As the Lieutenant washes his hands, literally and figuratively, he mentions: "I had a call from upstairs.It was also memorable for the cameo appearances of real-life journalists-reporters (Elmer Davis, H.V.Kaltenborn, Drew Pearson, and Gabriel Heater) playing themselves.The entire film was a precursor o Spielberg""sClose Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)andE.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and to John Carpenter""sStarman (1984).Director Brad Bird""s animated Cold War fableThe Iron Giant (1999), set in the 1950s, was about another peace-loving giant robot from outer space and its friendship with a young boy, who were sought by a paranoid government agent.A four and one-half hour long, made-for-TV mini-series itledStephen King""s The Shining (1997), (with Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay), due to King""s dissatisfaction, was a more literal rendering of the original source material, and included a famous topiary-animal attack scene.His arrival was a hopeful sign - the children""s appearance in Narnia was "finally starting to weaken the Witch""s power.