In anticipation of its long-awaited release on Blu-ray next month Steven Spielberg‘s timeless masterpiece E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial will be returning to theaters for a limited engagement….a very limited engagement. Okay, it’s one day.

That’s right, Universal Pictures, in cooperation with NCM Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies, is bringing E.T. back to the big screen on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 7 pm with special matinee screenings in select theaters at 2 p.m local time the same day.

You can check out the Blu-ray trailer here below.

Although 2012 is the year that the world comes to an end, studios are still planning for films to be released many years after. It’s always good to have a back-up plan, you know, just in case the apocalypse doesn’t happen. Joking aside, Warner Bros. would like to get into the world-ending business by giving Drew Barrymore the job of directing a film simply titled The End.

The Hollywood Reporter says the film will focus on how several people spend their last day on Earth. But rather than take a comedic approach like Seeking A Friend for the End of The World and Edgar Wright’s upcoming World’s End or an action approach like Roland Emmerich’s 2012, The End will be “uplifting and humanistic rather than a downer, a meditation not on death but on life.” Characters in the film will range from “a sixtysomething radio personality in London intent on broadcasting until the end, a father trying to make it through the chaos in Tokyo to reach his wife and baby and a teenage couple in the American Midwest being pulled in different directions by their families.”

I can think of no better way to commemorate Labor Day weekend then by seeing a movie about an American on vacation in Italy being contracted to do someone’s dirty work; a Mexican on a mission in Arizona being contracted to do someone’s dirty work; or a long distance romantic comedy… about a couple being contracted to do someone’s dirty work (please let it be about that).

Well, I have no doubt what I’m going to be seeing this weekend. Here’s a hint: Tom Savini is in it. What about you?

The three big movies of the week are: The American, Going the Distance, and Machete.

“All right, let’s show ’em what we got, guys! Get out there on the ice and let ’em know you’re there. Get that fuckin’ stick in their side. Let ’em know you’re there! Get that lumber in his teeth. Let ’em know you’re there!”
— Reggie Dunlop from Slap Shot

“Now that I’ve got school covered, I’ve only have the world outside these walls to fuck up.”
— Diana Guzman from Girlfight

“Well, put on some skates and be your own hero.”
— Maggie Mayhem from Whip It

The sonic fury of a film’s soundtrack is integral to its lasting presence. The soundtrack to Drew Barrymore‘s Whip It is a furiously beautiful compliment to this potent and rousing coming of age film. Barrymore understands the importance of a film’s soundtrack. She understands how vital the musical component is to the film. All one has to do is read her note that she wrote for the soundtrack album:

“Music is the soundtrack to our lives, and when you put music and film together, it is a powerful combination.”

“I have always been someone that had a great appreciation for the art of the mix tape.”

“This soundtrack is my mix tape for you.”

Drew Barrymore gets it. She understands the relationship between music and film. While watching the film, I would crack a smile as songs by The Breeders, Tilly And The Wall, The Ramones, The Chordettes, Dolly Parton, Peaches, and many others would blare out during the film’s many magical and cathartic moments. A good soundtrack is essentially an awesome mix tape. Drew Barrymore understands this all too well for her directorial debut.