Stranded on Earth

MAX EVRY is the author of A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune (2023), praised by Empire, SFX, The Hollywood Reporter, The A.V. Club, and The Wall Street Journal, among others.As a film journalist, he has worked as a writer, interviewer, graphic designer, video creator, and managing editor for outlets including Wired, MTV, IGN, Box Office Pro, and Den of Geek. He has also contributed audio commentaries and featurettes for home video companies including Arrow, Kino Lorber, and Vinegar Syndrome, covering classic and contemporary films such as Foul Play, Blackhat, and the Best Picture Oscar winner Marty.

• PART I: BLUE SKYChapter 1. Alien Origins: Steven Spielberg’s FirelightChapter 2. Are You An Artist?: The Close Encounters PhenomenonChapter 3. …of the Fourth Kind: Making a Reluctant SequelChapter 4. UFO Straw Dogs: The Kelly-Hopkinsville IncidentPART II: DARK SKYChapter 5. Solar Sayles: Crafting the ScriptChapter 6. Cobb Salad: Finding a DirectorChapter 7. Rick Baker, Nightmare Maker: Constructing Five CreaturesChapter 8. After School: The Other Childhood RompChapter 9. Second Thoughts: Melissa Mathison Switches GearsPART III: BRIGHT SKYChapter 10. A Boy’s Life: Making E.T.Chapter 11. I’ll Buy Right Here: The Biggest Movie of All TimeChapter 12. Re-Reborn: Night Skies Finds New Life…?Chapter 13. Dissected, Probed, & Mutilated: InfluenceChapter 14. Night Must Fall: ConclusionSpecial ThanksImage CreditsAbout the Author

"Max Evry's Stranded on Earth: How Night Skies Became E.T. dives headfirst down the rabbit hole, and doesn't look back. The book features brand-new interviews with a plethora of primary sources who were present for the development of both pictures, and ultimately serves as a fascinating and thoroughly exhaustive exploration into one of the greatest what-if stories to ever come out of Hollywood. Warts and all!"— SyFy“For a sci-fi/horror movies that never was, Night Skies holds quite a story, and Stranded on Earth is here to tell it. [Author Max Evry] covers every aspect of the failed project, from creative to business. Overflowing with information, this hardcover tome is genre filmmaking geekdom at its finest.”— Rue Morgue