Steven Spielberg's big-screen adaptation of Ernest Cline's popular novel Ready Player One made a big splash at the box office over the weekend. In the days leading up to the film's release, the director and his stars made the rounds, talking about their experiences and influences.
The DeLorean
Tye Sheridan stars as Wade, a young man in Columbus, Ohio, who loves the virtual reality world known as OASIS and spends as much time there as possible as a character called Parzival. In this interview, he explains how he convinced Spielberg to adjust a key scene in the movie.
I love this story ?? Tye Sheridan explains how taking a ride in @erniecline's DeLorean around Austin helped convince Spielberg to alter a pivotal scene in #ReadyPlayerOne pic.twitter.com/mbQTxhFb8W
— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) March 28, 2018
Working with Spielberg
Olivia Cooke stars as Samantha, a young woman who is known in the OASIS as Art3mis and becomes entangled with Wade/Parzival's quest. Asked by Collider about the challenge of working with legendary director Spielberg, she says: "It took a couple of weeks to get past that, but then after that, the novelty wore off, in the best way possible, where I was able to just work and forget that it’s him and forget that he’s been an idol of mine, since I was a child. I’ve seen nearly all his movies and I grew up watching him. I had to forget all of that, and then try to do some vulnerable acting stuff."
A Political Statement
Lena Waithe stars as Helen, who in the virtual reality world is known as Aech, and is best friends with Wade/Parzival (Tye Sheridan). What motivates her character to play the game? "She is just trying to be seen as one of the guys," the actress tells THR. "You know what I mean? It’s very interesting, it’s a real political statement. But I feel that she likes being a woman but wants to be treated like a guy. Meaning she wants to be treated equally, fairly and with respect. And that’s why she’s gone in the OASIS. It’s to escape sexism, I believe."
Book to Movie Changes
Published in 2011, Ernest Cline's Ready Player One soon became an immensely popular novel worldwide; it's been published in more than 20 languages. Naturally, with that many readers, questions about the film's fidelity to the source material have arisen.
In an article for Paste Magazine, writer Josh Jackson notes: "The timeline and geography of the real world get significantly compacted to fit the 140-minute runtime, but the OASIS is the visual delight that most readers were hoping for." He then lists 22 differences between the book and the movie, starting with the location and moving on to points like the weight and motivation of the characters, along with some surprising changes.
Easter Eggs
The book and the film both revolve around hidden messages known as Easter eggs and even point to the first hidden message ever discovered in a video game. According to a guide compiled by ScreenRant, more than 100 Easter eggs can be found in the film!
If you're ready to compile your own list of Easter eggs, Ready Player One is now playing in theaters nationwide.
