Thanks everyone for expressing their appreciation. In sum about the E.T. bike poster -- I think it's best to regard it as a rare specialty item -- similar to the first Star Wars 20x29 promo poster drawn by Howard Chaykin. The BIG difference is Chaykin's Star Wars poster was a true commercial poster -- sold openly by the hundreds for under $2 (I believe it had a flat retail price of $1.75) at Comic-Con here in San Diego in 1976. The E.T. bike poster was never to be sold and showed up at Comic-Con in scattered numbers. IF a 27x41 or 27x40 bike poster exists, in nearly 30 years, no one has stepped forward here in CA with one in hand for me to measure and inspect. And I think that would've happened long ago. It would've been easier to print and cut this poster standard size, but Spielberg has a long history of advance paranoia about his pictures. None of the original '82 issue lobby cards and posters show E.T.'s face, let alone the bike image. The bike poster's smaller width and length thwarted standard theater display frames in 1982 -- so if anyone displayed it, most likely it was in their homes or offices. Combine this with what I saw at Comic Con in 1982-1983, I can't think of too many alternate scenarios that'd make sense to me. -kuz.
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 14:23:32 +1100From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Re: E.T. Bicycle 1sh. ?To: [email protected] David's incisive reporting on this poster is terrific. Thanks very much for that. Knowledge is knowledge to be shared, it's not power. As for Bruce's NSS book - what about scanning the pages and making available as a PDF file? Phil ----- Original Message ----- From: Douglas Ball To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 2:00 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] E.T. Bicycle 1sh. ? Thanks David, Doug, & Bob, for thanking the time to share all your information on this wonderful, but mysterious poster. While I am disappointed that I did not receive a Spielberg personal released poster, I feel a little better that it is at least an original 2nd release. Doug ----- Original Message ----- From: David Kusumoto To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2008 4:22 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] E.T. Bicycle 1sh. ? ** I would be very suspicious of any E.T. bike poster measuring 27 x 40 or 27 x 41. ** For nearly 30 years, stories about "origin" of the E.T. bicycle poster have circulated -- but the consensus is they were NEVER issued to theaters in 1982 (vs. subsequent re-issues) -- because Spielberg thought the image gave away a key moment in the picture. They were designed and marked by "B.D. Fox and Friends, Inc." -- but they all have the MPAA's PG rating, suggesting there was pre-release thought by Spielberg reviewing poster "mock-ups" -- that this version "would be the one." Instead, they were specialty printed and given to cast and crew and VIPs, of which there were many, but certainly under 1,000. ** The ones I saw and bought at Comic-Con in 1982 were all rolled, never folded and beautifully printed. You could buy them for $40 -- but at Comic-Con, they were FEWER in number than the Alvin-designed spaceship advance -- and FAR FEWER in number than the standard 27x41 "touching fingers" design. I bought three "bike" designs in 1982-1983 -- but THEY ALWAYS MEASURED 26 3/4 x 40 1/2, give or take 1/16" to 1/8." You don't think of measuring these things until you decide to frame them. I vividly remember because like an idiot, I had a local framer in San Diego dry-mount one of them and the frame was much smaller than my other framed 27 x 41 posters. We're talking decades ago. But this memory stuck. The bike posters appeared purposely under-sized; they would not fit in standard U.S. theater display frames at the time. TOO SMALL. ** I have NEVER seen a genuine 27 x 40 or 27 x 41 E.T. bicycle poster. NEVER. Even though Orion and Tri-Star dabbled in 26 3/4 x 39 3/4 one-sheets by 1984 to save paper, smaller sized posters by Universal Studios didn't make sense in 1982). Both the E.T. spaceship advance and standard style A measure 27 x 41. The bike style is a rare specialty poster with no relationship to the film's "official" list of 1982 theatrical release posters and lobby cards. A press kit I saw more than 20 years ago confirmed this. ** What makes matters worse -- is some sellers don't have time -- (or are TOO LAZY, when they shouldn't for this poster) -- to accurately measure the bike one-sheets. During the past 15 years, I've seen these listed on eBay or in catalogs -- as 27 x 41. They may be original -- but they confuse or anger the hell out of buyers, esp. "post-sale" -- by stating they measure 27 x 40 or 27 x 41. The only legal and licensed repros of the bike design are 11 x 17 master prints. That's it. Everything else in MY book, based on what I handled in 1982 -- is supposed to be 26 3/4 x 40 1/2. Bruce has sold this design a number of times -- and they have been original -- and I noticed he's one of the handful of sellers who always gets the measurements RIGHT. The only reasons the bike poster hasn't been as widely tarnished as the "minty white inserts" or "bogus Star Wars" posters are its abberational dimensions and pristine printing & sharpness.-kuz w/the news. ----Original Message----Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2008 08:31:50 -0500From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: E.T. Bicycle 1sh. ?To: [email protected] What is the true story behind the E.T. bicycle style poster? The rumor is that Spielberg had made up 27 x41 versions that he passed out personally. These I understand are extremely hard to find??? I just bought one from a MOPO dealer which stated it was guaranteed 27 x 41, but was really 26 3/4 x 40 1/2. rumor is that these posters where made for first release, but never really released??? I also believe Dan Rickard had something on his site years ago about there being a reprint??? Does anyone really know the truth or strong opinion about this poster? Thanks, Doug Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
