Melissa Mathison Libri

Now, at last, we see where E.T. comes from -- who he really is and what his own distant world is like. Return with him to the Green Planet, whose inhabitants are the supreme masters of all growing things in the galaxy. Wander through their immense enchanted gardens, to which E.T. has returned, with Gertie's geranium, a fondness for junk food, and an all-consuming love for the earthling Elliott and his family. But things on Earth have changed since E.T. left. Elliott has begun to notice the opposite sex, and his cherished memories of E.T. are losing ground to thoughts of a girl in his class who wears a rhinestone ponytail clip. More important, he seems to have forgotten E.T.'s teachings of gentleness and peace. He is about to become the most terrible thing of all, observes E.T. from three million light years away. He is about to become -- Man.

E.T. is the movie that created one of the most recognized icons of the twentieth century, and has become the enduring classic about a remarkable friendship between a boy and an alien visitor. And this is the only book that tells the story of how the movie was conceived and made. Here are stories from director Steven Spielberg, writer Melissa Mathison, producer Kathleen Kennedy, child stars Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore, and members of the crew. Spielberg and Mathison tell us how E.T. evolved from Spielberg's concept into Mathison's screenplay. We learn about the mechanics of how the alien was made to walk, talk, eat, and phone home. We go on the set to discover, firsthand, how the most memorable scenes were filmed, including the scene of the boys flying over the moon and the good-bye scene that had us in tears. Lavishly illustrated, with full-color stills and behind-the-scenes photographs, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial from Concept to Classic includes the complete screenplay, as well as excerpts from the reviews and feature stories that appeared when the film was first released in 1982. Here is a book that puts you in the director's chair during the making of one of the most extraordinary films ever created.