12 Things You Probably Never Knew About E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
11. Harrison Ford Was Supposed To Play Elliott's Headteacher
Everyone knows that Spielberg loves a good cross-reference, though one of his lesser-known nods to his other works was to have his Raiders of the Lost Ark star Harrison Ford appear as the headteacher at Elliott's school. The move was never intended to capitalise on Ford's success, however, as he appeared with his back to the camera for the entirety of his scene.
Spielberg made an early decision to be very particular with the camera work, keeping angles low and trying to put the viewer in Elliott's eyeline as much as possible in an attempt to draw the audience into the child's world and into his worries. Apart from Elliott's mother, there isn't a single adult face visible until the third act of the movie begins, and Ford was no exception.
The scene, which was eventually cut due to time constraints, framed Elliott with shots of Ford's shoulders, hands and legs as the principal lectures his student from the comfort of his office, missing the fact that Elliot is levitating in his chair as he gazes absentmindedly through his blinds. Great archaeologist, terrible principal.