking on new responsibilities that would distract him 345 00:22:06,202 --> 00:22:09,602 Speaker 2: from his own problems, but in order to do that, 346 00:22:10,122 --> 00:22:14,882 Speaker 2: he'd have to overcome his inherent shyness while taking a 347 00:22:15,002 --> 00:22:28,762 Speaker 2: direction from the most successful director in the world. You'd 348 00:22:28,842 --> 00:22:31,962 Speaker 2: think a kid going off to shoot a Stephen Spielberg 349 00:22:32,042 --> 00:22:35,162 Speaker 2: movie would be the talk of the playground, but Matt 350 00:22:35,242 --> 00:22:38,762 Speaker 2: left to film the movie with relatively few people knowing 351 00:22:38,802 --> 00:22:39,642 Speaker 2: what he was up to. 352 00:22:40,202 --> 00:22:41,962 Speaker 1: I didn't have a lot of friends at the time. 353 00:22:42,002 --> 00:22:44,402 Speaker 1: I think I told my best friend that I was 354 00:22:44,442 --> 00:22:47,322 Speaker 1: doing it, And he also didn't know that much about 355 00:22:47,322 --> 00:22:51,602 Speaker 1: movies and about Spielberg. He came from a really religious background, 356 00:22:51,682 --> 00:22:53,722 Speaker 1: so his parents would he let him see any kind 357 00:22:53,722 --> 00:22:56,202 Speaker 1: of movies. So I think I only told him. 358 00:22:56,482 --> 00:23:01,922 Speaker 2: This was probably something Spielberg preferred. The details surrounding the 359 00:23:02,042 --> 00:23:06,642 Speaker 2: character of Et were highly classified in the pre Internet, 360 00:23:06,642 --> 00:23:09,682 Speaker 2: as it was easier to plug leaks to the media. 361 00:23:10,322 --> 00:23:14,522 Speaker 2: Spielberg wanted his young actors left in the dark, making 362 00:23:14,562 --> 00:23:19,082 Speaker 2: their first impression of the creature a genuine one. Matt, 363 00:23:19,162 --> 00:23:22,482 Speaker 2: of course, had already gotten a preview, and by the 364 00:23:22,522 --> 00:23:26,842 Speaker 2: time he showed up on location in Tahunga, California, a 365 00:23:27,002 --> 00:23:31,522 Speaker 2: custom rubber Latex suit had been crafted just for him. 366 00:23:31,882 --> 00:23:36,122 Speaker 2: It weighed thirty pounds, and yes, it made him sweat 367 00:23:36,762 --> 00:23:37,202 Speaker 2: a lot. 368 00:23:37,882 --> 00:23:41,202 Speaker 1: One interesting thing is though, that the recipe for Latex 369 00:23:42,242 --> 00:23:47,802 Speaker 1: was much worse back then, because latex shrank and latex 370 00:23:47,802 --> 00:23:49,362 Speaker 1: doesn't have a lot of pores in it. But if 371 00:23:49,362 --> 00:23:53,282 Speaker 1: he shrinks, the porson and it smaller. So long story short, 372 00:23:53,362 --> 00:23:57,202 Speaker 1: the costume would get smaller and hotter every time I 373 00:23:57,242 --> 00:24:00,882 Speaker 1: got into it because the latex shranks. So thankfully that 374 00:24:00,922 --> 00:24:03,282 Speaker 1: didn't show on camera, I definitely felt it. 375 00:24:04,322 --> 00:24:08,642 Speaker 2: Originally, Matt was hired for just one scene where Et 376 00:24:08,962 --> 00:24:12,082 Speaker 2: needed to take a tumble, but it turned out Et 377 00:24:12,282 --> 00:24:16,482 Speaker 2: would be doing that a lot, so Matt's responsibilities kept 378 00:24:16,602 --> 00:24:21,402 Speaker 2: growing on set. He quickly became known as stunt et. 379 00:24:22,322 --> 00:24:26,682 Speaker 1: Pratfalls. Yeah, Pratfall's agility, falling down, all that stuff. 380 00:24:27,322 --> 00:24:31,362 Speaker 2: Matt, of course was no practiced stunt person, but this 381 00:24:31,562 --> 00:24:35,682 Speaker 2: was the eighties and film producers sometimes pushed the edges 382 00:24:36,162 --> 00:24:37,322 Speaker 2: of what was appropriate. 383 00:24:37,762 --> 00:24:40,762 Speaker 1: That's one of the kind of dangerous aspects of filmmaking, 384 00:24:40,842 --> 00:24:43,722 Speaker 1: especially back then, is this like a lot of fly 385 00:24:43,882 --> 00:24:47,042 Speaker 1: by the seat of your pants kind of attitude. You know, 386 00:24:47,122 --> 00:24:49,362 Speaker 1: it's like they're going to make budgets, they can't go 387 00:24:49,482 --> 00:24:53,162 Speaker 1: over budget. Just fussing with something and make sure that 388 00:24:53,202 --> 00:24:55,242 Speaker 1: someone's not going to get hurt. They put a lot 389 00:24:55,322 --> 00:24:57,762 Speaker 1: of padding in the costume, so even when I fell 390 00:24:57,842 --> 00:25:00,402 Speaker 1: flat on my face, there was like lots of styrofoam 391 00:25:00,442 --> 00:25:01,242 Speaker 1: protecting my faith. 392 00:25:02,122 --> 00:25:05,162 Speaker 2: One of Matt's bigger scenes as Et was when the 393 00:25:05,202 --> 00:25:08,842 Speaker 2: alien falls over drunk, which we remind you is not 394 00:25:09,002 --> 00:25:12,282 Speaker 2: something an eleven year old can portray with any conviction. 395 00:25:12,962 --> 00:25:14,322 Speaker 2: But Matt was up for it. 396 00:25:15,242 --> 00:25:19,202 Speaker 1: And I remember being so excited because I was walking 397 00:25:19,322 --> 00:25:22,282 Speaker 1: very easily in the costume, and I felt like I 398 00:25:22,282 --> 00:25:25,562 Speaker 1: could do everything that they're directing me too. I could 399 00:25:25,602 --> 00:25:28,562 Speaker 1: hear all the directions very clearly. I saw the marks 400 00:25:28,562 --> 00:25:31,842 Speaker 1: that they wanted me to hit, and whenever they want 401 00:25:31,962 --> 00:25:35,602 Speaker 1: me to kind of play up the fall a little bit, 402 00:25:35,682 --> 00:25:38,802 Speaker 1: they wanted me to not fall immediately, which is what 403 00:25:38,842 --> 00:25:40,882 Speaker 1: I did. They want me to extend a little bit 404 00:25:40,922 --> 00:25:42,922 Speaker 1: and like you had some expression to it. I remember 405 00:25:42,962 --> 00:25:45,482 Speaker 1: when I did that, and I did that the kind 406 00:25:45,522 --> 00:25:50,722 Speaker 1: of final fall in my face. Everybody laughed and it 407 00:25:50,802 --> 00:25:53,122 Speaker 1: sounded like what it would sound like in the audience, 408 00:25:53,762 --> 00:25:56,122 Speaker 1: you know, when the movie was playing. So I thought, Okay, 409 00:25:56,322 --> 00:25:57,682 Speaker 1: I think this is going to go over well. 410 00:25:59,002 --> 00:26:03,322 Speaker 2: In contrast to his problems at school, Matt found fast 411 00:26:03,362 --> 00:26:07,602 Speaker 2: friends in Henry Thomas, who played Elliott, and Robert McNaughton, 412 00:26:07,882 --> 00:26:11,482 Speaker 2: who played Elliott's older brother Michael. There were no cliques, 413 00:26:11,642 --> 00:26:16,322 Speaker 2: no social hierarchy, no grade school pettiness or cruelty, just 414 00:26:16,602 --> 00:26:18,842 Speaker 2: three kids on the set of a movie. 415 00:26:19,562 --> 00:26:22,322 Speaker 1: We completely bonded as soon as we met because we 416 00:26:22,322 --> 00:26:23,882 Speaker 1: were like, well, I was going to say, we're in 417 00:26:24,242 --> 00:26:26,602 Speaker 1: the same age group, but actually Rob was the same 418 00:26:26,642 --> 00:26:28,762 Speaker 1: age as the older kids, but he had more like 419 00:26:29,202 --> 00:26:32,002 Speaker 1: youth mentality in He also knew that it would be 420 00:26:32,042 --> 00:26:33,802 Speaker 1: it would benefit all of us to kind of like 421 00:26:33,882 --> 00:26:37,122 Speaker 1: bond together. So we were our own group on that set, 422 00:26:37,922 --> 00:26:43,442 Speaker 1: and that was fantastic because it rescued me from that situation. 423 00:26:43,682 --> 00:26:47,402 Speaker 1: It was like a just escape from being bullied in school, 424 00:26:47,442 --> 00:26:50,242 Speaker 1: and also, you know who likes doing schoolwork right, And 425 00:26:50,282 --> 00:26:52,162 Speaker 1: it got me away from this situation at home to 426 00:26:52,282 --> 00:26:54,122 Speaker 1: where my mom and my dad were fighting a lot 427 00:26:54,162 --> 00:26:55,522 Speaker 1: and going through that drama. 428 00:26:56,362 --> 00:27:00,362 Speaker 2: The drama Matt's referring to is a pretty seismic event 429 00:27:00,522 --> 00:27:04,162 Speaker 2: in the life of a kid. In between Matt being 430 00:27:04,282 --> 00:27:07,962 Speaker 2: fitted for his suit and the start of shooting, his 431 00:27:08,162 --> 00:27:09,882 Speaker 2: parents made a big decision. 432 00:27:10,642 --> 00:27:13,362 Speaker 1: There was a few weeks before we started when he 433 00:27:13,442 --> 00:27:16,482 Speaker 1: was living at home, and so when I went out 434 00:27:16,602 --> 00:27:19,442 Speaker 1: to get fitted, and when I went to Carlo remble 435 00:27:19,602 --> 00:27:22,682 Speaker 1: Bally Studio to practice in the costume and meet with 436 00:27:22,722 --> 00:27:26,522 Speaker 1: the crew just and prepare before shooting. That's when my 437 00:27:26,602 --> 00:27:29,642 Speaker 1: dad lived at home, but then when we were actually shooting, 438 00:27:29,762 --> 00:27:32,722 Speaker 1: my dad was actually living apart from us. 439 00:27:33,482 --> 00:27:38,122 Speaker 2: Matt's ET family was at least for a time, more 440 00:27:38,242 --> 00:27:42,602 Speaker 2: stable than his actual family. In addition to making friends 441 00:27:42,602 --> 00:27:47,362 Speaker 2: with Henry and Robert, Matt also met ET's other half. 442 00:27:48,042 --> 00:27:51,682 Speaker 2: This ET was a thirty four year old adult named 443 00:27:51,842 --> 00:27:56,242 Speaker 2: Pat Bailon, who was roughly two feet nine inches tall 444 00:27:56,722 --> 00:28:01,522 Speaker 2: and weighed forty five pounds. Pat was born with cartilage 445 00:28:01,522 --> 00:28:06,842 Speaker 2: hare hypoplasia, a bone growth disorder that can lead to dwarfes. 446 00:28:07,762 --> 00:28:11,402 Speaker 2: Pat was used for ET scenes that didn't require Et 447 00:28:11,602 --> 00:28:15,322 Speaker 2: tipping over, for example, the one in which Et is 448 00:28:15,362 --> 00:28:18,762 Speaker 2: being stashed away in a bicycle basket and wrapped in 449 00:28:18,802 --> 00:28:21,642 Speaker 2: a blanket, plus other walking scenes. 450 00:28:22,682 --> 00:28:25,202 Speaker 1: I remember he was a really nice guy. He didn't 451 00:28:25,202 --> 00:28:28,002 Speaker 1: have any ego about him. We kind of filmed the 452 00:28:28,002 --> 00:28:31,162 Speaker 1: Eten sequencer. That's the way the story's been told anyway. 453 00:28:31,562 --> 00:28:35,282 Speaker 1: So I came on about two weeks into filming, two 454 00:28:35,362 --> 00:28:38,722 Speaker 1: or three weeks into filming, and Pat number made me 455 00:28:38,722 --> 00:28:40,522 Speaker 1: feel like I was in the outside looking in. 456 00:28:41,642 --> 00:28:46,682 Speaker 2: Pat's background was fascinating. He had only recently broken into films, 457 00:28:47,082 --> 00:28:50,762 Speaker 2: working on a Chevy Chase movie titled Under the Rainbow, 458 00:28:51,242 --> 00:28:54,602 Speaker 2: a fictitious retelling of the filming of the Wizard of 459 00:28:54,602 --> 00:28:59,442 Speaker 2: Oz and the rumors surrounding its little people performers getting 460 00:28:59,482 --> 00:29:04,202 Speaker 2: wild after filming. Before acting, Pat had been a bouncer 461 00:29:04,242 --> 00:29:08,002 Speaker 2: at a bar in Ohio. It was a publicity stunt 462 00:29:08,082 --> 00:29:09,282 Speaker 2: for the business. 463 00:29:09,282 --> 00:29:10,162 Speaker 3: But it worked. 464 00:29:10,642 --> 00:29:14,842 Speaker 2: He later became a dispatcher for a sheriff's office. By 465 00:29:14,882 --> 00:29:19,402 Speaker 2: the time ET rolled around, Pat was having some back problems. 466 00:29:19,922 --> 00:29:22,962 Speaker 2: He might start a scene then realize he needed to 467 00:29:23,082 --> 00:29:27,042 Speaker 2: rest or. The action might be too dangerous for Pat, 468 00:29:27,242 --> 00:29:30,682 Speaker 2: whose condition didn't allow for him to fall down much. 469 00:29:31,242 --> 00:29:32,642 Speaker 2: That's where Matt came in. 470 00:29:33,402 --> 00:29:35,122 Speaker 1: I did a lot of the same scenes that Pat did, 471 00:29:35,202 --> 00:29:37,562 Speaker 1: and Pat was tired. They'd bring me in and I 472 00:29:38,122 --> 00:29:40,442 Speaker 1: do like a just the same thing, but it'd be 473 00:29:40,442 --> 00:29:41,842 Speaker 1: a different actor in the costume. 474 00:29:43,002 --> 00:29:47,162 Speaker 2: Despite Matt doing most of the stunts, it was Pat 475 00:29:47,202 --> 00:29:52,042 Speaker 2: who probably came closest to having an ET related emergency 476 00:29:52,122 --> 00:29:55,922 Speaker 2: room visit. Pat was in the costume and sporting a 477 00:29:56,002 --> 00:30:00,482 Speaker 2: battery pack when the power source caught fire, setting the 478 00:30:00,602 --> 00:30:04,682 Speaker 2: adorable alien ablaze for a brief moment before a crew 479 00:30:04,722 --> 00:30:05,602 Speaker 2: member stepped in. 480 00:30:06,442 --> 00:30:09,002 Speaker 1: It on another way could have gone really bad, but 481 00:30:09,042 --> 00:30:10,762 Speaker 1: they were just lucky and they got him out of 482 00:30:10,762 --> 00:30:14,522 Speaker 1: the costume in time or whatever. However they've resolved that situation. 483 00:30:15,082 --> 00:30:18,362 Speaker 1: But it's like, yeah, you can't foresee all these things because, 484 00:30:18,402 --> 00:30:21,082 Speaker 1: like you said, it's nothing like this has ever been 485 00:30:21,122 --> 00:30:21,722 Speaker 1: done before. 486 00:30:22,402 --> 00:30:25,522 Speaker 2: At one point there was a third Et, a woman 487 00:30:25,762 --> 00:30:29,562 Speaker 2: named Tamara de Troux, who stepped in for pat when needed. 488 00:30:30,322 --> 00:30:34,602 Speaker 2: Et also had a different set of hands for many scenes. 489 00:30:35,282 --> 00:30:39,762 Speaker 2: They belonged to Caprice Roth, a mime hired by the 490 00:30:39,802 --> 00:30:45,162 Speaker 2: production who wound up becoming the connective tissue of ET's performance. 491 00:30:45,842 --> 00:30:49,602 Speaker 2: She managed to make a cohesive team out of the 492 00:30:49,642 --> 00:30:55,602 Speaker 2: many puppeteers controlling his facial movements, synchronizing them with her gestures. 493 00:30:56,162 --> 00:30:59,962 Speaker 2: Of course, anyone controlling a puppet will give in to 494 00:31:00,122 --> 00:31:05,322 Speaker 2: the temptation of satisfying onset boredom, and with up to 495 00:31:05,602 --> 00:31:10,802 Speaker 2: fifteen puppeteers, there were plenty of opportunities. There are scenes 496 00:31:10,842 --> 00:31:14,682 Speaker 2: you'll never see of Et picking his nose, puffing on 497 00:31:14,882 --> 00:31:17,922 Speaker 2: a cigar, or pinching at the rear end of a 498 00:31:18,042 --> 00:31:24,122 Speaker 2: passing production crew member. Mostly though, people believed in Et 499 00:31:24,922 --> 00:31:30,162 Speaker 2: deeply and wholeheartedly, and they believed in Matt, who was 500 00:31:30,202 --> 00:31:34,962 Speaker 2: coming through in a big way, despite acting in a vacuum. 501 00:31:35,242 --> 00:31:39,522 Speaker 2: Owing to the secrecy surrounding et, Matt didn't get a 502 00:31:39,562 --> 00:31:43,562 Speaker 2: script or see dailies of the footage. He was just 503 00:31:43,962 --> 00:31:48,202 Speaker 2: living in the moment. But Matt's best memory on set 504 00:31:48,402 --> 00:31:52,042 Speaker 2: didn't come from a scene. It came when his father 505 00:31:52,162 --> 00:31:56,202 Speaker 2: paid him a visit. His parents didn't normally come to filming, 506 00:31:56,722 --> 00:32:00,442 Speaker 2: having their own jobs and trusting a Steven Spielberg set 507 00:32:00,682 --> 00:32:04,122 Speaker 2: would be a safe place for their child. The production 508 00:32:04,442 --> 00:32:07,602 Speaker 2: sent a car to pick Matt up every morning and 509 00:32:07,682 --> 00:32:11,482 Speaker 2: drive him back at night, so Matt's dad showing up 510 00:32:11,682 --> 00:32:12,482 Speaker 2: was a big deal. 511 00:32:13,242 --> 00:32:16,482 Speaker 1: On one of the days that he was on a 512 00:32:16,562 --> 00:32:19,962 Speaker 1: manic high, he decided to come down to the set 513 00:32:20,282 --> 00:32:24,842 Speaker 1: and surprise me, which is great because my mom hadn't 514 00:32:24,842 --> 00:32:27,122 Speaker 1: been there, my dad hadn't been there. For him to 515 00:32:27,162 --> 00:32:29,762 Speaker 1: share a day on the set with me was awesome. 516 00:32:29,802 --> 00:32:32,682 Speaker 1: I remember him putting me on his shoulders and walking 517 00:32:32,722 --> 00:32:36,122 Speaker 1: me around the set, and he was introducing himself as 518 00:32:36,482 --> 00:32:41,002 Speaker 1: my dad. He's met Spielberg and Carlo and a lot 519 00:32:41,042 --> 00:32:43,522 Speaker 1: of the cast and crew. You know, he was with me. 520 00:32:43,682 --> 00:32:47,522 Speaker 1: He was happy, he experienced it, and I came away 521 00:32:47,562 --> 00:32:51,042 Speaker 1: with one great memory of him being there with me 522 00:32:51,682 --> 00:32:52,642 Speaker 1: on the set. 523 00:32:53,282 --> 00:32:56,602 Speaker 2: As with most movies, there was a few month gap 524 00:32:56,762 --> 00:33:02,402 Speaker 2: between ET wrapping filming and its release. After returning to school, 525 00:33:02,442 --> 00:33:06,442 Speaker 2: but before the film had come out, Matt noticed something 526 00:33:06,562 --> 00:33:11,202 Speaker 2: a little strange. He wasn't being bullied as often. It 527 00:33:11,362 --> 00:33:15,042 Speaker 2: wasn't because the kids knew he had played ET. They 528 00:33:15,082 --> 00:33:18,882 Speaker 2: didn't know anything about ET. It was because Matt had 529 00:33:18,922 --> 00:33:22,442 Speaker 2: a secret, one that gave him a sense of confidence 530 00:33:22,562 --> 00:33:23,802 Speaker 2: and self worth. 531 00:33:24,682 --> 00:33:27,082 Speaker 1: They didn't know why it was gone, but there was 532 00:33:27,282 --> 00:33:31,362 Speaker 1: like an intangible security and confidence that I got from it. 533 00:33:31,522 --> 00:33:33,722 Speaker 1: Because as soon as I got back to school, the 534 00:33:33,762 --> 00:33:38,082 Speaker 1: bullying did not resume. It stopped completely. And it wasn't 535 00:33:38,122 --> 00:33:39,202 Speaker 1: because the movie came out. 536 00:33:39,242 --> 00:33:42,682 Speaker 2: It was just, you know, Matt had never intended for 537 00:33:42,802 --> 00:33:46,242 Speaker 2: his work to be some big secret, but in order 538 00:33:46,322 --> 00:33:51,202 Speaker 2: for audiences to believe in ET, Steven Spielberg was reluctant 539 00:33:51,282 --> 00:33:55,442 Speaker 2: to admit the alien was the work of Hollywood. ET's 540 00:33:55,562 --> 00:34:00,162 Speaker 2: success hinged in part on Matt and everyone else involved 541 00:34:00,162 --> 00:34:11,962 Speaker 2: with the creature being invisible. In the weeks leading up 542 00:34:11,962 --> 00:34:14,842 Speaker 2: to the premiere of ET, the movie gained more and 543 00:34:15,042 --> 00:34:23,362 Speaker 2: more momentum. Test screenings weren't just successful audiences were enraptured, laughing, crying, 544 00:34:23,522 --> 00:34:27,042 Speaker 2: and falling for an alien who didn't meet what you 545 00:34:27,082 --> 00:34:33,482 Speaker 2: would consider conventional standards of attractiveness. The reception ET received 546 00:34:33,962 --> 00:34:38,842 Speaker 2: even took Spielberg by surprise. The film made its entire 547 00:34:39,202 --> 00:34:43,322 Speaker 2: ten million dollar budget back in a single weekend. It 548 00:34:43,442 --> 00:34:47,282 Speaker 2: was the number one film in America for six weeks 549 00:34:47,682 --> 00:34:50,882 Speaker 2: and kept returning to that position throughout the rest of 550 00:34:50,922 --> 00:34:55,762 Speaker 2: the year. It just kept playing and playing. By the 551 00:34:55,842 --> 00:34:59,562 Speaker 2: next year, it had outgrossed Star Wars to become the 552 00:34:59,722 --> 00:35:04,362 Speaker 2: most successful film in history. It was a modern Wizard 553 00:35:04,442 --> 00:35:08,602 Speaker 2: of Oz, the rare family film that didn't pander to 554 00:35:08,722 --> 00:35:14,442 Speaker 2: kids or bore adults, the movie that became must see viewing. 555 00:35:15,202 --> 00:35:16,962 Speaker 2: Here's Simon Brew again. 556 00:35:17,722 --> 00:35:20,322 Speaker 6: Everyone at my school saw ET at the cinema, pretty 557 00:35:20,402 --> 00:35:22,922 Speaker 6: much everyone. I mean it was Star Wars, ET and 558 00:35:22,962 --> 00:35:25,602 Speaker 6: Superman three. Those were the three things that were most 559 00:35:25,602 --> 00:35:27,282 Speaker 6: important in your life to what. 560 00:35:28,482 --> 00:35:32,802 Speaker 2: Why did people respond to Et? For children, it was 561 00:35:32,882 --> 00:35:36,682 Speaker 2: that the movie understood them and took their problems seriously. 562 00:35:37,482 --> 00:35:41,082 Speaker 2: For adults, it was the ability to see through younger 563 00:35:41,122 --> 00:35:45,802 Speaker 2: eyes and recall the excitement and fears of an unknown world. 564 00:35:46,522 --> 00:35:49,762 Speaker 2: The next time you watch the film, try to notice 565 00:35:49,842 --> 00:35:53,722 Speaker 2: how Spielberg shot it. The camera is often just a 566 00:35:53,762 --> 00:35:57,082 Speaker 2: few feet off the ground, as though the audience is 567 00:35:57,162 --> 00:36:01,442 Speaker 2: experiencing it from the perspective of a kid or a 568 00:36:01,522 --> 00:36:06,802 Speaker 2: short alien. For Simon and millions of other kids, E 569 00:36:07,482 --> 00:36:12,802 Speaker 2: was a controlled Catharsis. With his team of crafts people, actors, 570 00:36:12,882 --> 00:36:17,922 Speaker 2: and Melissa Matheson, Spielberg had somehow made people believe in 571 00:36:18,042 --> 00:36:23,082 Speaker 2: Et and in ET's bond with Elliott, which made their 572 00:36:23,162 --> 00:36:26,762 Speaker 2: separation at the climax all the more wrenching. 573 00:36:27,602 --> 00:36:29,882 Speaker 6: He just went in to see it, and I mean 574 00:36:30,202 --> 00:36:33,802 Speaker 6: all I remember as that seven year old was just 575 00:36:33,922 --> 00:36:39,442 Speaker 6: being traumatized, just being absolutely inconsolable on the way out. 576 00:36:39,722 --> 00:36:43,162 Speaker 6: And I still get that as well, and every time 577 00:36:43,202 --> 00:36:45,562 Speaker 6: I watch it, I still get it. But it was 578 00:36:45,642 --> 00:36:48,202 Speaker 6: a thing. I mean, all we were told going in 579 00:36:48,482 --> 00:36:50,562 Speaker 6: is you're gonna see it and you're gonna come out crying. 580 00:36:50,642 --> 00:36:53,042 Speaker 6: And we still all just went in. Our parents still 581 00:36:53,082 --> 00:36:54,282 Speaker 6: took us the sadists. 582 00:36:55,082 --> 00:36:58,602 Speaker 2: Matt went to see the movie, of course with his parents, 583 00:36:59,122 --> 00:37:03,082 Speaker 2: and kept looking for scenes in which he appeared under 584 00:37:03,242 --> 00:37:06,722 Speaker 2: pounds of rubber as Et. There was the scene with 585 00:37:07,002 --> 00:37:11,562 Speaker 2: et inebriated, and the one where a polaroid flash causes 586 00:37:11,642 --> 00:37:13,002 Speaker 2: him to topple over. 587 00:37:13,762 --> 00:37:15,722 Speaker 1: The other scene. So it was all the kitchen scenes. 588 00:37:15,722 --> 00:37:19,682 Speaker 1: Anytime Et is in a bathroom, that's me. So the 589 00:37:19,722 --> 00:37:22,762 Speaker 1: scene where she where de Wallace comes home the mother 590 00:37:23,482 --> 00:37:27,042 Speaker 1: and she's putting everything in the refrigerator. She's completely distracted 591 00:37:27,042 --> 00:37:29,682 Speaker 1: and she doesn't see me walking around her, and then 592 00:37:29,722 --> 00:37:31,842 Speaker 1: she opens the refrigerator door and it has been in 593 00:37:31,882 --> 00:37:33,602 Speaker 1: the face and I fall over. 594 00:37:33,722 --> 00:37:34,242 Speaker 4: That was me. 595 00:37:35,202 --> 00:37:38,362 Speaker 2: In the midst of all this, the media always kept 596 00:37:38,402 --> 00:37:43,042 Speaker 2: going back to a central question, how how had Et 597 00:37:43,282 --> 00:37:47,242 Speaker 2: been cobbled together to make for one of the few 598 00:37:47,522 --> 00:37:52,802 Speaker 2: truly convincing creatures in movie history. Time and time again, 599 00:37:53,242 --> 00:37:58,682 Speaker 2: Spielberg would dodge the question. Et was mysterious. Even the 600 00:37:58,722 --> 00:38:02,922 Speaker 2: first trailer for the movie avoided showing what he looked like. 601 00:38:03,642 --> 00:38:06,842 Speaker 2: He told the press at the can Film Festival where 602 00:38:07,322 --> 00:38:11,562 Speaker 2: premiered that Et was made out of love and that 603 00:38:11,922 --> 00:38:16,522 Speaker 2: it took twelve hearts to make ET's heartbeat. Asked what 604 00:38:16,762 --> 00:38:20,522 Speaker 2: materials were used, he said that you will not hear 605 00:38:20,602 --> 00:38:24,842 Speaker 2: the answer to that question from my lips. It seemed 606 00:38:24,962 --> 00:38:29,722 Speaker 2: like Spielberg and Universal wanted Et to remain an illusion. 607 00:38:30,442 --> 00:38:33,922 Speaker 2: They had never expressly told Matt not to discuss his 608 00:38:34,002 --> 00:38:37,522 Speaker 2: work in the movie, but Spielberg's reluctance to explain the 609 00:38:37,562 --> 00:38:42,082 Speaker 2: techniques used was something of a hint. Plus, think about it, 610 00:38:42,602 --> 00:38:45,042 Speaker 2: what if a kid in your school said he was 611 00:38:45,082 --> 00:38:48,282 Speaker 2: in the biggest movie of all time. You couldn't see him, 612 00:38:48,322 --> 00:38:50,922 Speaker 2: but he was there. It's kind of like the kid 613 00:38:50,962 --> 00:38:54,842 Speaker 2: who kept insisting his uncle worked for Nintendo. It just 614 00:38:55,202 --> 00:38:56,522 Speaker 2: smelt like baloney. 615 00:38:57,122 --> 00:39:01,082 Speaker 1: I mean, I might have started telling them, and then 616 00:39:01,442 --> 00:39:04,202 Speaker 1: I think maybe I initially did, and then they'd say 617 00:39:04,242 --> 00:39:08,882 Speaker 1: they'd seen a TV segment or read and starlog magazine 618 00:39:09,682 --> 00:39:14,042 Speaker 1: or somethinghow it was a robot, or how maybe it 619 00:39:14,082 --> 00:39:18,402 Speaker 1: was just this one actor or whatever, and they disbelieved me. 620 00:39:18,442 --> 00:39:20,522 Speaker 1: And I think after that I didn't like try and 621 00:39:20,562 --> 00:39:23,602 Speaker 1: convince them. I just figured eventually they'd figured out. 622 00:39:25,442 --> 00:39:29,722 Speaker 2: Almost everyone involved with ET experienced the shadow of it. 623 00:39:30,282 --> 00:39:34,042 Speaker 2: Henry Thomas remembers getting mobbed after the movie came out. 624 00:39:34,722 --> 00:39:39,082 Speaker 2: Even Pat Bylon got plenty of press attention, but Matt 625 00:39:39,402 --> 00:39:45,242 Speaker 2: was different. He was famous in plain sight, an anonymous celebrity, 626 00:39:46,122 --> 00:39:49,882 Speaker 2: but notoriety wasn't really the point. It was about an 627 00:39:49,922 --> 00:39:53,802 Speaker 2: experience that had come along at a good time. The 628 00:39:53,922 --> 00:39:58,922 Speaker 2: highs of ET were in sharp contrast to Matt's home life. 629 00:39:58,962 --> 00:40:03,762 Speaker 2: His parents had separated, his father's bipolar disorder going untreated 630 00:40:04,242 --> 00:40:09,282 Speaker 2: and slowly getting worse. Then later, in nineteen eighty two, 631 00:40:10,122 --> 00:40:13,642 Speaker 2: Matt heard the news no child should ever have to 632 00:40:13,802 --> 00:40:18,802 Speaker 2: endure tragically, his father died by suicide. 633 00:40:19,202 --> 00:40:23,562 Speaker 1: So, yeah, I've just lucky happenstance as something came along 634 00:40:23,602 --> 00:40:26,802 Speaker 1: at that time that would bring all this residual stuff 635 00:40:26,842 --> 00:40:29,762 Speaker 1: that would help me absorb the impact of my father diing. 636 00:40:30,922 --> 00:40:35,482 Speaker 2: There's a curious thread that weaves through ET. From the beginning, 637 00:40:35,602 --> 00:40:38,922 Speaker 2: Spielberg had envisioned it as a way into his feelings 638 00:40:38,962 --> 00:40:42,282 Speaker 2: about his own family. The divorce of his mother and 639 00:40:42,522 --> 00:40:47,522 Speaker 2: father in the film Elliot mirrors that same struggle, and 640 00:40:47,722 --> 00:40:50,682 Speaker 2: in Matt's world, the film had come at a time 641 00:40:50,842 --> 00:40:53,642 Speaker 2: his family suffered an incredible loss. 642 00:40:54,402 --> 00:40:57,282 Speaker 1: I was crazy, I made who knows, you know. If 643 00:40:57,282 --> 00:41:02,042 Speaker 1: I didn't have the cushion of ET to counterbalance up 644 00:41:02,162 --> 00:41:05,002 Speaker 1: the bitterness of that experience, I don't know what would 645 00:41:05,082 --> 00:41:07,322 Speaker 1: happen to What kind of person did I be today? 646 00:41:08,002 --> 00:41:08,282 Speaker 3: You know? 647 00:41:08,362 --> 00:41:12,522 Speaker 1: Like making all those new friends and having them as 648 00:41:12,602 --> 00:41:17,282 Speaker 1: my support system after my dad died was huge like 649 00:41:17,362 --> 00:41:21,482 Speaker 1: Robert found out. Robert McNaughton, the guy who played the Michael, 650 00:41:21,642 --> 00:41:26,322 Speaker 1: the older brother in ET. He was really supportive after that, 651 00:41:26,442 --> 00:41:30,002 Speaker 1: like he'd heard about my father. Like we gotten together 652 00:41:30,602 --> 00:41:33,922 Speaker 1: a couple of times after ET came out and really 653 00:41:34,002 --> 00:41:36,002 Speaker 1: had a good time. But after you heard my father 654 00:41:37,002 --> 00:41:40,402 Speaker 1: killed himself, he'd make an effort to come by my 655 00:41:40,482 --> 00:41:43,722 Speaker 1: house and we go and do stuff on the weekends, 656 00:41:43,762 --> 00:41:48,002 Speaker 1: like go watch movies, or go play tag and water 657 00:41:48,122 --> 00:41:52,842 Speaker 1: balloons and all that stuff, and just do the stuff 658 00:41:52,842 --> 00:41:55,762 Speaker 1: would distract me the horror of that time. That was 659 00:41:55,842 --> 00:41:59,042 Speaker 1: really great. So ET came along a great time. 660 00:42:00,162 --> 00:42:05,562 Speaker 2: ET never really lost that power for Matt or for anyone. 661 00:42:06,162 --> 00:42:09,362 Speaker 2: It was really, at least in theaters periodically through the 662 00:42:09,482 --> 00:42:13,682 Speaker 2: nineteen eighties. Spielberg refused to allow it to be available 663 00:42:13,722 --> 00:42:17,802 Speaker 2: on VHS until six years later in nineteen eighty eight. 664 00:42:18,482 --> 00:42:22,042 Speaker 2: There was a magic to it that he largely kept preserved. 665 00:42:22,762 --> 00:42:25,562 Speaker 2: There would never be a sequel, or even much talk 666 00:42:25,642 --> 00:42:30,202 Speaker 2: of one. Henry Thomas, who portrayed Elliott, appeared with ET 667 00:42:30,482 --> 00:42:35,042 Speaker 2: in a twenty nineteen commercial for Comcast that Spielberg approved of, 668 00:42:35,602 --> 00:42:39,002 Speaker 2: but not much else. And while it might seem easy 669 00:42:39,082 --> 00:42:43,242 Speaker 2: to conjure up Et as a CGI creation or even 670 00:42:43,322 --> 00:42:48,922 Speaker 2: another Latex costume. It's not Comcast used a hybrid option. 671 00:42:50,362 --> 00:42:52,842 Speaker 1: There's a reason for that because Latex you just can't 672 00:42:52,842 --> 00:42:56,082 Speaker 1: do a one to one copy of the original puppet. 673 00:42:56,082 --> 00:42:59,322 Speaker 1: There's something's going to be off the paint, the wrinkles, 674 00:42:59,842 --> 00:43:02,322 Speaker 1: the eyes. I don't know. Well, in the movie itself, 675 00:43:02,322 --> 00:43:03,922 Speaker 1: you can kind of see what ET almost has like 676 00:43:04,002 --> 00:43:06,522 Speaker 1: a lazy eye because they just couldn't get the one 677 00:43:06,522 --> 00:43:10,202 Speaker 1: of the eye to quite be symmetrical with the other one. 678 00:43:10,482 --> 00:43:13,522 Speaker 1: You know, they did a photo session with Michael Jackson. 679 00:43:13,562 --> 00:43:17,282 Speaker 1: You see there was something my ET's I that was degenerating. 680 00:43:18,682 --> 00:43:20,642 Speaker 1: So yeah, so I mean, going back to what we 681 00:43:20,682 --> 00:43:23,202 Speaker 1: were saying about the sequel, even if you got everything right, 682 00:43:23,722 --> 00:43:27,402 Speaker 1: but you just can't nail ET. You couldn't get that 683 00:43:27,722 --> 00:43:30,442 Speaker 1: ET look good match it from the first movie. 684 00:43:31,082 --> 00:43:35,322 Speaker 2: Matt wasn't completely done with the film business, though Et 685 00:43:35,562 --> 00:43:38,762 Speaker 2: would be a tough act to follow. A few years later, 686 00:43:38,842 --> 00:43:42,522 Speaker 2: in nineteen eighty five, he appeared in The Fourth Wise Man, 687 00:43:43,002 --> 00:43:46,962 Speaker 2: a biblical tale, playing a leoper. He also appeared in 688 00:43:47,082 --> 00:43:51,202 Speaker 2: Cyborg two, a sequel to a nineteen eighty nine Jean 689 00:43:51,242 --> 00:43:54,802 Speaker 2: Claude van Damn film that couldn't even manage to re 690 00:43:54,962 --> 00:43:56,962 Speaker 2: enlist Jean Claude van dam. 691 00:43:57,322 --> 00:43:59,442 Speaker 1: I had a speaking part in that. I'm not in 692 00:43:59,522 --> 00:44:02,242 Speaker 1: costume while I'm not in like a latex costume, so 693 00:44:02,362 --> 00:44:06,522 Speaker 1: that was like a futuristic dystopian picture. Angelina Jolie's in it, 694 00:44:06,642 --> 00:44:11,322 Speaker 1: Jack Plants, Elias cotaeis of a lot of great stars, 695 00:44:11,322 --> 00:44:14,722 Speaker 1: and that Billy Drago from The Untouchables and so yeah. 696 00:44:14,762 --> 00:44:16,682 Speaker 1: So I had a speaking part in that one. That 697 00:44:16,722 --> 00:44:20,322 Speaker 1: was probably my most memorable experience after ET was actually 698 00:44:20,322 --> 00:44:25,402 Speaker 1: doing a legit speaking scene, dialogue scene with those actors. 699 00:44:25,962 --> 00:44:30,682 Speaker 1: I played a character named manhole Man. He was like 700 00:44:30,722 --> 00:44:34,562 Speaker 1: a doorman to the overworld. 701 00:44:35,802 --> 00:44:38,922 Speaker 2: But for all of his immediate success, Matt didn't fall 702 00:44:38,922 --> 00:44:39,602 Speaker 2: in love with. 703 00:44:39,642 --> 00:44:43,762 Speaker 1: Acting and never felt natural to me. And then the 704 00:44:43,842 --> 00:44:48,442 Speaker 1: number of roles that come to handicapped people, especially someone 705 00:44:48,482 --> 00:44:51,282 Speaker 1: who's doesn't have any legs, few and far between. 706 00:44:52,842 --> 00:44:55,882 Speaker 2: Matt went on to teach English and then got into 707 00:44:55,962 --> 00:45:01,042 Speaker 2: writing and podcasting. He makes convention appearances away for fans 708 00:45:01,082 --> 00:45:03,922 Speaker 2: of ET to put a human face to the character. 709 00:45:04,762 --> 00:45:07,402 Speaker 2: Matt de Merit the creature Kid. I didn't know it 710 00:45:07,442 --> 00:45:10,402 Speaker 2: at the time. But he became part of a legacy 711 00:45:10,922 --> 00:45:16,882 Speaker 2: people who breathed life into fantastic creations. Once not long ago, 712 00:45:17,322 --> 00:45:21,882 Speaker 2: Matt found himself at a convention and sitting alongside Rico Browning, 713 00:45:22,322 --> 00:45:25,402 Speaker 2: the man who played the Creature from the Black Lagoon, 714 00:45:25,962 --> 00:45:29,682 Speaker 2: a nineteen fifty four classic Matt grew up watching with 715 00:45:29,802 --> 00:45:30,362 Speaker 2: his dad. 716 00:45:30,882 --> 00:45:33,682 Speaker 1: It was very flattered because he gave me his autograph 717 00:45:33,802 --> 00:45:37,642 Speaker 1: and told me how much he loved ET. And we 718 00:45:37,682 --> 00:45:40,562 Speaker 1: struck up a conversation, and I realized as I was 719 00:45:40,602 --> 00:45:42,682 Speaker 1: talking to him that Hey, you know, this is the 720 00:45:42,762 --> 00:45:45,522 Speaker 1: company I'm in. You know, I'm part of this company. 721 00:45:45,642 --> 00:45:48,162 Speaker 1: I was a man in a very famous creature suit. 722 00:45:48,962 --> 00:45:52,562 Speaker 2: This is ET for Matt a time in his life 723 00:45:52,602 --> 00:45:56,402 Speaker 2: that was a mixture of happiness and loss. The movie 724 00:45:56,562 --> 00:46:00,602 Speaker 2: is something audiences have treasured, but it was the making 725 00:46:00,762 --> 00:46:04,562 Speaker 2: of ET that allowed Matt to believe in himself. 726 00:46:05,802 --> 00:46:08,802 Speaker 1: There's a great word sweet, you know, and I think 727 00:46:08,882 --> 00:46:11,482 Speaker 1: life is just bittersweet. It's not always bitter, it's not 728 00:46:11,562 --> 00:46:16,122 Speaker 1: always sweet, you know, it's sometimes it just it converges 729 00:46:16,362 --> 00:46:21,002 Speaker 1: into an experience like that, you know, where these two 730 00:46:21,042 --> 00:46:26,762 Speaker 1: concurrent things happen, both positive, one positive, one incredibly negative. 731 00:46:27,362 --> 00:46:30,602 Speaker 1: It gave me the confidence to discourse with people and 732 00:46:30,642 --> 00:46:33,202 Speaker 1: interact with people, you know, because I did at this hook. 733 00:46:33,242 --> 00:46:36,442 Speaker 1: It wasn't just my disability, wasn't just the subject of 734 00:46:36,442 --> 00:46:41,002 Speaker 1: the conversation, but this glorious movie that people cried during 735 00:46:41,082 --> 00:46:44,762 Speaker 1: and laughed at, you know. So it's really hard for 736 00:46:44,802 --> 00:46:47,722 Speaker 1: me to get my mind around that. So there's always 737 00:46:47,762 --> 00:46:49,962 Speaker 1: going to be a bit of a detachment from that, 738 00:46:50,202 --> 00:46:54,482 Speaker 1: like pinching myself. Is it's still real, you know, like 739 00:46:54,522 --> 00:46:57,002 Speaker 1: when I do convention with with Robert and Henry today. 740 00:46:57,122 --> 00:47:00,322 Speaker 1: So I can't believe forty years later was still talking, 741 00:47:00,562 --> 00:47:06,162 Speaker 1: you know, and we're still having the same laughs that 742 00:47:06,202 --> 00:47:10,162 Speaker 1: we had back then, and we're still celebrating this movie 743 00:47:10,482 --> 00:47:11,402 Speaker 1: forty years later. 744 00:47:14,762 --> 00:47:17,282 Speaker 4: Okay, we usually cast these stories at the end. It's 745 00:47:17,322 --> 00:47:20,322 Speaker 4: kind of hard to make this one a movie. And 746 00:47:20,362 --> 00:47:23,922 Speaker 4: there's also been very against making any ET sequels in 747 00:47:23,962 --> 00:47:26,442 Speaker 4: all these years. But does anyone want to pitch an 748 00:47:26,482 --> 00:47:27,602 Speaker 4: ET sequel? On the fly? 749 00:47:27,762 --> 00:47:27,962 Speaker 1: Here? 750 00:47:28,082 --> 00:47:28,242 Speaker 3: Oh? 751 00:47:28,282 --> 00:47:32,282 Speaker 2: God, an ET sequel? Okay, Elliott goes to his planet, right, 752 00:47:32,362 --> 00:47:34,082 Speaker 2: that's the classic sequel reversal. 753 00:47:34,482 --> 00:47:37,762 Speaker 5: Oh, that's good, like that, that's brilliant. 754 00:47:37,842 --> 00:47:39,322 Speaker 3: Write that. You have to write that. 755 00:47:39,842 --> 00:47:42,602 Speaker 2: Yes, I'm sure, I'll write that everyone will be clamoring 756 00:47:42,642 --> 00:47:43,002 Speaker 2: for it. 757 00:47:43,442 --> 00:47:46,682 Speaker 4: I was thinking about Avengeful Et later in life coming 758 00:47:46,722 --> 00:47:49,922 Speaker 4: back less of a heartwarming story than what we're done. 759 00:47:50,242 --> 00:47:54,242 Speaker 5: Oh oh, Evengefully he comes back to destroy the earth. 760 00:47:55,202 --> 00:47:58,842 Speaker 2: Or Et comes back as Elliott is getting a divorce 761 00:47:58,962 --> 00:48:01,402 Speaker 2: as an adult and he has to work through that. 762 00:48:01,842 --> 00:48:06,602 Speaker 3: Ah. Yes, mid life crisis Elliott. Brilliant. These are all 763 00:48:06,642 --> 00:48:09,202 Speaker 3: good for a very special character. 764 00:48:09,402 --> 00:48:12,522 Speaker 4: So in the cold open, that was my youngest daughter Juliette, 765 00:48:12,522 --> 00:48:14,722 Speaker 4: who we roped into doing a little voice acting. She 766 00:48:14,762 --> 00:48:18,882 Speaker 4: gave us multiple takes. Total pro if nepotism is not 767 00:48:18,962 --> 00:48:22,442 Speaker 4: allowed for these official rankings, but we're cool with looking 768 00:48:22,482 --> 00:48:24,642 Speaker 4: the other way. For to some medical ethics, I would 769 00:48:24,722 --> 00:48:27,922 Speaker 4: pick the doctor who got his former patient his start 770 00:48:27,962 --> 00:48:28,602 Speaker 4: in Hollywood. 771 00:48:28,682 --> 00:48:29,922 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, good points. 772 00:48:30,002 --> 00:48:32,722 Speaker 2: I'm going to actually say the casting director who's like, 773 00:48:32,962 --> 00:48:35,122 Speaker 2: we should call a hospital, that's the move. 774 00:48:38,202 --> 00:48:40,162 Speaker 3: I'm going with the crew who went and put the 775 00:48:40,202 --> 00:48:40,762 Speaker 3: fire out. 776 00:48:40,802 --> 00:48:42,602 Speaker 5: I thought that was brilliant because you got to have 777 00:48:42,682 --> 00:48:45,362 Speaker 5: those people with fast acting, clear headed, no panic. 778 00:48:45,602 --> 00:48:48,562 Speaker 4: Also loved Simon brew Another shout out to Simon to 779 00:48:48,602 --> 00:48:51,602 Speaker 4: coming on and giving us some Hollywood history. I love 780 00:48:51,682 --> 00:48:55,522 Speaker 4: Simon old friend, great voice, good podcast. Go check out 781 00:48:55,602 --> 00:48:56,842 Speaker 4: film stories after this. 782 00:48:56,922 --> 00:48:59,722 Speaker 5: As Dana said, totally, this was a hard one to cast, 783 00:48:59,762 --> 00:49:02,762 Speaker 5: by the way, because you have the main actor like Matt, 784 00:49:02,802 --> 00:49:05,362 Speaker 5: He's got to play himself, right. I mean this is automatically, 785 00:49:05,442 --> 00:49:07,642 Speaker 5: this is the Jackie Robinson story to play yourself. 786 00:49:07,642 --> 00:49:07,882 Speaker 3: Brother. 787 00:49:08,242 --> 00:49:10,722 Speaker 5: But other than that, I could cast Steven Spielberg as 788 00:49:10,802 --> 00:49:11,602 Speaker 5: Jesse Eisenberg. 789 00:49:11,762 --> 00:49:12,602 Speaker 3: I thought that one worked. 790 00:49:12,642 --> 00:49:15,482 Speaker 5: I can see that Melissa Matheson screenwriter Emma Stone, but 791 00:49:15,522 --> 00:49:19,722 Speaker 5: as a brunette. And then Carlo Rimbaldi Adrian Brody. He 792 00:49:19,762 --> 00:49:22,362 Speaker 5: feels like the outsider's outsider in Hollywood. I think he 793 00:49:22,402 --> 00:49:25,442 Speaker 5: can bring that right creature feature energy. And then finally 794 00:49:25,482 --> 00:49:28,842 Speaker 5: as Pat the little person. I thought the actor Danny Woodburn, 795 00:49:28,882 --> 00:49:31,722 Speaker 5: who played Seinfeld's comic friend on Seinfeld, is like kind 796 00:49:31,762 --> 00:49:34,322 Speaker 5: of like a brilliant little person actor. I thought he 797 00:49:34,362 --> 00:49:37,002 Speaker 5: could give you that Hollywood veteran vibe that sounds great. 798 00:49:37,162 --> 00:49:37,482 Speaker 3: Love it. 799 00:49:37,522 --> 00:49:39,642 Speaker 4: I would see that version of this. I don't know 800 00:49:39,642 --> 00:49:42,442 Speaker 4: if it's officially an et squel, but let's talk, but 801 00:49:42,522 --> 00:49:43,802 Speaker 4: I do want to see Dana's. 802 00:49:43,602 --> 00:49:45,042 Speaker 3: One hundred percent both of them. 803 00:49:45,042 --> 00:49:47,722 Speaker 2: Actually I am my alien. It's sort of like an 804 00:49:47,762 --> 00:49:49,002 Speaker 2: alien three situation. 805 00:49:51,242 --> 00:49:54,042 Speaker 4: Very Special Episodes is made by some very special people. 806 00:49:54,922 --> 00:49:59,002 Speaker 4: The show's hosted by Danish Schwartz, Sarah Burnette and Jason English. 807 00:49:59,162 --> 00:50:02,762 Speaker 4: Today's episode was written by Jake Rossen. Our producer is 808 00:50:02,842 --> 00:50:07,242 Speaker 4: Josh Fisher. Our story editor is Marisa Brown. Ed and 809 00:50:07,362 --> 00:50:11,682 Speaker 4: sound design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher. Mixing and 810 00:50:11,762 --> 00:50:15,802 Speaker 4: mastering by Beheid Fraser. Special thanks to our voice actors 811 00:50:16,402 --> 00:50:21,882 Speaker 4: Jessica Krinchitch and Juliette English. Original music by Alice McCoy. 812 00:50:22,522 --> 00:50:26,402 Speaker 4: Research in fact checking by Jake Rosson and Austin Thompson. 813 00:50:26,882 --> 00:50:31,642 Speaker 4: Show logo by Lucy Quintinia. Our executive producer is Jason English. 814 00:50:32,002 --> 00:50:33,962 Speaker 4: If you want to email the show, you can reach 815 00:50:34,042 --> 00:50:38,282 Speaker 4: us at Very Special Episodes at gmail dot com. Very 816 00:50:38,362 --> 00:50:42,362 Speaker 4: Special Episodes is a production of iHeart Podcasts.