<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $10.5 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $792.9 million </Td> </Tr> <P> E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction fantasy film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Melissa Mathison . It features special effects by Carlo Rambaldi and Dennis Muren, and stars Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote and Pat Welsh . It tells the story of Elliott (Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth . Elliott and his siblings help E.T. return home while attempting to keep him hidden from their mother and the government . </P> <P> The concept was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents' divorce in 1960 . In 1980, Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the stalled sci - fi horror film project Night Skies . It was filmed from September to December 1981 in California on a budget of US $10.5 million . Unlike most films, it was shot in rough chronological order, to facilitate convincing emotional performances from the young cast . </P>

Who played the mom in the movie et