ET model
The three-foot-tall model has an aluminum skeleton covered in latex, foam, straw, acrylic paint and adhesive.
Fans of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial have a chance to own an important prop used in the beloved 1982 science fiction film.
A body model of E.T.—the friendly brown alien who befriends a young boy after being left behind on Earth—is heading to the auction block. Auction organizers expect it to fetch up to $900,000 during Sotheby’s “There Are Such Things: 20th-Century Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy on Screen” sale.
The three-foot-tall body model was used during one of the movie’s most iconic scenes, in which the orphaned extraterrestrial hides among stuffed animals in the closet of 10-year-old Elliott (played by Henry Thomas). With his eyes wide, E.T. sits silently among a pile of toys to avoid being detected by Elliott’s mother (played by Dee Wallace).
The model consists of an aluminum frame covered in latex, foam, straw, acrylic paint and adhesive, all attached to a metal base. Sotheby’s says the model’s wear is consistent with its age and production use.
It belongs to the estate of Carlo Rambaldi, the Academy Award-winning Italian special effects artist who worked on E.T., as well as King Kong, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Alien and many other sci-fi films.
Rambaldi died in 2012, but his family held onto the E.T. body model and other items from his storied special effects career. Sotheby’s is also offering up several of Rambaldi’s sketches of E.T., an animatronic reproduction he made of the alien’s left eye and two sand worms he created for the 1984 film Dune.
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“We hope that the artifacts being offered will bring immense joy to those who will cherish them in the years to come, just as they have brought great emotions to my family and shaped the magic of my childhood,” says Rambaldi’s daughter, Daniela Rambaldi, in a statement. “These iconic pieces hold a special place in our hearts, and it is our sincere wish that they continue to inspire and captivate future generations.”
While writing the screenplay for E.T., Melissa Mathison intentionally omitted any mention of the lovable alien’s physical characteristics, according to Sotheby’s. That meant it was up to Spielberg and Rambaldi to determine the creature’s aesthetic. They drew inspiration from Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway and Carl Sandburg, as well as a painting Rambaldi had made in 1952 titled Women of the Delta. Rambaldi also studied his family’s Himalayan cat, Kika.
“I remember saying to Carlo, here’s some pictures of Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway and Carl Sandburg. I love their eyes,” Spielberg said in a 1996 documentary, per Popular Science’s Andrew Paul. “Can we make E.T.’s eyes as frivolous, and also wizened and as sad, as those three icons?”
Rambaldi and four assistants worked long hours to create multiple body models of E.T. to be used during filming, including animatronic versions that could move and talk.
“Carlo Rambaldi was E.T.’s Geppetto,” Spielberg said in a statement after Rambaldi’s death, per the New York Times’ Daniel E. Slotnik.
The film racked up numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards in 1983. At one point, it was the highest-grossing movie ever made. Rambaldi played a big role in the movie’s success, thanks to his “meticulous craftsmanship” in bringing the title character to life, says Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s vice chairman of science and natural history, in a statement.
“This model embodies the artistry of an era before CGI took hold, a nostalgic and iconic piece of Hollywood history as captivating as the stories themselves,” she adds.