Movie fans had the chance to own a piece of Hollywood history when the original mechanical animatronic ET head for Steven Spielberg's hugely popular film ET The Extra-Terrestrial was auctioned off.
According to TMZ, the event began Thursday with a “Robots, Wizards, Heroes and Aliens” themed evening in Beverly Hills as part of a four-day event called “Hollywood Legends through Julian's Auctions.”
The winner paid a whopping $5,635,000 to acquire the ET head created by legendary special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi.
There were a total of 12 bids when the winning bid was submitted.
The head consists of a metal frame and an outer skin made of foam latex, which was able to activate the pulsation of the veins in some close-ups.
The original ET mechanical animatronic head made for Steven Spielberg's hugely popular film ET The Extra-Terrestrial was auctioned for $635,000
ET was sold on Thursday during an event called “Hollywood Legends” through Julian's Auctions
Rambaldi, who also designed the aliens for Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, made four heads for the filming of ET, one as the main animatronic and the others for facial expressions, as well as a costume, according to Wikipedia.
The puppet, which controlled ET's face using animatronics by a team of puppeteers, was created in three months for $1.5 million.
Two little people, Tamara De Treaux and Pat Bilon, as well as 12-year-old Matthew DeMeritt, who was born without legs, took turns wearing the costume during filming, which lasted from September to December 1981 and had a budget of $10.5 million. had dollars.
DeMeritt actually walked on his hands and acted out all the scenes where the ET character was supposed to walk awkwardly or fall over.
The head was placed above the actors, who could see through slits in his chest.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Melissa Mathison, ET The Extra-Terrestrial was released in June 1982 to great acclaim.
The film tells the story of a boy named Elliot who befriends an alien named ET who was left behind on Earth.
Along with his friends and family, Elliott must find a way to help ET find his way home.
The cast included Dee Wallace, child stars Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore, as well as Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, C. Thomas Howell, KC Martel and Sean Frye.
The head consists of a metal frame and an outer skin made of foam latex, which was able to activate the pulsation of the veins in some close-ups
There were a total of 12 bids when the winning bid was submitted
Drew Barrymore was also part of the cast, which also included Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, C. Thomas Howell, KC Martel and Sean Frye
ET “The Extra-Terrestrial” became a blockbuster hit, ultimately grossing more than $792 million on a budget of $10.5 million
By the end of its theatrical run in 1983, the film had grossed $359 million in the United States and Canada and $619 million worldwide.
The film was re-released in 1985 and 2002, grossing an additional $60 million and $68 million, respectively, for a worldwide total of just over $792 million.
The box office smash sci-fi hit received nine Oscar nominations at the 55th Academy Awards, winning in the categories of Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound and Best Sound editing”.
The film's five other nominations included Best Picture and Best Director for Spielberg.
ET “The Extra-Terrestrial” also won five Saturn Awards and two Golden Globe Awards during its current awards season.
In 1994, the film was added to the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, which deemed it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”