2018
Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s best-selling novel Ready Player One is his first foray into the realms of science fiction since War of the Worlds (2005) and the first Steven Spielberg-directed film project for Warner Bros. since A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001).
Set in the year 2045, the dystopian story unfolds in a massive multiplayer online role-playing game called The OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation), a fake utopia that most people on the world come to prefer to the harsh reality of their lives. Young Wade Watts (or Parzival as he is known in The OASIS), is devoted to the game, and manages to unlock the first clue to a contest that promises the winner control of The OASIS and the massive fortune of the games’ creator, James Donovan Halliday. Parzival has to compete against an armada of egghunters (”gunters”) who try to find Halliday’s “easter eggs”.
The story is filled with references to the 1980s - including films produced or directed by Steven Spielberg. However, Spielberg decides to remove most of those film references from the script:
I love the ‘80s, and I think one of the reasons I decided to make the movie was that it brought me back to the 1980s and let me do anything I want – except for my own movies. I’ve cut most of my movies out of Ernie [Cline]’s book, except for the Delorean and a couple of other things that I had something to do with. I’ve cut a lot of my own references out. I was very happy to see that there was enough without me! The ‘80s was a great time to grow up.
Mark Rylance plays James Donovan Halliday (for this part, actors such as Gene Wilder and Michael Keaton were originally considered). Incidentally, James Donovan was the name of Tom Hanks’s character in Bridge of Spies (2015) which marked the first collaboration between Rylance and Steven Spielberg.
The cast includes Olivia Cooke as Samantha Evelyn Cook / Art3mis, Ben Mendelsohn as the villain and Nolan Sorrento, and Simon Pegg as Ogden Morrow, co-creator of The OASIS. T.J. Miller plays i-R0k and Win Morisaki portrays one of the "High Five“ gunters, Daito. His pal Shoto is played by Philip Zhao. Aech is portrayed by Lena Waithe.
Following an open casting call, 19-year-old Tye Sheridan is selected for the lead part Wade Watts. For his debut in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011), Sheridan was chosen from a field of 10,000 boys to play the youngest son of Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt.
During pre-production, Tye Sheridan tells Variety:
“It’s a new spin on cinema. A good third of the film takes place in a virtual realm inside a video game. What I love about the film is that it plays with some metaphorically bigger themes. I think it’s going to be a milestone for cinema in its advancements and exploration of virtual reality. I couldn’t be more excited and grateful to be a part of it.”
In a high six-figure upfront deal, the film rights to Ready Player One are purchased by Warner Bros. the same day Ernest Cline finalizes his publishing deal with Random House, one year prior to his debut novel’s publication.
Ernest Cline adapts his own novel into a screenplay, with Zak Penn sharing screenplay credits. Zak Penn‘s story credits include The Avengers (2012).
Adam Stockhausen who worked for Bridge of Spies (2015) returns as Production Designer. Another Bridge of Spies crew member, Kasia Walicka-Maimone, designs the costumes. Other regular Spielberg-collaborators include Producer Kristie Macosko Krieger, Director of Photography Janusz Kamiński, and Editor Michael Kahn.
John Williams does not compose the score (due to scheduling conflicts with his compositions for Spielberg’s Pentagon Papers film and Star Wars VIII). He is replaced by Back To The Future composer Alan Silvestri.
Principal photography starts at Leavesden Studios in London at the end of June 2016. Exterior scenes (involving battered vehicles in dystopian Ohio) are shot in the Digbeth district of Birmingham.
Set photos: © Tom Cullen, I Choose Birmingham
At a special Comic-Con event on July 22 2017, the first teaser trailer is released:
Avoiding a box office battle with Star Wars: Episode VIII, the release date is moved to March 29, 2018. Warner Bros. reacts after Disney shifted Star Wars VIII from May 2017 to Dec. 15.
On March 11, 2018, Ready Player One has its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas and is greeted with enthusiastic audience acclaim. Reviews are generally favorable, though not all of the critics (and audiences) like the significant changes to the novel. On the other hand, Spielberg’s hommage to Kubrick is groundbreaking.
The film is made on a production budget of $175 million (plus marketing cost of about $150 million) but eventually brings in a multi million dollar profit. After three weeks, the film grosses more than $126 million at the U.S. boxoffice. Including international business, Ready Player One grosses more than $520 million (as of April 24, 2018).
The film receives an Academy Award nomination in the category ‘Best Visual Effects’.
