Steven Spielberg on 'E.T.'s Reese's Pieces Scene and How It Changed From Script to Screen (Flashback)
10.06.2022 - 20:59
/ etonline.com
Steven Spielberg originally wanted to feature his favorite candy. But it wasn't Reese's Pieces. To celebrate the iconic film’s 40th anniversary, ET is looking back at one of its most famous behind-the-scenes stories.
As Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy explained about the fan-favorite scene, in screenwriter Melissa Mathison’s initial draft, Elliott (Henry Thomas) left a trail of M&Ms to lure the shy alien to his home in the San Fernando Valley. So, why the switch?“I wasn't in direct communication with M&Ms. I simply made the request,” Spielberg told ET in 2001 as he promoted the movie’s special edition release for the following year.
“It was M&Ms in the screenplay.”Years before shepherding a new era for as president of Lucasfilm, Kennedy produced several movies regarded as essential classics today, including the , and franchises, to name a few. At the beginning of this prolific career, Kennedy was Spielberg's assistant before quickly receiving one of her first producer credits for As she recalled, Spielberg was intent on keeping everything about the movie under wraps throughout production, which not only included story details, but, most crucially, the titular otherworldly being’s appearance.“He didn't want anyone to see the character of E.T.
or get pictures,” Kennedy told ET in 2001.This air of secrecy led to the eventual downfall of s potential collaboration with M&M's, a candy under the umbrella of Mars, Incorporated. Even in the wake of Spielberg’s box office success in 1981, the company was hesitant to lend one of its trademark products. “When we contacted [Mars] to use M&M's, of course, they wanted to see the script,” Kennedy remembered.
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