The Day Steven Spielberg Rolled A One And Encountered A Giant Snail Plus The Real Reason D&D Was Not In E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Steven Spielberg's First Experience With D&D Ends Quickly

It is known that Steven Spielberg likes to get to know his cast members when directing a movie, and that was no exception when filming E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. When the cast were in Northern California he made the extra effort to get to know the kids.

During the filming of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg turned up unannounced to play Dungeons & Dragons with Robert MacNaughton and Henry Thomas while they were staying at a motel. Steven had never played the game before so MacNaughton created a new character for the director.

Steven Spielberg's first experience with D&D was a bad roll. Robert MacNaughton recalls:

"He rolled the dice and of course it's all random, but the very first thing that happens - he comes across a giant snail and gets killed. He rolled a one, which is basically death. Henry and I still laugh about that to this day because I started freaking out because I killed the director who was making an effort."

The Real Reason D&D Was Not Officially In E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

It's a well known fact that they couldn't get the rights to Dungeons & Dragons for the actual movie so the scene in the kitchen where they are playing a game that looks like D&D and eating pizza was never referred to as the game. The script was top secret at the time and when they sent a snippet to the rights holders of the brand they absolutely refused. Robert MacNaughton said:

"It was funny because the script was top secret, so [the producers] sent just a few pages to the creator of Dungeons & Dragons...And he said, 'I absolutely will not allow the name D&D to be used because they're gambling on the game.' I guess he misunderstood. There was a script note that we had money for pizza on the table, and he thought we were gambling on Dungeons & Dragons. That was a costly mistake. He could have had all that high-end E.T. marketing."

Thanks to the excellent E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial The Ultimate Visual History book which is packed with behind-the-scenes stories just like this one from cast and crew. It has a foreword by Drew Barrymore and introduced by Kathleen Kennedy. The book has multiple pull-outs and replicas such as Steven Spielberg's stage pass. Caseen Gaines is the author who also wrote the excellent We Don't Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy. This is NOT a sponsored post. This is just me highly recommending this book to all Spielberg and movie fans.

Specifications

ISBN:9781803361444

Format: Hardback

Pages: 192 (All the popular sites say 192 pages but mine has 240.)

Published: 30 August 2022 (UK)

Dimension: 279mm x 235mm (UK)

Titan Books Link

Rob Wainfur

The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

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