Hey, guys. Quint here. I'm horribly embarrassed that we didn't do a proper tribute to Maureen O'Hara when she passed and even though I'm running on fumes on a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles I couldn't rest easy without putting some words down about the work of the incredibly talented Melissa Mathison, whose death yesterday came as a huge shock to me.
I'll quote her most famous character right now and just say “Ouch.” I had no idea she was sick and her passing hit me pretty hard.
To say Ms. Mathison's work had a huge impact on me is a bit silly. Of course it did. Her script for ET made the entire world cry both sad and happy tears and will continue to do so as long as there are screens and eyeballs to watch the dancing lights and shadows on them.
That script, and film, is an all-timer. I highly recommend you tracking down her actual written screenplay and you'll see that Steven Spielberg had a hell of a foundation in place before he cast one role or picked a single lens.
All the emotion, humor and natural charm of that film was there at the beginning. Spielberg did a masterful job shooting it and you can tell he poured every ounce of his heart and soul into it, so I don't mean to belittle his contributions at all.
Throughout his whole career he's been an incredible collaborator, but at that particular time he picked amazing people that perfectly complimented his sensibilities. Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, John Milius, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan and Melissa Mathison all gave us different flavors when mixed with Spielberg's genius.
ET was always a personal film for Spielberg, but it's impossible for me to think how any other screenwriter could have done a better job.
Mathison was nominated for ET, but didn't win. She lost out to Gandhi's John Briley, who did fantastic work as well. Can't get too mad at his win, but I have to think that time has proven her work there has resonated more strongly.
Over the summer I watched ET with my movie buddy nephew, who was hopped up on candy and ice cream and had seen the film a few times, but still got real quiet when ET got sick, cuddled up when he died and cheered when he came back.
The next generation will have the same strong memories of this movie that I do and that's kind of incredible to me.
Mathison's ET work is her most famous, but she was no one hit wonder. In fact, she had already written a family classic before ET was a gleam in Spielberg's eye.
The Black Stallion was huge for me as a kid. Not quite ET huge, but still big. It's a gorgeous movie beautifully laid out by Mathison for Carroll Ballard.
Another script of hers, for a movie called The Escape Artist, came out the same year as ET. I actually haven't seen this film and when I looked it up I couldn't believe it wasn't on regular rotation for me growing up. A little kid escape artist centered in a movie with some of the best characters actors of the time (everybody from Raul Julia to M. Emmet Walsh)? I am going to track down this film ASAP.
Mathison also scripted Spielberg's segment of The Twilight Zone movie, which isn't my favorite, but is undeniably filled with whimsy and charm.
She didn't write 5 movies a year, but when she did she gave us something quality. I have very fond memories of taking my then 4 year old brother to see The Indian in the Cupboard. I keep coming back to the word “charming,” but everything she touched had that little something special. I don't find Indian in the Cupboard to have the staying power of something like ET or Black Stallion, but it's a damn good movie that puts most family fare made today to shame.
I thought she was retired after scripting Kundun for Martin Scorsese, another fine picture, but was shocked like everybody else when it was announced that she was going to reteam with Spielberg once again, this time doing an adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG.
It bums me out that we won't get any further works of wonder from her, but at the same time I can't help but feel grateful that we'll get one more Spielberg/Mathison joint.
I never met Ms. Mathison, but I've heard over and over again that she was a great person. Just looking at some of the photos I've included here you can get a sense of her personality.
While many outlets will focus on her marriage to Harrison Ford, and I still think it's awesome that Indiana Jones fell in love with ET's mom, I think it's a bit of a dick move to make that the focus of her impact on cinema. She gave us one of the most beloved movies of all time and left nothing but quality work in her wake.
I, for one, will miss her work.
My thoughts are and will be with Ms. Mathison's friends, family and fans. Thanks you so much for everything you gave us.
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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