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‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin

May 17, 2022 · E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) · Adventure · Family · Sci-Fi · 1:47:55 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

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Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 14:50The Speak and Spell becoming a gateway to the tech/communicator is shaky
Bill Simmons▶ 1:34:0610-year-old Henry Thomas riding the bike 'like he's fucking Tony Hawk' - going down hills, implausibly skilled; also pressed where the family actually lives (never stated - license plates say California, maybe near Tahoe, but there are redwoods).
Chris Ryan▶ 1:39:26When the house is put under 'space quarantine,' what do the neighbors think is happening? There's one shot of onlookers, but it's never addressed - a news crew would be there within two days.
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:36:17Organized her nits by category (health and safety, food, California living, stealth). Top ones: why is there a cornfield in Elliott's backyard that appears nowhere else; what do all the keys on Keys's keyring open (he won't remove them even in the hazmat suit); and did the school stop making kids chloroform frogs after Elliott freed them?
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:34:23You can see Henry Thomas riding visibly slower and less sure-handed than the other kids - stopping with his foot, turning carefully - whether because he couldn't ride well, was accounting for E.T., or was told to slow down. Also teased Mallory for how deep her nit lists go.

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 16:33Henry Thomas — Discussed Henry Thomas's career peak performance and how the movie's success may have been unfair to his later career, noting he's become an accomplished actor in Mike Flanagan shows
Bill Simmons▶ 1:22:01Spielberg 'probably had two apex mountains' - basically two different careers (Jaws era and this era); this is apex for every kid actor except Drew Barrymore (her apex is the 2000s rom-com run, 'Fever Pitch range'); Dee Wallace yes; and for kids movies the answer is no - 'it has to be Toy Story because of the Pixar era' even though he thinks E.T. is the best kids movie.
Chris Ryan▶ 15:21Stand by Me — Apex Mountain for child ensembles, comparing it to Stand By Me
Chris Ryan▶ 1:20:56Spielberg: previously said Schindler's List and Jurassic Park in the same year, but 'it has to be this' - Raiders and E.T. in back-to-back years while producing Poltergeist. Also ruled apex mountain for aliens is the chestburster coming out of John Hurt's stomach in Alien.
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:23:26Not apex for aliens overall, 'but if we go with the subgenre of friendly aliens then yes'; argued Grogu doesn't count as a rival because we don't view him through a purely human perspective; raised Reese's Pieces as the apex mountain for product placement ('it almost seems pure in this one').
Sean Fennessey▶ 15:27Henry Thomas — Focused on Henry Thomas carrying the burden of making E.T. believable and called his performance remarkable, praising Spielberg's direction of child actors
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:27:03For merch, 'it has to be Star Wars' (Lucas got points, so Spielberg presumably did too); pushed back on Spielberg framing by noting he must have made far more on Jurassic Park points; floated Star Wars as the movie that really captured kids.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 40:48Multiple scenes including Elliot luring E.T. with Reese's Pieces, E.T. meets the siblings, E.T. escapes and explores the house, Gertie dresses up E.T., Halloween bicycle flight across the moon, E.T. phone home sequence, and the final goodbye
Chris Ryan▶ 42:35E.T. meets the siblings scene with Gertie screaming, Halloween bicycle flight, and E.T. phone home sequence
Mallory Rubin▶ 48:42E.T. phone home sequence, Halloween trick-or-treating and bicycle flight across the moon, and the forest scenes where E.T. actually phones home
Sean Fennessey▶ 50:16E.T. getting drunk and psychically linked with Elliot during the classroom frog dissection and dance sequence imitating The Quiet Man

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:12:05Ralph Macchio — Ralph Macchio almost cast as one of the other kids, Henry Thomas nearly blew audition but got job after crying about his dead dog, Cory Feldman's part eliminated in script rewrite, D Wallace's part possibly offered to Shelley Long who chose Night Shift instead, Harrison Ford could have been the school principal
Chris Ryan▶ 1:13:29Harrison Ford — Harrison Ford as the school principal would have taken him out of the movie because you can't have Han Solo in a world where Star Wars exists

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:14:32Peter Coyote — Suggests Peter Coyote as 'that guy' who became known as 'Keys from E.T.' and later mentions Erica Eleniak but ultimately concludes the category is empty since main characters like Drew Barrymore are too prominent
Chris Ryan▶ 1:17:32Erika Eleniak — Agrees with Peter Coyote discussion, mentions Erica Eleniak from the science class scene who later appeared in Baywatch and Under Siege, but seems to agree the category might be empty

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:30:05Multiple questions: How does Gertie show up at the end when only mom, Peter and Keys drove? Was E.T. the beyond burger of aliens (plant-based)? What could have been the worst realistic thing to happen to E.T.?
Chris Ryan▶ 1:29:31What do the neighbors think is happening during the NASA quarantine? E.T. could have called the wrong aliens and an invading force could have shown up. Where exactly do they live geographically?
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:31:37Multiple health and safety questions about quarantine protocol being abandoned after E.T. dies. Why is there a cornfield in Elliott's backyard that disappears? What are all the keys on Keys' key ring for?
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:34:23Observations about Henry Thomas's bike riding skills and how he seemed less sure-footed than the other kids, questioning if it was due to acting limitations or safety concerns

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:45:29Steven Spielberg — Spielberg
Chris Ryan▶ 1:45:54E.T. (the alien)
Mallory Rubin▶ 1:45:38Steven Spielberg — Spielberg
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:46:02Aliens (as a concept)

Movies Referenced (53)

Jaws (1975)

11 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 10:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

11 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Mallory Rubin, Bill Simmons▶ 3:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jurassic Park (1993)

5 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons▶ 31:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 23:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Toy Story (1995)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 2:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Gandhi (1982)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 26:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Home Alone (1990)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 2:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jagged Edge (1985)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 1:15:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 31:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Stand by Me (1986)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 15:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

War of the Worlds (2005)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 34:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Basic Instinct (1992)

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (10)

Tony Scott

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Domino, Unstoppable, True Romance▶ 12:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Spielberg

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons · Known for Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Saving Private Ryan▶ 1:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Mann

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for The Insider, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans▶ 33:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Peter Jackson

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin · Known for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Bad Taste, King Kong▶ 32:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Anthony D. Syracuse

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, KPop Demon Hunters▶ 23:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cecil B. DeMille

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for The Ten Commandments, The Greatest Show on Earth, Sunset Boulevard▶ 27:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joe Dante

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Innerspace, Gremlins▶ 1:11:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Carpenter

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Dark Star, Halloween▶ 25:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Paul Weston

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Fences, Carol▶ 40:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Eggers

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Lighthouse, The Witch, Nosferatu▶ 27:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (27)

Henry Thomas

17 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Mallory Rubin · Known for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Legends of the Fall▶ 15:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Williams

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, Chris Ryan · Known for Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Superman▶ 39:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dee Wallace

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial▶ 8:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Drew Barrymore

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Charlie's Angels, 50 First Dates, Never Been Kissed▶ 15:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Harrison Ford

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, The Fugitive▶ 24:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Peter Coyote

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin · Known for Bitter Moon, A Walk to Remember, Patch Adams▶ 18:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Charles Durning

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Dog Day Afternoon, O Brother, Where Art Thou?▶ 26:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jerry O'Connell

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Stand by Me▶ 1:25:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Justin Henry

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sixteen Candles▶ 15:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Jackson

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 1:20:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Anna Paquin

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for X-Men, X2: X-Men United▶ 27:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Anthony Hopkins

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for The Silence of the Lambs, Nixon▶ 1:19:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (6)

George Lucas

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, THX 1138, American Graffiti▶ 5:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mike Flanagan

4 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Life of Chuck▶ 8:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Frank Price

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 24:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Sayles

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Lone Star, Eight Men Out▶ 29:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Raymond Carver

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Short Cuts▶ 12:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tony Kushner

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Lincoln, Munich▶ 35:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Gordon Willis

1 mentions · Mallory Rubin · Known for The Godfather Part II, Manhattan▶ 56:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗