Stephen Spielberg Confirms E.T. Is ‘Moist’

Speaking to the New York Times recently, director Steven Spielberg answered an E.T. question he said he’d never been asked before.

Host of NYT podcast The Daily, Rachel Abrams, said: “The question is not original, and it’s probably only for me, but, was E.T. slimy or dry?”

The Disclosure Day director laughingly replied, “That’s a wild question.

“E.T. was a little moist,” he smiled, “but never slimy”.

He continued, “E.T. was only dry when E.T. got sick, and then E.T was dry…

“When I hear the word ‘slimy’, I think it’s… Ridley [Scott, the director of sci-fi flicks like Alien]’s, you know… alien, when the teeth come out. That’s slimy.

“E.T. never had the tendrils of drool,” Steven added (well, at least that’s… something?). “We didn’t go that far.”

Steven pushed back on Abram’s comment about the question not being original, too.

“I’ve never been asked that question before. Ever,” he stated.

The Standard has previously explained that the on-screen model was made from a metal animatronic base covered in foam latex. Whether Spielberg meant the actual model or the theoretical species to which E.T. belongs remains a mystery.

For those who still have questions about the on-screen alien – we have many – there’s more E.T. trivia.

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about the fact that E.T. isn’t his real name.

Instead, he’s officially called Zrek.

We know this because of a nine-page treatment that Steven Spielberg and co-writer Melissa Mathison wrote to pitch a sequel for the movie called E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears.

The name Zrek was mentioned three times in the document, referring to E.T..

But alas, Spielberg said it was never meant to be.

“Sequels can be very dangerous because they compromise your truth as an artist,” he shared.

“I think a sequel to E.T. would do nothing but rob the original of its virginity. People only remember the latest episode, while the pilot tarnishes.”

If he were ever to make a follow-up film, though, it looks like he wouldn’t use artificial intelligence (AI) to render E.T.’s “moist” (shudder) skin.

Speaking to ITV recently, he said, “I would never have used AI” to create sounds in Disclosure Day.

He’d previously stated, “I’m not willing to substitute, because I don’t really believe in sentience… I don’t believe there is any substitute for the soul. I don’t think that is an algorithm that is inventible.

“Use AI as a tool, but do not use AI as the final word on anything creative. That’s where I draw the line.”