The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
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because you know what he means. After he recalls that moment, he gets up
and leaves Elliott a total 180 degrees from what Elliott was in the beginning
of the movie. Elliott is a man.
It’s just a perfect movie. And it’s a perfect journey. And it is so broad and
big in its themes and what it tackles, and yet so intimate.
Spielberg says it’s his most personal film, about his parents’ divorce, at a
time when divorce rates were climbing. How resonant was that for you?
Herzlinger: Well, here’s the thing, for me, it wasn’t resonant at all, because
my parents are still happily married.
In the film, the scientist played by Peter Coyote tells Elliott, essentially:
“I’ve been looking for this creature, E.T., all my life. He visited me as a
child.” Do you believe him?
Herzlinger: Do I think that another alien visited Peter Coyote as a child? No.
Do I believe that in his imagination and in his heart of hearts it’s true? Yes. The
beautiful part about the Peter Coyote character is this: he is an absolute good
guy. And look at his scenario. He’s a guy who’s in touch with his inner child.
He’s a guy who’s in touch with what this means overall. He’s not there to dissect
the thing. He’s surrounded by the people who are more concerned about
defense and more concerned about protecting the secret and the security of the
nation. But he’s the guy who is Elliott grown up. I think he’s Elliott as an adult.
Tell me about the cultural impact of this film, what it was like to grow
up when this film came out.
Herzlinger: Yeah, you know, I cannot imagine being a six-year-old kid
and not having this movie out there. I think what’s important about it is it
validates you as a child to believe in what’s out there, or to believe in anything
that you know otherwise would seem ridiculous to believe in. When
you are sitting in a theater filled with people who are all experiencing this
and believing, you believe that in this alien—this is a character with personality,
with heart—this is a being.
I think it gave us permission to believe, and I’ll tell you right now, one of
my biggest things as a person, as a filmmaker, is being able to believe. If I didn’t
have that and didn’t have that ability, I would have failed at this business.