This is such a brilliant film and a big part of my childhood and I have loved re-connecting with it to create my take on the Spielberg classic. I haven’t tried to change the narrative but simply put my stamp on it and make changes to key props that could so easily have happened simply by different bikes being available for example. The bond between E.T and Elliott was beautiful, god that thing was ugly but really easy to bond to, the fact that the boy had a broken family made it really special and the lovely line from E.T to Elliott promising ‘I’ll be right here’ had to be the title of the piece as it evokes that ‘no matter what’ quality, an unbreakable bond even if he did wobble off into a huge bloody space ship!
The film is 100% great throughout but for me the scene for this piece has to centre around the forest and the point where the bikers head to and the spaceship lands within the trees. I loved the lighting so felt right to embrace this with how I introduce light and ambience into my works. What I have done is to create a scene where it is up to you what is happening, where are the 5 boys that have left their bikes against the trees, is that spaceship landing or taking off? That is made even more poignant when you notice the orange glow from E.T that shines through the darkness, is he about to leave? Has he returned, is he choosing to evade not only those that chase him but the ship also? When you notice that he is there I would hope that it makes the piece even more enchanting and special.
I loved my Raleigh Grifter as a kid in the 80s, there seemed to be so many iconic bikes back then and I’ve chosen to embrace that with choosing a mix of great bikes that make up the 5 from the chase as they head to the forest with E.T swaddled in the basket. Elliott’s bike is at the front of the picture, with his name being a decal on the frame. Each bike is touched by magic that radiates from the ship which caused them to fly, a blue glow to mimic that in the film. Choosing a darkening forest, I wanted to create a rich ambience with car lights, torch lights as well as the presence of the ship and the glow that radiates from it, creating an ethereal quality so everything included made sense and had a purpose. I wanted to play on that sense of urgency and the chase, the desperation to evade those who want to undo the good and break that bond. The fact they were being chased and the fear the boys had is amplified within the forest whilst on the flip side it offers protection from the search lights both from the torches and the ship. I have left it open for you to decide what’s happening.