The original animatronic figurine of ET the extraterrestrial, used in the film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg, found a buyer on Saturday December 17 for 2.6 million dollars (2.45 million euros).
The sale was organized in Beverly Hills (California) by the specialized house Julien’s, in partnership with Turner Classic Movies. The friendly alien has been one of the most famous characters in pop culture and science fiction since the release ofANDa huge success, in 1982.
Animated by a dozen people on set, the alien seemed so real that actress Drew Barrymore, who played ” the little sister [d’Elliott] in the film, truly believed that ET belonged to a real living species”recalls Martin Nolan, the executive director of Julien’s Auctions.
Engineering Jewel
Steven Spielberg spoke to special effects specialist Carlo Rambaldi. The Italian, also known for the King Kong from 1976 and the Alien of Ridley Scott, in 1979, had won thanks to AND a third Oscar.
Almost the entire figurine is articulated: his bulging eyes, his long neck and, of course, his luminous finger, which he shines in Steven Spielberg’s film before delivering his cult line: “AND home phone”.
A scale model of the brown alien also sold for $125,000 (117,000 euros), slightly more than one of the bikes used in the final scene, which went for $115,000 (108,000 euros).
Other iconic objects of the seventh art fetched high bids, such as the stick with which Charlton Heston split the Red Sea in two in The ten Commandments (448,000 dollars, approximately 422,000 euros) and the Nimbus 2,000 broom from Harry Potter (128,000 dollars, approximately 120,000 euros).