Acclaimed film-maker Steven Spielberg follows up his account of a real-world event in The Post with a story set in 2045 in the imaginary, digital world called Oasis, an immersive virtual universe where most of humanity spend their days. 

This is the premise at the heart of author Ernest Cline’s bestseller Ready Player One, which captured Spielberg’s imagination.

“It’s a huge, sprawling adventure that intercuts between two completely different worlds,” he says.  “I think Cline is a visionary who wrote of a future that’s actually not so far away from where we’re heading with the evolution of virtual reality.”

Times are tough in 2045, so: “it’s a good time to escape into a virtual world where you can live an extraordinary life through your avatar,” elaborates Spielberg.

“All you need is an imagination, and that will take you far in the Oasis.  But when you escape from reality, you’re also, in a way, divesting yourself of any real human contact.  So the story is entertaining but there is also a bit of a social commentary.”

Author Cline reveals that his inspiration for the story came from some of the touchstones of his youth. 

The story is entertaining but there is also a bit of a social commentary

“The initial idea came from the Atari game Adventure, which was the very first videogame to have an Easter egg in it.

“I was also a huge fan of Roald Dahl’s works, especially the Willy Wonka books,” he continues.

“And one day the idea occurred to me. What if Willy Wonka had been a videogame designer instead of a candy maker?  I started thinking about all the riddles and puzzles this eccentric billionaire could leave behind to find a worthy successor and I knew I was on to something.”

Cline’s eccentric billionaire became the character of James Halliday, the reclusive co-creator of the Oasis, played in the movie by Mark Rylance. 

“The entire world lives within his dream – the dream from which he built an entire world,” says Spielberg.  “But when he died he had no heirs, so he left behind a contest: the first to defeat three challenges, each rewarded with a key, and then find the egg hidden somewhere inside the Oasis, will inherit everything.

“Everybody is trying to locate Halliday’s Easter egg, including our unlikely young hero, Wade Watts, played by Tye Sheridan.” 

As is often the case with books that ride a wave of pre-release hype, Ready Player One caught the attention of movie producer Donald De Line. Eventual screenwriter Zak Penn reveals that, coincidentally, he had already become acquainted with Cline through another game-related project. 

With a draft of the script in hand, a director was needed. Spielberg was at the top of the producers’ list.

“Of course, he is always going to be at the top of your list. But, realistically, what are the odds that you’re actually going to get him?” says De Line. However, they did.

Spielberg confirms: “They sent me the book, as well as the script, which I read first.  I became completely enthralled with the idea of this juxtaposition of two worlds.  Then I read the book and it really spun me out because it was so deep and so layered.  It was esoteric; it was scary; it was accessible...  I was hooked!”

Being set in a futuristic, wholly digital world, Ready Player One really pushed the envelope of filmmaking technology, with Spielberg collaborating with the visual effects wizards at ILM and Digital Domain while he shot scenes in the real world on film and scenes in the virtual universe were shot digitally to emphasise the contrast.

“The layers we had to achieve to put the Oasis on screen made it one of the most complicated things I’ve ever done,” the director admits.  “There was motion capture, live action, computer animation...  It was really like making four movies at the same time.”

But this is not an explosion of visual and technological wizardry for its own sake. 

“I never make movies for the sake of technology,” he attests. “I only use it to tell a better story.  The technology is there to help this kind of film come into existence but then it should disappear, so all you’re focused on is the story and the characters.”

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