by Paul Fischer

It seems only yesterday when moviegoers first saw a 7-year old Drew Barrymore screeching at E.T. Now at a less precocious 27, Barrymore recalls that more innocent time in her life, before the drugs, controversy and stardom took over. "I remember everything extremely vivid, as if it was yesterday," Barrymore explains with genuine enthusiasm,"when you have to remember your lines and just be there and responsible, it stimulates your memory so well or your awareness. So, you know, it really is as if it was very recent in my memories even though I'm realizing it was 20 years ago." Only a few days prior to our meeting Barrymore saw E.T again, for the first time in over 10 years "It was just such an incredible film that makes you feel so good, makes you so emotional that you just let go and enjoy the adventure of it." This time around, as an adult, Barrymore saw the film and recalls just being "moved by it; not believing how beautifully shot it was, admiring the scoring and music and how well the special effects were handled. It really occurred to me just what an incredible film it is on a filmmaker's level and the writing and the acting; I was just overwhelmed by how wonderful it was."

This was only the third time that Barrymore had seen E.T, each time at a different phase in her life: Barrymore recalls those different experiences. "The first time, at age 6, I thought it was still in the middle of the family. We made the film. We were promoting it and everyone was still together. I was getting to travel the world and see that there were all these different types of cultures and people as I had never been outside of California. Wow, the world was so big, and it made me so unjudgmental towards people. I saw it again when I was 14. I had just moved into my first apartment. I was living on my own, things had been a little crazy in my life. So I'm sitting in this apartment and I'd borrowed the video from a neighbor. I watched it. I cried and I just thought, 'This is such a good movie. It's sweet, it's so wonderful and interesting.' I don't know how much pain I really had. I just sort of watched it feeling a little distant from it. Now, when I watched it this time, I was so happy, thinking, 'God, I have this great life and I feel so good,' and I let the film completely take me over. I was just really moved and excited and had my little tissues and wasn't afraid to cry. The film seemed better than ever."

ET is being reissued with an additional scene and the re-mastering of some of the film's sequences. At its core, Steven Spielberg's much discussed sci-fi fable has emotional elements that still manage to speak to a more cynical audience. Young Drew was required to shoot a number of emotional scenes and handling those moments, the actress now recalls, was simply part of her job. "I never took it seriously. When I had to get sad we got sad, you know? Spielberg told me that, when I was doing the film, I should never act my character, that I should see my character, which is a lesson that has been more valuable to me than 20 years of acting classes. Just that one thing really hit me and gave me the key to travel the universe." Spielberg remains one of Barrymore's strongest influences, and became her Godfather, recalling that "he was definitely the first adult male in my life that showed me that trust, consistency and giving of your time was actually a very real thing. I did not believe that before him."

Barrymore's life has not been all peaches and cream. After ET, despite starring roles in Firestarter, Irreconcilable Differences and Cat's Eye, Drew's adolescence was one of drugs and alcohol and coping with her newfound celebrity. By the mid-nineties, Barrymore found solace in her work, garnering positive reviews for Boys on the Side, Batman Forever, Everyone Says I Love You, The Wedding Singer, Ever After and Never Been Kissed, to name a few. Now as prolific a producer as she is a movie star, it's hard to believe that she had a once turbulent life. Perhaps it's that turbulence that has kept Barrymore grounded. "I realized that I had to overcome the trials and tribulations of my life. You have to. You don't have a choice. And the fact is that everything in life actually is a choice, so I just chose to experiment, get my life back on track and continue to go on an incline for happiness and enjoyment of life on a daily basis."

Barrymore's career continues to go from strength to strength. She is producing and starring in a remake of the campy sci-fi film Barbarella, is shooting George Clooney's directorial debut Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and yes, Barrymore is producing and starring in Charlie's Angels 2: Halo, about which she is most excited. "We're looking at it as this is our second case. We were freshman, now we're sophomores, so it's a little bit more adult. We've grown. We know things now and I think that's reflected in the tone. It's still really true to what it is."