12 Things You Probably Never Knew About E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Another enforced deviation from the original screenplay (which underwent remarkably little change from first draft to shooting script) saw Spielberg abandon the idea of having Elliott and E.T. tracked to a hospital by their government pursuers after his long search for a suitable building to film in turned up empty. His inspiration for the scene that would eventually replace it came when he arrived late on a flight to Los Angeles International Airport.

The cause of the flight's delay was the extensive construction work going on in the terminal. Huge plastic sheets were draped over scaffolding and cylindrical tubing was visible everywhere you looked, a sterile setting that the director would be inspired to recreate on film. Instead of setting the pivotal scene in a hospital, he decided that the government would use the materials he saw being used in the airport to hide Elliott's home, and the end result was one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

Production designer James Bissell and cinematographer Allen Daviau decided on a house in the Northridge neighbourhood of Los Angeles for the exterior shots, whereas the interior shots were completed on a carefully designed (and totally creepy looking) sound stage.