Drew Barrymore reunites with Dee Wallace for the 40th anniversary of ‘ET the Extraterrestrial’

Last monday, Drew Barrymore got a surprise on her program ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ with the visit of Dee Wallace, actress who played her mother in the science fiction classic ‘ET, the extraterrestrial’. The two actresses sat down to talk about the film and told amusing anecdotes about the filming, like one time ET’s suit went up in flames. The endearing 1982 film directed by Steven Spielberg will celebrate its 40th anniversary on June 11.

The ‘Charlie’s Angels’ actress was just a 7-year-old girl when she appeared on the big screen as Gertie, one of the main characters in ‘ET’ This role marked the starting point in her career as an actress.

During the show, Dee Wallace recounts how she once saw little Drew talking to ET behind the scenes and jokes about how the little girl seemed to think ET was real.

Wallace also recalls with a laugh how he tried to prepare the girl for one of the most dramatic scenes. “Okay, Drew. Now we’re going to shoot a scene where ET is dying. But he’s not really going to die, honey. He’s just acting, like us, you know?”, he explains gently. To this, little Barrymore replies “I know, Dee, do you think I’m stupid?”.

The now TV presenter He will also meet with Spielberg, with whom he has a very close relationship, to celebrate the film’s anniversary. “He’s a father figure to me”, tells the actress of ‘Donnie Darko’ and ‘Scream. Watch who’s calling’.

The TCM Film Festival returns

The 40th anniversary of Spielberg’s film coincides with the return of the TCM Film Festival, which had had to move to the digital environment due to the pandemic. There, Barrymore, Wallace and Spielberg will also meet with actors Henry Thomas and Robert MacNaughton to celebrate and see the film together again.

The event will take place at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood from April 21-25.