A Reel Preview: Everything You Need to Know About READY PLAYER ONE

In 1993, famed director Steven Spielberg released two films which could not be more different from each other. In June of that year, he wowed the world with JURASSIC PARK; an action-adventure film which literally brought dinosaurs to life. Less than six months later, he brought us the WWII Holocaust drama SCHINDLER’S LIST, which won Spielberg Best Director and Best Picture. Today, the situation is similar. Less than three months ago, Spielberg was sitting at the Oscars being honored for his acclaimed political drama THE POST, and now this week he brings an sci-fi adventure which could not be more different in the form of READY PLAYER ONE. Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is this about? – READY PLAYER ONE is based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline. Set in the year 2045, humanity uses a massive virtual-reality called OASIS to escape the desolation of the Earth. A young man named Wade Watts takes on a challenge by the OASIS creator to discover hidden clues within the program, with the ultimate prize being complete control over OASIS.

Who is in this? – The main character of Wade is played by 22-year-old Tye Sheridan, whose credits include JOE (2013), and X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (2016). He is joined by Olivia Cooke, known mostly for her role in TV’s BATES MOTEL. The rest of the impressive cast includes Ben Mendelsohn (ROGUE ONE), Mark Rylance (BRIDGE OF SPIES), Simon Pegg (STAR TREK), and TJ Miller (DEADPOOL).

Who is behind this? – Anyone who knows anything about film knows that Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential filmmakers in history, having made some of the greatest films of all time…such as JAWS (1975), CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977), RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981), ET THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982), and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998). The script is written by author Ernest Cline, and Zak Penn. Penn’s writing credits include X2 (2003).

Random Facts – The virtual-reality world that Wade and his eventual companions venture through is populated by characters and items from pop culture, such as King Kong, the Iron Giant, and the DeLorean time machine from BACK TO THE FUTURE. More surprises have been promised * Before Spielberg took the job, other directors considered were Christopher Nolan, Robert Zemeckis, Matthew Vaughn, and Peter Jackson * Spielberg himself is mentioned in the novel, but the director has stated that he would be removing any references to his movies * The score was originally going to be composed by long-time Spielberg partner John Williams, but he stepped away because he was scoring Spielberg’s THE POST at the same time. This is only the third Spielberg film (out of 33), without a Williams score * This is Spielberg’s first science-fiction film since his lousy WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005) * The novel gets its title from a phrase from the days of classic video games *

What to expect – It seems that Steven Spielberg is the perfect man for this job. Most of the pop culture references in the film seem to source from the 1980’s, and no other director influenced 80’s culture like he did. In a way it feels like he’s coming full circle by doing READY PLAYER ONE, and that alone is very exciting. The cast is very solid, and Tye Sheridan has proven that he can shine in large, big-budget productions as well as indie drama. The trailers so far have made this look like another CGI headache, but with Spielberg at the helm, we can expect some of his magic.

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READY PLAYER ONE opens March 30^th in 2D and 3D formats.