Posted on 11/04/2015 5:53:19 PM PST by Borges
Melissa Mathison, who was Oscar-nominated for original screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial†and also wrote “The Black Stallion,†died Wednesday in Los Angeles after an illness, her brother Dirk Mathison confirmed. She was 65.
She recently reunited with Spielberg to write the screenplay for Roald Dahl adaptation “The BFG,†which is in post-production. Mathison, who was married to Harrison Ford from 1983 to 2004, had two children with the actor, Malcolm and Georgia.
Mathison also served as associate producer on “E.T.,†which was produced by Kathleen Kennedy.
Spielberg, who worked closely with Mathison on the concept for the film partially inspired by his parents’ divorce, said in a statement Wednesday, “Melissa had a heart that shined with generosity and love and burned as bright as the heart she gave E.T.â€
On a DVD special edition of the 1982 classic, Spielberg described her contribution: “Melissa delivered this 107-page first draft to me and I read it in about an hour. I was just knocked out. It was a script I was willing to shoot the next day. It was so honest, and Melissa’s voice made a direct connection with my heart.â€
Mathison explained on the DVD: “I would write for four or five days in my little office in Hollywood, and then drive out to Marina Del Rey where Steven Spielberg was editing in a little apartment on the beach. I’d bring him my pages and we’d sit and go through them…It took about eight weeks for us to get the first draft, which was quite fast, I think.â€
She also wrote screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s 1997 “Kundun,†during which she started a friendship with the film’s subject, the Dalai Lama.
She had a particular feeling for children’s literature, adapting classic novel “The Indian in the Cupboard†for Kennedy-Marshall Productions. She also wrote screenplays for “The Escape Artist,†a segment in the “Twilight Zone†movie as well as the TV movie “Son of the Morning Star.â€
Mathison was born in Los Angeles and attended U.C. Berkeley.
“Mathison was born in Los Angeles and attended U.C. Berkeley.”
I’ll try not to hold that against her, because E.T. rocked my socks and rocked my kids’ socks, too. Inspiring movie, all the way around.
What DO Harrison and Calista talk about? How can you trade such TALENT and INTELLIGENCE for a dopey stick figure?
Never understood that one...unless Mathison dumped HIS butt and we never heard about that, LOL!
I may be the only person in the world who didn’t like ET but I really, really did not like it. I could not stand it.
One only had to look at Tony Curtis. He could only stand to be married to 19-21 year old women no matter how old he got! I imagine he emotionally matured to about 19 years old and just couldn't live with anyone older than that!
Lots of guys have that problem. Actors or people in the media business especially.
Unfortunate but true.
RIP.
What science fiction do you like?
ET was boring, like Close Encounters, a snooze fest
Don’t feel bad, my son didn’t like it either. I loved the Black Stallion. E.T. was ok but not one I would watch more than once.
Let's just say he's no Han Solo or Indiana Jones.
After watching one of his movies and then seeing an interview of him, you'll proclaim he is the GREATEST ACTOR ever.
You may have not liked the premise of the movie, but there's no denying it captured America in all of its glory under Reagan.
I liked “Forbidden Planet” and most episodes of the original “Star Trek” Also the first two “Star wars” movies.
The Black Stallion, wow, what a movie..!
I think Disney, yes, but...it didn’t suck at all.
really? I suggest you phone home.
I saw it once and was bored out of my mind. At the end I was rooting for the military to stick E.T. in a barrel of formaldehyde.
True, he is nothing like his on screen persona.
>> ...you’ll proclaim he is the GREATEST ACTOR ever.
I see what you did, there.
Is Ford stupid or something? I’ve never seen him in an interview.
He’s got a bit of the sardonic edge of his iconic movie roles.
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/harrison-fords-first-role-as-a-bellhop-when-the-112888538907.html
As you can see in the clip above, it was a pretty tiny part — he has a quick conversation with James Coburn while trying to deliver an envelope — and it’d be hard to predict that the 24-year-old in the green jacket would ultimately become an icon. In fact, that’s exactly what some of the brass at Columbia though, too; as he recalled in an interview with Conan O’Brien, Ford was chastised by Walter Beakel, the head of the New Talent program for not seeming like a movie star during his brief 30 seconds of screen time.
“He said, ‘I saw the rushes from yesterday … You’re never going to make it in this business. The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie, he delivered a bag of groceries. You took one look at that guy and you said, That’s a movie star,’†Ford recalled. â€And I leaned across his desk and I said, ‘I thought you were supposed to think that’s a grocery delivery boy.’â€
Ford or ET ;)?
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