Steven Spielberg says Drew Barrymore in The Others made him want to be a father
Drew Barrymore and Steven Spielberg
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TCMDrew Barrymore was a breakout star ET is extraterrestrial — and she left a particularly significant impression on the director of the film.
Steven Spielbergwho produced and directed a seven-year-old Barrymore in the 1982 film, revealed during an appearance at the TCM New York Film Festival on Saturday (January 25) that the 49-year-old actress has inspired new ambitions in him. .
“Up until this point … I was just making movies,” Spielberg, 78, said during a panel discussion at the festival that he moderated Dave Kargertrans People. “It was my life. I was obsessed with telling stories, but doing ET made me want to become a father for the first time. I never even thought about it until now ET»
Barrymore, who appeared alongside the iconic director, responded: “Didn’t I spoil it for you?” to which Spielberg sweetly replied, “On the contrary.”
Matt Winkelmeier/Getty Images Ross Matthews’ first viewing of The Alien will be extra special as he plans to see the film with girlfriend Drew Barrymore and her family. “I’ll be watching it with her and her girls,” Matthews, 44, told Us Weekly earlier this week while attending the annual GLAAD Media Awards in (…)
Starring Gertie, the kind-hearted younger sister of Elliot, whom she plays Henry Thomasand Michael, who played Robert McNaughtonArt ETBarrymore was also heavily influenced by the experience of filming at the time.
“I think ETfor me, it’s the (film) I’m most proud of,” Barrymore said, “because it’s the one that changed my life.
Drew Barrymore in ET
Mark Sennett/Getty ImagesShe continued: “There is no doubt about it. Everything in my life has to do with how one person believed in me, and that’s a life I try to cherish every day.”
The duo’s trip down memory lane also led to Spielberg, who is a father of seven children aged between 28 and 48, revealing that ET serves as one of the most viewed projects. He told the panel crowd that he’s seen the film “probably more than I’ve seen any other film I’ve ever directed, partly because I’ve shown it to all my kids.”
Spielberg shares 39-year-old Max with his ex-wife Amy Irvingas well as Jessica, 48, Theo, 36, Sasha, 34, Sawyer, 32, Michaela, 28, and Destry, 28, with their wives Kate Capshaw. He is also a grandfather of six.
“I showed the film to all my children and a couple of grandchildren,” he said. “Some of them are still too young because I always worry about what they are worried about ET and I want to let them know what to expect before they turn the corner and be surprised.”
Spielberg said this in April 2022 during an interview at the Turner Classic Movies film festival ET and the alien character himself was partially inspired by his parents’ divorce. “What if the creature was part of a foreign exchange program?” Spielberg said then. “What if I turned my story of divorce into a story of children, family, trying to meet a great need and creating such a responsibility?”
He continued: “Divorce creates a lot of responsibility, especially if you have siblings; we all care about each other. What if Eliot … had to, for the first time in his life, become responsible for a life form to fill the void in his heart?”
In 1983 ET surpassed Star Wars to become the highest grossing film of all time. According to A New York Times article published in July 1982. ET grossed $87 million at the box office and was named the “hit of the summer” by the television agency.
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