FILM · 2018 · USA
Ready Player One
- Directed by
- Steven Spielberg
- Runtime
- 140 min
- Studio
- Amblin Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures
275 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.
275 Interesting Facts About Ready Player One
Interesting Facts (107)
- #001
When King Kong appears during the race sequence, the theme from the original 1933 film, composed by Max Steiner, plays.
- #002
The spell used to activate the Osuvox Sphere is taken from the film Excalibur. In modern Irish Gaelic it reads "Anáil nathrach, ortha bháis is beatha, do chéal déanaimh," meaning "The breath of a serpent, the breath of death and life, is a cunning device."
- #003
The Zemeckis Cube is named after director Robert Zemeckis. The music that plays when the cube is activated comes from the Back to the Future trilogy (1985), which Zemeckis directed. Alan Silvestri composed the score for both the Back to the Future trilogy and this film.
- #004
Parzival's belt in the Oasis bears the Thundercats (1985) logo. The belt itself is in the same style as Han Solo's.
- #005
Contains a major spoiler — show
The coffin in Halliday's death video announcement is the same photon torpedo tube in which Spock's body is placed at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). This signals that, just like Spock, Halliday's body is dead but his mind is still preserved: Spock's mind was transferred to another person before he died, while Halliday uploaded his consciousness to the OASIS.
- #006
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the scene where Halliday and Morrow discuss the date with Kira, Halliday's monitor shows that he is working on the construction of room 237 from The Shining (1980).
- #007
Contains a major spoiler — show
Wade Watts, or his avatar Parzival, never manages to high-five despite being part of the High Five: they always hang.
- #008
The semi-truck that blocks the road in the middle of the opening race is the same truck Jack Burton drives in Big Trouble in Little China (1986).
- #009
The box containing the Osuvox Sphere is the same box Gizmo was in when he was handed to Billy in Gremlins (1984).
- #010
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the final battle against Sorrento, the spaceship Daito flies is the "Serenity," a Firefly-class transport ship from the beloved but short-lived TV series Firefly (2002) and its follow-up film Serenity (2005).
- #011
The score was initially to be composed by John Williams, a longtime collaborator of Steven Spielberg. However, scheduling conflicts while working on another Spielberg film, The Post (2017), led him to leave, and Alan Silvestri took over the job. This was only the third Spielberg film not to be a collaboration with Williams.
- #012
Halliday's Oasis avatar is named "Anorak." In British English, this is a somewhat derogatory slang term for someone with an obsessive, comprehensive interest in a particular aspect of popular culture, a hobby, or an expert or niche subject. This level of obsessive fandom is the point of the character Halliday and of his creation of the Oasis.
- #013
In the garage scene, a replica of the ED-209 robot from RoboCop (1987) can be seen.
- #014
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the film, Wade receives his Extra Life money from The Curator. In the book, he earns the prize for discovering and mastering the secret arcade version of PAC-MAN.
- #015
Contains a major spoiler — show
At one point in the film, the group enters a simulation of the hotel from The Shining (1980). In real life, Steven Spielberg was close friends with The Shining's director, Stanley Kubrick. Spielberg once called the scene in which Wendy finds Jack's novel "a great example of counter intuitive direction."
- #016
Contains a major spoiler — show
When the IOI Sixers attack Parzival and Art3mis in the Distracted Globe dance club, Art3mis fights back with the M41A1 pulse rifle from Aliens (1986). She is also seen using a Lawgiver from Judge Dredd (1995).
- #017
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Daito survives the entire film, whereas in the book he is killed by IOI both in the OASIS and in the real world.
- #018
When Ogden Morrow arrives, he claims to have come on a magic sled. In the book, Morrow is described as resembling Santa Claus.
- #019
The Curator, who guides people in Halliday's Journal, is based on Arthur Treacher, known for butler and other English roles.
- #020
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the novel, the character Ultraman from Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Series (1966) plays a crucial role at the climax of the story. However, the rights to the character were in the middle of a legal dispute, so the film replaced him with the Iron Giant from The Iron Giant (1999).
- #021
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the close-up of Halliday in the coffin, the quarters over his eyes are from 1972, the year the book's author, Ernest Cline, was born.
- #022
Contains a major spoiler — show
The riddle that reveals the location of the crystal key is read quickly, but before the High Five can solve it, IOI solves it, and its meaning is never explained by anyone, which confused some viewers. The clue says that "answer ultimate" must be divided by "number magic." The ultimate answer is 42, as explained in Douglas Adams's 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' and the magic number is 3, as mentioned in a song from Schoolhouse Rock. 42÷3=14, and sector 14 was the location of Anorak's castle. The book contains a riddle about the "magic number," but it explained how to open the final gate rather than how to find it. The number 42 is not part of any clue in the book.
- #023
Contains a major spoiler — show
One of the biggest differences between the book and the film revolves around the copper key. In the film, everyone knows where the key is and a frequently impossible-seeming car race is run to obtain it. In the novel, many years pass with no one knowing where the first key is, until Parzival discovers an area that requires him to navigate a Dungeons & Dragons campaign outside his school before defeating a demon in a head-to-head game of Joust. Shortly after taking the key, he meets Art3mis for the first time, who has been trying to beat the demon in Joust for about a month.
- #024
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Atari system in Anorak's Castle is connected to a TV set on channel 3. The first video game consoles were connected to a TV by attaching a small switch box to the two antenna terminal screws. This box contained an analog slide switch that could be moved between the TV and game mode and could send the game system's signal to channel 2 or channel 3 to prevent interference with local TV stations broadcasting in the area.
- #025
Contains a major spoiler — show
Another major difference from the book is the character I-R0k, who appears in the film as a main character serving as Sorrento's confidant and co-conspirator, while in the book he is mentioned twice. After entering Aech's private chat room (Aech only lets him in because he is very bad with weapons and fun to have around) and leading IOI to the first major challenge in Ludus, it is his online boasting that he knows Parzival and Aech. Apart from these lines in the first chapter, he appears nowhere else in the book.
- #026
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book, Parzival and Art3mis do not meet in real life until the end of the story. In the film, they meet about halfway through the story to place more emphasis on their budding romance.
- #027
Another Steven Spielberg reference can be seen in Halliday's attic; a poster for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) is visible on the wall.
- #028
When Sorrento meets with I-R0k about the orb, a falling ship from George Pal's version of The War of the Worlds (1953) appears and makes its original sounds.
- #029
Contains a major spoiler — show
The pistol Parzival uses when he shoots to rescue Art3mis in the real world is from the original Battlestar Galactica series.
- #030
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Sho cuts off I-R0k's arm with the Glaive (an ancient magical five-bladed throwing weapon) used by Prince Colwyn to defeat The Beast in Krull (1983).
- #031
Ernest Cline based the relationship between James Halliday and Ogden Morrow on Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. However, Cline said the primary influences for the techno-entrepreneur characters were: * Nolan Sorrento (Nolan Bushnell, Atari founder) * James Halliday (Howard Hughes and Richard Garriott, also known as Lord British / Ultima developer) * Ogden Morrow (Harry Knowles, Ain't It Cool News founder).
- #032
Contains a major spoiler — show
The vast majority of the film is completely different from the book. This includes the riddles and the locations of the keys, Daito's death, Art3mis meeting Wade in the second act rather than at the end, and the characters running from IOI as Parzival completes the Third Test.
- #033
The two quarters placed over James Halliday's eyes are from 1972, the birth year of both Halliday and Atari's Pong, the first commercially successful video game. Cost to play: 25 cents.
- #034
After meeting Parzival in real life, Art3mis adds her birthmark to her avatar.
- #035
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the final battle, when Sorrento creates a Mechagodzilla, the theme music of the original Godzilla (1954) can be heard on the soundtrack.
- #036
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During the first race, the Silvercup Studios building is visible seconds after King Kong lands on the track. Silvercup Studios not only produced numerous popular culture works, but the building itself is where the final fight of Highlander (1986) takes place.
- #037
In the Halliday Journals building, the floors of the rows of video arcade cabinets are made up only of combinations of Pole Position (1982), Asteroids (1979), Millipede (1982), Pong (1972), Missile Command (1980), Tempest (1981), Dig Dug (1982) and one non-Atari game, Ms. Pac-Man (1981).
- #038
Nolan Sorrento's avatar, Boss Man, is based on Senator Armstrong from the video game Metal Gear Revengeance.
- #039
When Wade first goes to the club to meet Art3mis, the bartender is wearing a Devo hat from the famous Whip It video.
- #040
Contains a major spoiler — show
There are hints that the Curator is more than an NPC (non-player character). The first occurs when, while checking the second clue, he mistakenly thinks Art3mis is talking to him. The film also shows that he can only attend to one visitor's requests at a time.
- #041
In the opening scene, Wade takes off his visor and sets it on an old metal lunchbox from 1983 (Masters Of The Universe featuring He-Man).
- #042
The source novel references the series Spaced (1999), which Simon Pegg co-wrote and starred in. Pegg plays Ogden Morrow in the film.
- #043
The Cyclops from Ray Harryhausen's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) appears in the first login scene and in the final battle.
- #044
Contains a major spoiler — show
Parzival bets the Curator all his money that the name Kira appears only once in all the archives. The Curator pays him with an extra life token equivalent to all of Parzival's money.
- #045
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the final large-scale battle, Parzival appears with an A41 SPNKR rocket launcher from the Halo series. He uses it to fire a rocket at the spider machine Art3mis is on.
- #046
Warner Bros. and producer Donald De Line acquired the adaptation rights to Ernest Cline's novel on June 21, 2010, in a very aggressive bidding contest while the novel was still in galley form, beating rival studios Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox, the day after publisher Random House won the publishing rights. In the deal with the studio, Cline stipulated two conditions: he and Eric Eason would make the first attempt at writing the screenplay for his book; and Cline wanted Steven Spielberg to direct the film.
- #047
Right after the casino planet section, while Wade is narrating the OASIS, the camera passes over some planets on its way to where all avatars are born; one of these planets is called Ludus, the school planet where Wade, Aech and I-R0k go to virtual school in the novel.
- #048
When Wade sees Sorrento's rig while in hologram form, he says it looks like a giant hamster ball; this is the same description the book uses to describe Ogden Morrow's OASIS rig, which the heroes use at his home at the end of the story.
- #049
Contains a major spoiler — show
The music in the Overlook Hotel scenes is the music used in The Shining (1980). Some shots throughout the sequence are also taken from the original film, most notably some of the shots in the Room 237 scene.
- #050
The special pistol carried by Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the series Firefly (2002) (a modified Taurus 85) can be briefly seen in a weapon display in Sorrento's office.
- #051
Rather than building on a real soundstage, ILM created the backgrounds of the Oasis scenes as three-dimensional, computer-generated (CG) structures. When the filmmakers wanted a better sense of the CG environments than watching them on a screen, virtual reality came into play. Spielberg and Stockhausen put on VR headsets to enter the virtual environment just like the characters in the film. VR allowed them to adjust lighting, consider camera angles and see whether the environments suited their purposes in a far more immersive way than looking at concept art. "It's almost like being on a real set," Stockhausen says.
- #052
In the film's final battle scene, the protagonist of Rooster Teeth Productions' "RWBY," Ruby Rose, can be briefly seen wielding her scythe/sniper rifle, Crescent Rose.
- #053
Sorrento is the only character who does not bother to think of an avatar name and instead uses his real name. This also shows his contempt for the Oasis and for popular culture in general.
- #054
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the scene where Halliday awards the Easter egg in the house where he spent his childhood, the young Halliday is playing a console game nearby. The system he is playing is the Colecovision, the game is Gorf, and the level is the final boss, the Flag Ship. And yes, he beats the boss, so we see that he has 1 life left, and even though we immediately see the words "game over" appear before he stands up, he dodges the projectile fired from the enemy ship.
- #055
Contains a major spoiler — show
Wade's outfit for his first date is Prince's jacket, worn on the album covers of Dirty Mind, Controversy and Purple Rain. Prince's song "I wanna be your lover" is also heard early in the film.
- #056
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As Wade gives his speech before the final battle for the Oasis, the emblem of The Greatest American Hero (1981) can be seen on the side of his headset.
- #057
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Around the time Anorak/Halliday gives Parzival/Wade the Big Egg, he says: "I was terrified my whole life until the day I knew my life was over. That's when I realized that reality, however terrifying and painful it may be, is also the only place where you can get a decent meal." This is a quote from Woody Allen (not from Groucho Marx, as many report), who said, "I'm not crazy about reality, but it's still the only place to get a good steak."
- #058
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the novel, Helen (Aech) is revealed to be gay. Although it is never mentioned in the film, considering the Shining scene in Room 237, it is referenced retroactively in the scene where the "naked woman in the bathtub" comes up to Aech and Aech responds with "You know what? I'm gonna go with it." At this point in the film, Aech is still assumed to be male.
- #059
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Despite being a major subject in the book and a significant part of the first trailer, Rush has no role in the film other than a character's T-shirt and a poster in Halliday's room.
- #060
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In the book, the person captured by IOI is not Samantha but Wade, and he does it deliberately in order to infiltrate their databases.
- #061
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When the camera pulls away just before Sorrento is arrested, an elderly man in a brown jacket appears in the center of the frame among the cheering crowd, looking like James Halliday without his glasses.
- #062
Halliday's final words near the end of the film are "Thank you for playing my game." This is a possible nod to Super Mario 64 (1996), in which Mario says "Thank you so much for playing my game" after the final title sequence.
- #063
Wade's address is Unit 56K, Columbus Stack. 56K refers to a 56K modem.
- #064
Art3mis uses a device that looks like the "Lawgiver II" from the 1995 feature film adaptation of Judge Dredd.
- #065
Ernest Cline drew heavily on the anime Summer Wars (2009) for his novel, but despite the other anime references, it is not mentioned in the film.
- #066
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book Ready Player Two (the sequel to the novel this film is based on), Wade compares Ogden Morrow to Simon Pegg's character in Shaun of the Dead (2004). In this film, Ogden Morrow is in fact played by Simon Pegg.
- #067
Contains a major spoiler — show
The shield of Perseus from Clash of the Titans (1981) appears twice. First, it covers the box containing the Osuvox Sphere, and again near the end of the film, as part of I-R0k's dropped loot.
- #068
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Wade first meets Samantha (Arty's real-life counterpart), he discovers that Samantha has a birthmark on her face. At first she hides it under her hair out of embarrassment. But when she and Wade fall in love, her hair gradually moves away from her face. First it is tucked behind her right ear. Later it is in a low ponytail. In the final scene (after Wade takes control of the OASIS and he and Samantha live happily together), her hair is tied up in double buns.
- #069
When Z, Artemis and Aech first enter Aech's shop, Pee Wee's Bike from Pee Wee's Big Adventure is standing in front of the wall.
- #070
A passage from the source novel describes Wade's obsession and his 'research' into Anorak's Almanac, Halliday's journal filled with references to 1980s books, films, TV shows, music and video games. One of the filmographies Wade studied from the Almanac was Steven Spielberg's.
- #071
Halliday's company is called 'Gregarious Games'. The word 'gregarious' means being part of a community and enjoying the company of other people, which is the essence of the OASIS.
- #072
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The Iron Giant is Chekhov's literal (if reluctant) gun and the embodiment of his axiom: 'If you say in the first act that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, then in the next act it must be fired. Otherwise don't put it there.'.
- #073
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In the video revealing that Halliday is dead, there is a quarter in his eyes. Later in the film, the Curator gives Parzival a quarter that grants its user an extra life in the OASIS. This is a hint in the film about Halliday's fate: although his body is physically dead, his spirit will continue to live in the OASIS until a worthy heir is found.
- #074
When 'H', as the Iron Giant, falls into the lava, the Giant gives a 'thumbs up'. This directly recalls the Terminator's death in T2, who also raises his thumb as he is destroyed by the molten iron vat.
- #075
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The password written on Nolan Sorrento's (Ben Mendelsohn) yellow Post-it note is B055man69. Ben Mendelsohn was born in 1969.
- #076
VR did not only help the filmmakers plan the virtual environments; they also had a digital preview of the physical sets they planned to build. "When you build a giant set for a normal production," Stockhausen explains, "you build models and you do sketches to make sure everyone agrees. You do everything you can to make sure everyone understands the space before you build it." So before a single hammer hit a nail, the team created virtual walkthroughs of planned real-world sets such as the villainous Nolan Sorrento's office or the IOI rig room.
- #077
At the IOI headquarters, a screen in the "fanboy" control room shows a digital Manhattan Island. It is the same as the one at the beginning of Escape from New York (1981).
- #078
The IOI hardware room is an example of how real sets and CG technology are combined in modern films like Ready Player One. It was built as a traditional physical set, but the resulting shot was later enhanced with a digital set extension to make it look bigger (and cooler). And before the real-life set was even built, the filmmakers prepared a VR version to preview how the real thing would look.
- #079
Before we see Aech/Helen's truck hidden away, a grey Renault AVANTIME passes across the screen from right to left. The Avantime was a futuristic car brought to market by Renault in 2000. Its name comes from the French word "avant," meaning "ahead," and the English word "time." Only 8,450 units were produced at the Matra factory, and slightly more than 5,000 were sold. In 2045 it still looks futuristic.
- #080
Contains a major spoiler — show
When I-R0k meets with Sorrento about the orb, he reveals the skull of the Steampunk Pirate King from beneath the shield used by Perseus in Clash of the Titans (1981).
- #081
Contains a major spoiler — show
Aech warns Wade (as Parzival) that Art3mis (a girl) might be a man in the real world, foreshadowing that Aech will turn out to be a woman named Helen in the real world.
- #082
Sorrento's avatar's eye colour changes with his mood. His eyes glow blue in a normal state, but under extreme emotions such as frustration, unease and anger they turn yellow and eventually red.
- #083
One of the first action scenes features a big race through a virtual version of the Big Apple that film fans may recognize. Stockhausen recalls, "We had a lot of fun seeing which iconic buildings and billboards from films set in 80s New York we could put in just for fun." To give a random example, if you look closely you can see the building from Dustin Hoffman's 1982 comedy Tootsie. Or, elsewhere in the film, see if you can find references to the library setting of The Breakfast Club in the design of the Oasis archive.
- #084
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While Parzival talks with Halliday in Halliday's attic bedroom, we see a photo of young Halliday playing his Atari 2600, and a Big Trak can be seen on the floor. Big Trak was a toy vehicle from the 80s that could be programmed to follow entered coordinates to a final destination. With its trailer attached, it could go to the kitchen, place a sandwich in the caravan and then return to you with your lunch.
- #085
The virtual reality racing vehicles perform the same corkscrew jump that James Bond did in live action in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
- #086
Whenever Sorrento or his avatar wears a tie in the film, the tie bears the text "NSIOI." "NS" stands for "Nolan Sorrento," and IOI is his company.
- #087
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the artifact hunt at the beginning of the film, Aech uses Halo's assault rifle.
- #088
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After winning the first key, Parzival goes shopping for great items at a store called "Avatar Outfitters," a clear reference to the major US retail company "Urban Outfitters."
- #089
The tiny cars in the stacks were Zagato Vulpes, the smallest electric car on the market; in front of IOI there was a row of Renault Twizys, also electric but large enough for two people to sit in.
- #090
- #091
New Order's "Blue Monday" plays in the scene where i-R0k in the dance club tells the girls to leave the booth. In The Wedding Singer (1998), another film built on 80s trivia, the same song plays while Adam Sandler and his co-stars are in a nearly identical booth in a very similar dance club.
- #092
At 1 hour 20 minutes, as the oologists try to work out which game must be played to obtain the Crystal Key, a list of fictional castles is visible behind them. Most notably, Hyrule Castle from the Legend of Zelda video game series.
- #093
The typeface on the "Extra Life" coin Parzival uses is the same one used for the title of the Ready Player One novel.
- #094
This was the fourth Steven Spielberg film not scored by John Williams, after Duel (1971), The Color Purple (1985) and Bridge of Spies (2015).
- #095
When Parzival throws the time machine to the ground, it transforms, much like the vehicles in Disney's Tron: Legacy (2010).
- #096
James Halliday died in 2040, and the coin placed over his eyes was minted in 1972, meaning he was 68 years old when he died.
- #097
In the opening scene, as Wade leaves his spot with Van Halen's "Jump" playing, David Lee Roth sings "gotta roll with the punches" just as the camera passes a woman in OASIS gear throwing punches.
- #098
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When Artemis disguises herself as Goro (from Mortal Kombat), she bursts out of the "Goro suit" using a puppet from Alien and then cuts it. The puppet on her arm has a design very similar to one of the puppets used by Corey Feldman's character in Friday the 13th Part IV. Corey Feldman, of course, appeared in Spielberg and Donner's The Goonies. Jason, the killer of the Friday the 13th series, plays a small role in one of the battles.
- #099
The name "Sixers" comes from the number six. It is the first digit found on the chest of every avatar playing for IOI.
- #100
The 'Ready Player One' logo is a labyrinth, and the prize is an egg.
- #101
Ernest Cline's book Ready Player One was the subject of a podcast called "372 Pages We'll Never Get Back," in which comedians Mike Nelson (of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and RiffTrax) and Conor Lastowka (a writer and employee of RiffTrax) read and reviewed chapters each week and concluded they didn't care for it. After the film's premiere, they did an episode discussing how the film failed to meet their standards. In the end, the film was officially riffed on RiffTrax by Mike, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.
- #102
Steven Spielberg's surname literally means Game Mountain in German (game as a recreational activity rather than an animal hunted for sport or food), quite fitting for a film about video games.
- #103
In binary, 5 is 101. Hi-Five is grounded in reality, while Sorrento's IOI is entirely concerned with the digital world.
- #104
The player tags Daito and Shoto are a reference to the Japanese terms used for swords. In Japanese, daito means long sword, while short sword is shoto.
- #105
Before his date with Art3mis, Parzival tries on different outfits and skins, including one resembling Buckaroo Banzai, whom he says is his favorite character. Buckaroo Banzai is the main character of the 1984 film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, about a crime-fighting neurosurgeon/rock musician/adventurer.
- #106
When Parzival thinks he has seen Art3mis for the first time in the race, he tells Aech that he has watched "all her Twitch streams." Ready Player One was published in 2011, the year Twitch was introduced. This was a reference made at the time, but it seems unlikely that a media platform would still be popular more than 30 years later (YouTube is not even 20 years old and is under constant competition).
- #107
Sorrento's employee number, 655321, is Alex DeLarge's inmate number in A Clockwork Orange (1971).
Production Story (130)
- #108
Steven Spielberg shot The Post (2017) while waiting for Industrial Light & Magic to create nearly 1,500 digital effect shots for this film. Other films he directed while a previously shot film was in post-production through ILM include E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) during Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Schindler's List (1993) during Jurassic Park (1993) (both films were distributed by Universal Pictures and released in the same year, 1993).
- #109
In an interview, Steven Spielberg said this was the third hardest film he had made in his career, after Jaws (1975) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
- #110
When King Kong appears during the race sequence, the theme from the original 1933 film, composed by Max Steiner, is playing.
- #111
The spell used to wield the Osuvox Sphere is taken from the film Excalibur. In modern Irish Gaelic, "Anáil nathrach, ortha bháis is beatha, do chéal déanaimh," means "The breath of a serpent, the breath of death and life, is a cunning device."
- #112
Spielberg worked with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to supervise the film's visual effects and held three-hour meetings with ILM three times a week. A significant portion of the film takes place in a virtual space inspired by the Overlook Hotel from The Shining (1980). This was largely a digital recreation of the film using a high-quality telecine of the original film, which gave them some freedom to create new camera angles and shots from that recreation. The final film contains a combination of original footage from The Shining and additional work by ILM. Only a few scenes in this sequence featuring real actors, such as the appearance of the Grady twins, required them to build a faithful reproduction of the Overlook set that the actors could interact with. Finally, the sequence was post-processed to add film grain and other aging effects to make the new footage indistinguishable from the original film. ILM also had to faithfully produce digital recreations of many of the cultural references that appear throughout the film, including the DeLorean time machine, modeled after the 1933 version of the character, the Iron Giant, Chucky and King Kong. The Tyrannosaurus Rex from Jurassic Park was also recreated using the base model ILM had previously created during the original film's production.
- #113
At around the 35th minute, Halliday is shown on the cover of WIRED magazine with a QR code. The code is readable and links to a related article about Halliday (July 2018).
- #114
The Zemeckis Cube is named after director Robert Zemeckis. The music that plays when the cube is activated comes from the Back to the Future trilogy (1985), which Zemeckis directed. Alan Silvestri composed the scores for both the Back to the Future trilogy and this film.
- #115
Parzival may drive the DeLorean from "Back to the Future," but the red lights that run back and forth on the car's front grille are a nod to KITT from "Knight Rider," which in turn is a nod to the Cylons from the original "Battlestar Galactica" (both produced by Glen Larson).
- #116
The coffin in Halliday's death video announcement is the same photon torpedo tube in which Spock's body is placed at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). This signals that, just like Spock, Halliday's body is dead but his mind is still preserved: Spock's mind is transferred to another person before he dies, while Halliday has uploaded his subconscious to the OASIS.
- #117
When Hi-Five hacks Sorrento's immersion capsule as OASIS reproductions of their real-life selves, their eyes emit an amber glow. This is a reference to the lighting effect used to distinguish humans from replicants in Blade Runner (1982).
- #118
During the first race, when the 1966 Batmobile spins to a stop, the sound effect of the skid has the same cadence as the Na na na na na na na na na from the opening title sequence of the Batman TV theme.
- #119
The semi-truck that blocks the road in the middle of the opening race is the truck Jack Burton drives in Big Trouble in Little China (1986).
- #120
The box containing the Osuvox Sphere is the same box Gizmo was in when he was given to Billy in Gremlins (1984).
- #121
The spaceship Daito flies in the final battle against Sorrento is the "Serenity," a Firefly-class transport ship from the beloved but short-lived TV series Firefly (2002) and its follow-up film Serenity (2005).
- #122
The score was initially to be composed by John Williams, a longtime collaborator of Steven Spielberg. However, he left due to scheduling conflicts while working on another Spielberg film, The Post (2017), and Alan Silvestri took over the job. This was only the third Spielberg film not to be a collaboration with Williams.
- #123
Halliday's Oasis avatar is named "Anorak." In British English, this is a somewhat derogatory slang term for someone with an obsessive, comprehensive interest in a particular aspect of popular culture, a hobby, or a specialist or niche subject. Obsessive fandom at this level is the point of the Halliday character and his creation of the Oasis.
- #124
In the garage scene you can see a replica of the ED209 robot from RoboCop (1987).
- #125
In the film, Wade gets his Extra Life from The Curator. In the book, he earns this reward for discovering and mastering the secret arcade version of PAC-MAN.
- #126
During the race scene, the marquee of a theater is visible. It reads "Schwarzenegger Jack Slater III." This is a nod to Arnold Schwarzenegger's film Last Action Hero (1993), also written by Zak Penn. According to Penn, this nod was unintentional and was included by the ILM team on the suggestion of co-writer Ernest Cline. Penn was unaware of it before the first trailer premiered.
- #127
In the scene where they discuss Art3mis's likely real-life identity, there is a photo of Wil Wheaton in the mirror. In the book, Wil is the vice president of the Oasis user council. He also narrates the audiobook of Ernest Cline's second novel Armada and of Ready Player Two, the sequel to Ready Player One and RP1.
- #128
The scene where the Iron Giant disappears into the lava and raises his thumb is a reference to the scene in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) where the T-800 makes the same gesture as it is lowered into a vat of molten steel.
- #129
At one point in the film, the group enters a simulation of the hotel from The Shining (1980). In real life, Steven Spielberg was close friends with The Shining's director, Stanley Kubrick. Spielberg once called the scene where Wendy finds Jack's manuscript "a great example of counter intuitive direction."
- #130
When the IOI Sixers attack Parzival and Art3mis at the Distracted Globe dance club, Art3mis fights back with the M41A1 pulse rifle from Aliens (1986). She is also seen using a Lawgiver from Judge Dredd (1995).
- #131
In the film, the jade key is obtained by living through certain scenes from the film version of The Shining (1980). In the novel, the copper key is used to open the first gate, which requires the player to live through and recite the entire film WarGames (1983) from memory.
- #132
In the scene inside the store, you can see in the background the flying Winnebago from Spaceballs (1987), an EVA pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), a Colonial Viper from Battlestar Galactica (1978), a starfighter from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), ED-209 from RoboCop (1987), and a power loader from Aliens (1986).
- #133
Steven Spielberg shot The Post (2017) while waiting for Industrial Light & Magic to create nearly 1,500 digital effect shots for this film. Among the other films he directed while a previously shot film was in post-production through ILM are E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) during Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Schindler's List (1993) during Jurassic Park (1993) (both films were also distributed by Universal Pictures and released in the same year, 1993).
- #134
The bomb Art3mis throws that ultimately eliminates Mecha Godzilla is called the Dust Brain, a figure from Madballs, a toy line made of rubber and/or foam balls in the mid-80s that eventually became a fad.
- #135
In the novel, the character Ultraman from Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Series (1966) plays a very important role at the climax of the story. However, the character's rights were in the middle of a legal dispute, so the film replaced him with the Iron Giant from The Iron Giant (1999).
- #136
In the close-up of Halliday in the coffin, the quarters over his eyes are from 1972, the year book author Ernest Cline was born.
- #137
The riddle that gives the location of the crystal key is read quickly, but before the High Five can solve it, IOI solves it, and no one explains its meaning, which leaves some viewers confused. The clue says that "answer ultimate" must be divided by "number magic." The ultimate answer is 42, as explained in Douglas Adams's 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' and the magic number is 3, as mentioned in a song from Schoolhouse Rock. 42÷3=14, and sector 14 was the location of Anorak's castle. In the book there is a riddle about the "magic number," but it explained how to open the final gate rather than how to find it. The number 42 is not part of any clue in the book.
- #138
Even the smallest references had to be approved by the legal team, which meant that the icons seen in the film were somewhat different from those mentioned in the book. Stockhausen laughs: "Of course there were some things we couldn't get, but I don't want to bring them up because I don't want to publicize them." The classic Japanese character conspicuously omitted from the book is Ultraman, but he was left out not because the creators refused permission, but because of a long-running dispute over who owned the rights. Stockhausen says such omissions are a mixed blessing. "Not being able to have that property forced us to do a deep dive on what would the ultimate thing be," he insists. "If we could use any giant robot, what would we want? Every time we couldn't get something, it forced a deeper discussion about what might be better."
- #139
One of the biggest differences between the book and the film revolves around the copper key. In the film everyone knows where the key is, and obtaining it involves a car race that often seems impossible. In the novel, many years pass without anyone knowing where the first key is, until Parzival discovers an area that requires him to wander through a Dungeons and Dragons campaign outside his school before defeating a demon in the head-to-head Joust arcade game. He meets Art3mis for the first time shortly after getting the key; she has been trying to beat the demon in Joust for about a month.
- #140
When asked about Halliday, Wade said that Halliday's favorite Goldeneye multiplayer character was Oddjob. The Goldeneye programmers state that Oddjob is a hidden reference, because his short stature meant the auto-aim would shoot above his head, which made him hard to hit.
- #141
The Atari system in Anorak's Castle is connected to a TV set on channel 3. The first video game consoles were connected to a TV by attaching a small switch box to the two antenna terminal screws. This box had an analog slide switch that could be moved between TV and game mode and could send the game system signal to channel 2 or channel 3 to prevent interference with local TV stations broadcasting in the area.
- #142
Another major difference from the book is the character I-R0k, who appears in the film as a main character serving as Sorrento's confidant and co-conspirator, while in the book he appears only briefly. After entering Aech's private chat room (it turns out Aech only let him in because he is so bad with weapons and fun to have around), it is his online boasting that he knows Parzival and Aech that leads IOI to the first major challenge in the Ludus. Apart from these lines, he appears nowhere else in the book.
- #143
The pistol Parzival uses when he shoots to save Art3mis in the real world is from the original Battlestar Galactica series.
- #144
OASIS scenes are shot digitally (except for the entry into the world of The Shining (1980)), while real-world scenes are shot on film, with celluloid grain heavily emphasized. This provides a subtle clue that something is wrong when Sorrento's station is hacked, due to the lack of grain in digital cinematography.
- #145
Sho cuts off I-R0k's arm with the Glaive (an ancient magical, five-bladed throwing weapon) used by Prince Colwyn to defeat The Beast in Krull (1983).
- #146
Ernest Cline based the relationship between James Halliday and Ogden Morrow on Apple's founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. However, Cline said the primary influences for the techno-entrepreneur characters were: * Nolan Sorrento (Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari) * James Halliday (Howard Hughes and Richard Garriott, aka Lord British / Ultima developer) * Ogden Morrow (Harry Knowles, founder of Ain't It Cool News).
- #147
The abbreviation IOI is a nod to the classic Atari game Pong, one of the games young Halliday plays at the end. (The I's resemble paddles, and the O is the ball).
- #148
The two quarters placed over James Halliday's eyes date from 1972. The year of Halliday's birth and of Atari's Pong, the first commercially successful video game. Cost to play: 25 cents.
- #149
Aech mocks Wade with "You're wearing the costume from your favorite movie? Don't be that guy." This is a reference to PCU (1994), in which Jeremy Piven says to Jon Favreau, "You're wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see? Don't be that guy."
- #150
Art3mis adds her birthmark to her avatar after meeting Parzival in real life.
- #151
When Sorrento creates a Mechagodzilla during the final battle, the theme music of the original Godzilla (1954) can be heard on the soundtrack.
- #152
During the first race, the Silvercup Studios building can be seen seconds after King Kong lands on the track. Silvercup Studios not only produced numerous popular culture productions, but the building itself is also the location where the final fight of Highlander (1986) takes place.
- #153
Percival was one of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, first written about by Chretien de Troyes, and later by Thomas Malory and Wolfram von Eschenbach. In legend and in the film Excalibur (1981), Percival rose from humble beginnings to knighthood. He and the other Knights of the Round Table embark on a quest to find the 'Holy Grail' (largely symbolic in the film), which will revive King Arthur's kingdom. As noted earlier, the spell used to activate the Osuvox Sphere is the 'Making Spell' from Excalibur (1981). Percival's German name is 'Parzival'.
- #154
In the scene where Halliday's childhood room is recreated, the space wallpaper on the wall where the door is located is the same wallpaper seen in Chris Knight and Mitch Taylor's dorm room in Real Genius (1985).
- #155
In the Halliday Journals building, the floors of the rows of video arcade cabinets are combinations of only Pole Position (1982), Asteroids (1979), Millipede (1982), Pong (1972), Missile Command (1980), Tempest (1981), Dig Dug (1982), and one non-Atari game; Ms. Pac-Man (1981).
- #156
Nolan Sorrento's avatar Boss Man is based on Senator Armstrong from the video game Metal Gear Revengeance.
- #157
A reference to Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) was planned for the script but was vetoed by Sony Pictures, despite it being one of Steven Spielberg's first films as director.
- #158
During High Five's trip into The Shining simulation, Sho says he is watching the film through his fingers, implying he is actually too young to watch such a thing. This also explains why he is one of the group who completes his car in the race despite there being no obstacles on the correct path, since children are generally not known for their driving skills.
- #159
Alan Silvestri worked closely with director Steven Spielberg to get the right direction for an original musical score that would not only be distinctive but also not reference any of the film's popular culture references from the 1980s and 1990s, while evoking and developing the film's story and the tone of old-fashioned adventure with the sense of optimism, innocence, beauty and wonder used by many Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s. It made a great impact. In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly", Spielberg said of Silvestri's score: "Although 'Ready Player One' is full of all kinds of cultural iconic references, the music composed by Alan Silvestri is completely and intoxicatingly original. It is interwoven with many themes that define the plot and character, and infused with such striking adrenaline and soaring strings that Alan made 'Ready Player One' fly."
- #160
There are hints that the Curator is more than an NPC (non-player character). The first occurs when he mistakenly believes he is talking to Art3mis herself while checking the second clue. The film also shows that he can serve only one visitor's requests at a time.
- #161
In the opening scene, Wade takes off his visor and places it on an old metal lunchbox from 1983 (Masters Of The Universe featuring He-Man).
- #162
Every Sixer seen in the film has a unique number, and that number is never reused, except for #665312, who appears in three separate instances (and dies each time): 1) in the IOI war room, just before the first Copper Key race, there is a close-up (apparently of all the Sixers who died); 2) when IOI plays the "Shining" challenge, he is seen killed by the naked witch; 3) in the final battle, he is the first person killed by Chucky.
- #163
While showing Aech's items to Art3mis, Parzival very briefly mentions a "Harkonnen Drop-Ship" that can turn "from Incipio to Arrakis." Incipio is the entry point of the Oasis located in Sector 1 - its name appears at the central jump gate at the beginning of the film, and shortly afterward viewers first meet Parzival as he walks over Incipio fixing his hair. Arrakis is the main planet of the "Dune" book series and apparently also exists in the Oasis, but it is never shown or mentioned again.
- #164
Warner Bros. and producer Donald De Line acquired the adaptation rights to Ernest Cline's novel on June 21, 2010, in a very aggressive bidding war while the novel was still in galley form, beating rival studios Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox, the day after publisher Random House won the publishing rights. In the deal with the studio, Cline stipulated two conditions: he and Eric Eason would make the first attempt at writing the screenplay for his book; and Cline wanted Steven Spielberg to direct the film.
- #165
Right after the casino planet section, as Wade narrates the OASIS, the camera passes over some planets on its way to where all avatars are born; one of these planets is called Ludus, the school planet where Wade, Aech and I-R0k go to virtual school in the novel.
- #166
The ship "Serenity" (from Firefly (2002) and Serenity (2005)) delivers Toshiro when he decides to join the final battle. He also wears the classic 1979 Gundam robot avatar when he enters the fight.
- #167
When Wade sees Sorrento's rig as a hologram, he says it looks like a giant hamster ball; this is the same description given in the book to describe Ogden Morrow's OASIS rigs, which the heroes use at the end of the story at his home.
- #168
In the novel, Wade finds the Copper Key by embarking on the adventure through a recreation of the classic Dungeons & Dragons module "Tomb of Horrors." Although this does not appear in the film, it still references Tomb of Horrors by featuring the iconic "Face of the Great Green Devil" in the back of Aech's van.
- #169
The music in the Overlook Hotel scenes is the music used in The Shining (1980). Some shots during the sequence are also taken from the original film, most notably some shots from the Room 237 scene.
- #170
The special pistol carried by Captain Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly (2002) (a modified Taurus 85) is briefly seen in a weapon display in Sorrento's office.
- #171
Rather than building on a real soundstage, ILM created the background of the Oasis scenes as three-dimensional, computer-generated (CG) structures. When the filmmakers wanted a better idea of the CG environments than watching them on a screen, virtual reality came into play. Spielberg and Stockhausen put on VR headsets to achieve this, entering the virtual environment just like the characters in the film. VR allowed them to adjust lighting, consider camera angles and see whether the environments suited their purposes in a far more immersive way than looking at concept art. "It's almost like being on a real set," Stockhausen says.
- #172
In the film's final battle scene, Ruby Rose, the protagonist of Rooster Teeth Productions' "RWBY," can briefly be seen using her scythe/sniper rifle, Crescent Rose.
- #173
In the scene where Halliday rewards the Easter egg in the house where his childhood was spent, the young Halliday is playing a console game nearby. The system he is playing is the Colecovision, the game he is playing is Gorf, and the level he is on is the final boss, the Flag Ship. And yes, he beats the boss, so we see that he has 1 life left, and although we immediately see the words "game over" appear after he stands up, he dodges the projectile fired from the enemy ship.
- #174
Wade's outfit for his first date is the jacket of Prince, worn on the album covers of Dirty Mind, Controversy and Purple Rain. Prince's song "I wanna be your lover" is also heard early in the film.
- #175
Before the final battle for the Oasis, while Wade is giving his speech, you can see the emblem of The Greatest American Hero (1981) on the side of his visor.
- #176
Around the time Anorak/Halliday gives Parzival/Wade the Big Egg, he says the following line: "I was afraid my whole life until the day I knew my life was over. That's when I realized that no matter how terrifying and painful reality is, it's also the only place where you can get a decent meal." This is a quote from Woody Allen (not from Groucho Marx, as reported by many), who said, "I'm not crazy about reality, but it's still the only place to get a good steak."
- #177
In the novel it is revealed that Helen (Aech) is gay. Although it is never mentioned in the film, considering the Shining scene in room 237, this is referred to retroactively in the scene where the "naked bathtub woman" comes up to Aech and Aech responds with "You know what? I'm gonna go with it." At this point in the film, Aech is still assumed to be male.
- #178
Although it is an important subject in the book and an important part of the first trailer, Rush has no role in the film other than a character's T-shirt and a poster in Halliday's room.
- #179
In the book, the person captured by IOI is not Samantha but Wade, and he does this deliberately in order to infiltrate their databases.
- #180
When the camera pulls away just before Sorrento is arrested, among the cheering crowd, in the center of the frame, an old man in a brown jacket looks like James Halliday without his glasses.
- #181
Near the end of the film, Halliday's last words are "Thank you for playing my game." This is a possible nod/reference to Super Mario 64 (1996), where Mario says the same thing after the final title sequence, "Thank you so much for playing my game."
- #182
Spielberg expanded the contest to more accurately encompass Halliday's anti-escapist Aesop; understanding Halliday's passions was how the hunters figured out each challenge, since that was the only way Halliday knew to interact with the world. But completing each challenge requires understanding Halliday himself, especially his deepest regrets. The first challenge appears to be a Bullet Hell race along a Death Course packed with pop culture references that no one has successfully progressed through in five years… because the only way to complete it is to literally "go really fast, as fast as possible, backwards — really put the pedal to the metal," which leads to the Extra-Dimensional Shortcut that bypasses all those hazards; this symbolizes Halliday's regret over drowning in nostalgia. It is also an elegant way of adapting the first key on the school planet to maximize its potential for access; even if someone understood the clue, they would be unlikely to try it unless they were low-level and had nothing to lose. The second challenge appears to be a Dungeon Crawl based on The Shining, the film he and his one true love saw on their only date. But every playstyle puzzle and enemy in the simulation is invincible; the solution is to rescue the Damsel in Distress from the ballroom and ask her to dance, which symbolizes Halliday's regret over letting the horrors of the world keep him from pursuing love. The final challenge is an Atari 2600 and a library containing every game ever made for the system. It can only be completed by finding the hidden Easter egg in the Trope Namer, Adventure; this symbolizes his love of games as things to be played rather than merely won, but the real test is the Magic Binding Contract finally presented; this is a retelling of how Halliday forced Ogden Morrow to sell his shares in Gregarious Games, rejected his intervention, and retreated into the OASIS for the rest of his life. This is in effect a Secret Character Test symbolizing Halliday's regret over turning his back on his closest friend and, with him, on communication with the world in general. Wade refuses to sign, which is the true solution.
- #183
Much of Parzival's body language, especially his goofy demeanor when he first meets Art3mis, appears to be based on Keanu Reeves's portrayal of Ted "Theodore" Logan in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989); on Parzival's first visit to Halliday's Journal, a reference is made to the film when Halliday suggests to Ogden Morrow that they should go backward instead of forward and adds "Bill and Ted did!"
- #184
The film's main draw is a dizzying fusion of beloved pop culture references, such as the iconic DeLorean from Back to the Future racing Akira's motorcycle. Stockhausen, who says filling the film with appropriate references was fun for the producers as well, recounts: "Sitting with Steven and saying, if you could race any car in cinema history, what would it be, and making a list of pure Willy Wonka fantasies about what he would want." Obvious things like the DeLorean, which plays a major role in the narrative, were first cleared by the film's diligent legal team. Later, at a later stage of the process, a detailed, high-resolution version of the Oasis was created, and the producers were able to drop a slew of fun Easter eggs in these crowded scenes and character meeting places in the blink of an eye. "If you really look closely," Stockhausen says, "there's all kinds of amazing spaceships from different movies in there, and there's all sorts of stuff on the walls."
- #185
Twice Perseus's shield from Clash of the Titans (1981) is visible. First, it covers the box containing the Osuvox Sphere, and again toward the end of the film, it is part of I-R0k's dropped loot.
- #186
When Wade first meets Samantha (Arty's real-life counterpart), he discovers that Samantha has a birthmark on her face. She initially hides it under her hair out of embarrassment. But as she and Wade fall in love, her hair gradually moves away from her face. First it is tucked behind her right ear. Then it is in a low ponytail. In the final scene (after Parzival takes control of the OASIS and he and Samantha live happily together), her hair is gathered in double buns.
- #187
A passage from the source novel describes Wade's obsession and his "research" into Anorak's Almanac, Halliday's journal filled with references to 1980s books, films, TV shows, music and video games. One of the filmographies Wade studied from the Almanac was Steven Spielberg's.
- #188
In the opening scene showing Halliday's coffin, the flowers are arranged as the Starfleet Command symbol from "Star Trek".
- #189
The Curator shows his hand twice without Parzival realizing it. The first time, when asked to replay the office party, he replies "Do you want to go back?" (a reference to the need to go back at the start of the race), and after Parzival tells Art3mis that Kira is the key to the second clue, he exclaims "You're right", though they think he is only referring to the fact that they have seen the sole reference to Kira in all of Halliday's archives.
- #190
Halliday's company is called "Gregarious Games". The word "gregarious" means being part of a community and enjoying being with other people; that is the essence of the OASIS.
- #191
During Halliday's death video, one of the lapel pins on his suit is a miniature of Simon, Milton-Bradley's popular electronic game, in which you have to match the lights by pressing four buttons in the order they light up. Although it was a very popular game in the 1980s, the pin represents the "modern", 21st-century version of the game (disc-shaped and black, with buttons in each quarter).
- #192
Tracer from the popular video game Overwatch (2016) is voiced by Cara Theobold, who also voices Tracer in the game. Also, at one point in the Distracted Globe club, Tracer is seen dancing with a woman; this references the Overwatch comic that revealed Tracer is a lesbian.
- #193
The Iron Giant is Chekhov's real (if reluctant) gun and the embodiment of his axiom: "If you put a gun on the wall in the first act, it must be fired in the next act. Otherwise, don't put it there."
- #194
In the video revealing that Halliday has died, there is a quarter in his eyes. Later in the film, the Curator gives Parzival a quarter that grants its user an extra life in the OASIS. This is a hint in the film about Halliday's fate: although his body is physically dead, his spirit will continue to live in the OASIS until a worthy heir is found.
- #195
"H", as the Iron Giant, falls into the lava and the Giant gives a "thumbs up". This directly recalls the Terminator's death in T2, who also raises his thumb as he is destroyed by the molten iron vat.
- #196
Nolan Sorrento's (Ben Mendelsohn) password written on the yellow post-it note is B055man69. Ben Mendelsohn was born in 1969.
- #197
VR did not only help the filmmakers plan the virtual environments. They also had digital previews of the physical sets they planned to build. "When you build a giant set for a normal production," Stockhausen explains, "you build models and make sketches to make sure everyone agrees. You do everything you can to make sure everyone understands the space before you build it." So, before a single hammer hit a nail, the team created virtual walkthroughs of planned real-world sets such as the villainous Nolan Sorrento's office or the IOI gear room.
- #198
At the IOI headquarters, a screen in the "fanboy" control room shows a digital Manhattan Island. This is the same as the one at the beginning of Escape from New York (1981).
- #199
The IOI hardware room is an example of how real sets and CG technology are combined in modern films like Ready Player One. It was built as a traditional physical set, but the resulting shot was later enriched with a digital set extension to make it look bigger (and cooler). And before the real-life set was even built, the producers prepared a VR version to preview what the real thing would look like.
- #200
Before Aech/Helen's truck is seen hidden, a grey Renault AVANTIME passes from the right of the screen to the left. The Avantime was a futuristic car brought to market by Renault in 2000. Its name comes from the French word "avant", meaning "ahead", and the English word "time". Only 8,450 units were produced at the Matra factory, and slightly more than 5,000 were sold. In 2045 it still looks futuristic.
- #201
While searching for Halliday's Easter egg, you see a Mac LC "pizza box". The original Mac in 1984 was a revolution in graphical user interfaces, operating systems, the integration between OS and hardware, and computer graphics. The LC in 1990 was the next revolution on the Mac side, and the release of OS7 a few months later completely revolutionized the computing interface and was a direct inspiration for Windows 95. It was also very popular among creators in graphics, video and 3D. Naturally, along with a number of gaming stations, Windows PCs and Linux boxes, this would be one of the first stepping stones on Halliday's path to creating the Oasis.
- #202
When I-R0k meets with Sorrento about the sphere, he reveals the skull of the Steampunk Pirate King from under the shield used by Perseus in Clash of the Titans (1981).
- #203
In the final battle scene, where other avatars also join the fight, Parzival is seen holding a boombox over his head; this may be a reference to Say Anything (1989), in which John Cusack holds a boombox to show how much he loves his girlfriend. This scene has also been referenced in The Simpsons (1989) and many other popular culture sources. Say Anything was also one of the films the High Five clan could choose from while trying to figure out which movie Halliday went to on his date.
- #204
Aech warns Wade (in the role of Parzival) that Art3mis (a girl) might be a man in the real world, foreshadowing that Aech will turn out to be a woman named Helen in the real world.
- #205
Production was planned to begin in July 2016. Screenwriter Zak Penn tweeted on July 1, 2016 that the first week of shooting had been completed. In August and September 2016, filming took place in Birmingham, England; Livery Street in the city's Jewellery Quarter was also heavily used, including for the van chase that takes place toward the end of the film. The chase was staged so that the street would appear longer than it actually is. Hatters, a backpacker hostel on Livery Street, was also used for the interior shoot of a basement scene. The Ludgate Hill Car Park on Lionel Street, where the caravan homes were partly built, was also used, and a planned explosion there caused some local businesses and homes to call emergency services because the production team had not given prior notice. Other locations in the city included Digbeth, a former industrial area, in a rooftop flat overlooking the Birmingham city centre skyline. To create a dystopian Ohio in 2045, some of the city's landmarks were erased and replaced with CGI buildings. Principal photography ended on September 27, 2016.
- #206
The "Auto 9", a modified Beretta 93R machine pistol from the original RoboCop (1987), is briefly used by Parzival during the shootout in the dance club.
- #207
The eye colour of Sorrento's avatar changes according to his mood. His eyes glow blue in a normal state, but in cases of extreme emotions such as frustration, unease and anger, they turn yellow and eventually red.
- #208
One of the first action scenes involves a big race in a virtual version of the Big Apple that moviegoers may be familiar with. Stockhausen recalls, "We had a lot of fun seeing which iconic buildings and billboards from movies set in 1980s New York we could put in just for fun." To give a random example, when you look closely you can see the building from Dustin Hoffman's 1982 comedy Tootsie. Or, elsewhere in the film, see if you can find references to the library setting of The Breakfast Club in the design of the Oasis archive.
- #209
While Parzival talks with Halliday in Halliday's attic bedroom, we see a photo of young Halliday taken while he was stealing his Atari 2600, and a Big Trak can be seen on the floor. Big Trak was a toy vehicle from the 80s that could be programmed to follow entered coordinates to a final destination. With its trailer attached, it could go to the kitchen, place a sandwich in the caravan and then return to you with lunch.
- #210
It turns out that Sho is actually an 11-year-old boy named Xo. As is rare for a child character to be the same age as their actor, principal photography took place in the summer of 2016. Young actor Philip Zhao was indeed 11 years old when filming began.
- #211
The virtual reality race cars perform the same corkscrew jump that James Bond did in live action in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
- #212
Whenever Sorrento or his avatar wears a tie in the film, the tie bears the text "NSIOI". "NS" stands for "Nolan Sorrento", and IOI is his company.
- #213
Navigating a virtual preview of the planned sets not only allowed Spielberg to consider creative choices such as angles and lighting, but also allowed Stockhausen to make sure the set met practical considerations. "It was great to be able to say, does this feel like the right size?" Stockhausen says. "Can we place the action in here and stage it or do we need to make any adjustments? That was tremendously helpful."
- #214
At the beginning of the film, during the artifact hunt, Aech uses Halo's assault rifle.
- #215
Another reference to the '80s is the bag of Doritos on the passenger side of the van right after the catastrophe erupts, and when they find Artemis walking in the street and Wade's uncle Rick punches him and knocks him down, a Doritos packet with the same design can also be seen on the coffee table in the background. If they hadn't redesigned the iconic logo with a nostalgic re-release of the famous nacho chips, they would be carrying (and/or eating) a roughly 60-year-old bag of Doritos in the year 2045.
- #216
After winning the first key, Parzival goes to buy great things from a store called "Avatar Outfitters". This is a clear reference to "Urban Outfitters", a major US retail company.
- #217
The tiny cars in the stacks were the Zagato Vulpes, the smallest electric car on the market; in front of IOI there was a row of Renault Twizys, also electric but big enough for two people to sit in.
- #218
In the scene where the High Five enter the cinema screening of The Shining, a Latin hymn "Dies Irae" can be heard playing on wind instruments in the background. Literally translating to "Day of Wrath", Dies Irae is a melody dating back to the 13th century and has been used by many composers.
- #219
Jane Douglas from the video game YouTube channel Outside Xbox (2012) is one of the extras in this film. In the first trailer, she sits right behind a man with the number 665312 on his helmet.
- #220
In the scene at the dance club where i-R0k tells the girls to leave the booth, New Order's "Blue Monday" plays. In The Wedding Singer (1998) (another film about '80s trivia), the same song plays while Adam Sandler and his co-stars are in a nearly identical booth in a very similar dance club.
- #221
Aech/Helen's truck is a Utilimaster Aeromaster 'Drone Spitter'.
- #222
VR, used to plan films like this one and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), seems set to become a tool whose popularity among filmmakers will only grow. "It's in the early days," Stockhausen says, "but I think it's going to become a routine part of the process."
- #223
At 1 hour 20 minutes, as the oologists try to figure out which game must be played to obtain the Crystal Key, there is a list of fictional castles behind them. Most notably, Hyrule Castle from the Legend of Zelda video game series.
- #224
The font on the "Extra Life" coin Parzival uses is the same font used in the title of the novel "Ready Player One".
- #225
When Parzival throws the time machine to the ground, it changes shape just like the vehicles in Disney's Tron: Legacy (2010).
- #226
James Holliday died in 2040, and the coin placed over his eyes was minted in 1972, meaning he was 68 years old when he died.
- #227
This is Sir Mark Rylance and Steven Spielberg's third collaboration, after Bridge of Spies (2015) and The BFG (2016).
- #228
In the opening scene, as Wade leaves his place and "Jump" by Van Halen plays, David Lee Roth sings "gotta roll with the punches" at the moment the camera passes by a woman wearing OASIS equipment shadowboxing.
- #229
When Artemis disguises herself as Goro (from Mortal Kombat), she uses a puppet from Alien to burst out of the "Goro suit" and then cuts it. The puppet on her arm is a design very similar to one of the puppets made by Corey Feldman's character in "Friday the 13th Part IV." Corey Feldman, of course, appeared in Spielberg and Donner's "The Goonies." Jason, the killer of the Friday the 13th series, plays a small role in one of the battles.
- #230
The Overlook Theatre in the film resembles the Senator Theatre in Baltimore, MD. Director Barry Levinson premiered many films there and is a good friend of Steven Spielberg.
- #231
The name "Sixers" comes from the number six. It is the first digit found on the chests of every avatar playing for IOI.
- #232
Ernest Cline's Ready Player One book was the subject of a podcast called "372 Pages We'll Never Get Back," in which comedians Mike Nelson (of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax) and Conor Lastowka (a writer and employee of RiffTrax) read and reviewed chapters every week and concluded they didn't care for it. After the film's premiere, they did an episode discussing how the film failed to meet their standards. In the end, the film was officially riffed on RiffTrax by Mike, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.
- #233
The player tags Daito and Shoto are a reference to the Japanese terms used for swords. Daito means long sword in Japanese, and shoto means short sword.
- #234
In the scenes where Halliday hands over the egg, a Commodore 64 disk drive is visible under the table. This may relate to the 1980s game Chuckie Egg, a platform game that requires the player to progress through 5 levels and have a chance to earn an extra life and an egg.
- #235
Before his date with Art3mis, Parzival tries on different outfits and avatars, including one that resembles Buckaroo Banzai, whom he says is his favorite character. Buckaroo Banzai is the protagonist of the 1984 film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, about a crime-fighting brain surgeon/rock musician/adventurer.
- #236
When Parzival thinks he has seen Art3mis for the first time in the race, he tells Aech that he has watched "all her Twitch streams." Ready Player One was published in 2011, the year Twitch was introduced. This was a reference made at the time, but it seems unlikely that a media platform would still be popular for more than 30 years (YouTube isn't even 20 years old yet and is under constant competition).
- #237
Sorrento's employee number, 655321, is Alex DeLarge's prisoner number in A Clockwork Orange (1971).
Behind the Scenes (4)
- #238
Contains a major spoiler — show
Spielberg worked with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to supervise the film's visual effects, holding three-hour meetings with ILM three times a week. A significant portion of the film takes place in a virtual space inspired by the Overlook Hotel from The Shining (1980). This was largely a digital recreation of the film using a high-quality telecine of the original, which gave them some freedom to create new camera angles and shots from that recreation. The final film combines original footage from The Shining with additional work by ILM. Only a few shots in this sequence featuring real actors, such as the appearance of the Grady twins, required them to build a faithful reproduction of the Shining set that the actors could interact with. Finally, the sequence was post-processed to add film grain and other aging effects to make the new footage indistinguishable from the original film. ILM also had to faithfully produce digital recreations of many cultural references appearing throughout the film, including the DeLorean time machine modeled after the 1933 version of the character, the Iron Giant, Chucky and King Kong. The Tyrannosaurus Rex from Jurassic Park was also recreated using the base model ILM had previously created during the original film's production.
- #239
During filming, Spielberg wore a virtual reality headset and walked through virtual sets with a virtual camera, lying on the floor to control camera angles and adjust shots. "This is crazy," he marveled.
- #240
Contains a major spoiler — show
Every Sixer seen in the film has a unique number, and that number is never reused, except for #665312, who appears in three separate appearances (and dies each time): 1) in the IOI war room, just before the first Copper Key race, a close-up is filmed (apparently of all the Sixers dying); 2) when IOI plays the "Shining" challenge, he is seen killed by the naked witch; 3) in the final battle, he is the first person killed by Chucky.
- #241
As on most projects, production designer Adam Stockhausen and his team began by gathering reference images for inspiration before sketching out ideas and concept drawings. For the real-world portions of the film set, the art department turned these sketches into plans mapping out the physical sets. For the scenes set in the Oasis, however, the sketches went to what Stockhausen called the "virtual art department," an organization involving the visual effects companies Digital Domain and ILM.
Easter Eggs & References (23)
- #242
Parzival may drive the DeLorean from Back to the Future, but the red lights sweeping back and forth on the car's front grille are a nod to KITT from Knight Rider, which is itself a nod to the Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica (both created by Glen Larson).
- #243
Contains a major spoiler — show
When the High Five, as real-life reproductions of their OASIS selves, hack Sorrento's immersion capsule, their eyes emit an amber glow. This is a reference to the lighting effect used in Blade Runner (1982) to distinguish humans from replicants.
- #244
The team of pop culture experts who help Sorrento hunt for Halliday's secret Easter egg are called "oologists" in the film. Oology is a real science that studies and collects bird eggs.
- #245
Ernest Cline's source novel references Steven Spielberg (along with some of his films). Spielberg stated he would remove these references, but some things still appear, such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the alien ship from War of the Worlds (2005).
- #246
During the race scene, a theater tent is visible bearing the words "Schwarzenegger Jack Slater III." This is a nod to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero (1993), also written by Zak Penn. According to Penn, the nod was unintentional and was included by the ILM team on the suggestion of co-writer Ernest Cline. Penn did not know about it before the first trailer premiered.
- #247
In the scene inside the store, the background includes the flying Winnebago from Spaceballs (1987), the EVA pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), a Colonial Viper from Battlestar Galactica (1978), a starfighter from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), the ED-209 from RoboCop (1987) and a power loader from Aliens (1986).
- #248
When asked about Halliday, Wade said that Halliday's favorite GoldenEye multiplayer character was Oddjob. The GoldenEye programmers state that Oddjob was an in-joke, because the auto-aim was miscalibrated but never fixed, which made him hard to hit.
- #249
Contains a major spoiler — show
Although Steven Spielberg stated that many of the references to himself in the book were removed from the film, he confirmed that Wade would still have his own personal DeLorean, a prominent element of the Spielberg-produced Back to the Future (1985).
- #250
Contains a major spoiler — show
The abbreviation IOI is a nod to the classic arcade game Pong, one of the games the young Halliday plays at the end; the I's resemble paddles and the O is the ball.
- #251
Aech teases Wade with "You're wearing the costume from your favorite movie? Don't be that guy." This is a nod to PCU (1994), in which Jeremy Piven says to Jon Favreau, "You're wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see? Don't be that guy."
- #252
Alan Silvestri worked closely with director Steven Spielberg to find the right direction for an original score that would not only be distinctive but also avoid referencing any of the film's popular culture references from the 1980s and 1990s, while evoking and developing the film's story and the old-fashioned adventure tone with the sense of optimism, innocence, beauty and wonder that many Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s used. It made a great impact. In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly", Spielberg said the following about Silvestri's score: "'Ready Player One' may be filled with every kind of cultural iconic reference, but the music Alan Silvestri composed is completely and intoxicatingly original. It's interconnected with many themes that define the plot and character, and infused with such striking adrenaline and soaring strings that Alan made 'Ready Player One' feel like flying."
- #253
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the novel, Wade finds the Copper Key by venturing through a recreation of the classic Dungeons & Dragons module "Tomb of Horrors." Although this does not appear in the film, it still references Tomb of Horrors by prominently featuring the iconic "Face of the Great Green Devil" in the back of Aech's van.
- #254
Much of Parzival's body language, especially his goofy demeanor when he first meets Art3mis, seems to be based on Keanu Reeves's portrayal of Ted "Theodore" Logan in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989); on Parzival's first visit to Halliday's Journal, the film is referenced when Halliday suggests to Ogden Morrow that they need to go backward instead of forward and adds, "Bill and Ted did!"
- #255
The film's main draw is a dizzying mashup of beloved pop culture references, such as the iconic DeLorean from Back to the Future racing Akira's motorcycle. Stockhausen, who said filling the film with the right references was fun for the producers too, recounts: "Sitting with Steven and saying, if you could race any car in the history of cinema, what would it be, and making a list of pure Willy Wonka fantasies of what he would want." Obvious things that play a big role in the narrative, like the DeLorean, were cleared first by the film's diligent legal team. Later, at a later stage of the process, the detailed, high-resolution version of the OASIS was built, and the producers were able to drop in a slew of fun hidden references in those crowded scenes and character meeting places in the blink of an eye. "If you really look closely," Stockhausen says, "there's all kinds of amazing spaceships from different movies in there, and there's all sorts of stuff on the walls."
- #256
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the Shining scene, Parzival gets Aech out of the dry goods store where Wendy locked Jack. Spielberg is also referencing this scene from Jurassic Park.
- #257
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Curator shows his hand twice without Parzival realizing it. The first time, when asked to replay the office party, he replies 'Do you want to go back?' (referring to the need to go back at the start of the race), and after Parzival tells Art3mis that Kira is the key to the second clue, he exclaims 'You're right', though they think he is only referring to the fact that they have seen the sole reference to Kira in all of Halliday's archives.
- #258
When Wade and Samantha meet, she is wearing the original Peter Saville T-shirt, the design used on the cover of Joy Division's 'Unknown Pleasures' album. The shirt's current value is 310 dollars.
- #259
Tracer from the popular video game Overwatch (2016) is voiced by Cara Theobold, who also voices Tracer in the game. Also, at one point in the Distracted Globe club, Tracer can be seen dancing with a woman, a reference to the Overwatch comic that revealed Tracer is a lesbian.
- #260
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the final battle scene, where other avatars join the fight, Parzival is seen holding a boombox above his head; this may be a reference to the 80s film Say Anything (1989), in which John Cusack holds a boombox to show how much he loves his girlfriend. This scene has also been referenced in The Simpsons (1989) and many other popular culture sources. Say Anything was also one of the films the High Five clan could choose from while trying to figure out which film Halliday went to on his date.
- #261
In Aech's garage, the red spaceship in the background is the Swordfish spacecraft from Cowboy Bebop, but its nose is longer and its engine is further back than in the anime. It is the same model as the one next to the lunchbox full of model spaceships.
- #262
Contains a major spoiler — show
Another 80s reference appears right after the catastrophe erupts: a bag of Doritos sits on the passenger side of the van, and when Artemis is found walking the streets and Wade's uncle Rick punches him to the ground, a Doritos packet with the same design can be seen on the side table in the background. Unless the iconic logo is redesigned with a nostalgic re-release of the famous nacho chips, people in 2045 would be carrying (and/or eating) a Doritos bag roughly 60 years old.
- #263
The Overlook Theatre in the Oasis takes its name from the hotel of the same name in The Shining (1980).
- #264
The hero's initials are W. O. W. (Wade Owen Watts). WOW is the abbreviation of World of Warcraft, which closely resembles the premise of the Oasis. From the W. O. W. Wiki: "World of Warcraft is set in the same universe as the Warcraft series of real-time strategy games and has a similar art direction. World of Warcraft contains elements of fantasy, steampunk and science fiction: griffons, dragons and elves; steam-powered automatons; zombies, werewolves and other horror monsters, as well as time travel, spaceships and alien worlds. World of Warcraft takes place in a 3D representation of the Warcraft universe that players can see. They interact through their characters," etc., etc., and players also face in-game quests, challenges and battles to level up their characters.
Deeper Meaning (10)
- #265
During the first race, when the 1966 Batmobile spins to a stop, the sound effect of the skid has the same cadence as the "Na na na na na na na na na" from the opening title sequence of the Batman TV theme.
- #266
In the scene where they discuss Art3mis's likely real-life identity, a photo of Wil Wheaton hangs on the mirror. In the book, Wil is vice president of the OASIS user council. He also narrates the audiobook of Ernest Cline's second novel Armada and of Ready Player Two, the sequel to Ready Player One.
- #267
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Holy Hand Grenade used in the final battle is a callback to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and is also a weapon from the Worms games. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) plays a significant role at the third gate in the source novel.
- #268
Even the smallest references had to be approved by the legal team, which meant the icons seen in the film differed somewhat from those mentioned in the book. Stockhausen laughs: "There were certainly some things we couldn't get, but I don't want to bring them up because I don't want to publicize them." The classic Japanese character conspicuously omitted from the book is Ultraman, but he was left out not because the creators refused permission but because of a long-running dispute over who owned the rights. Stockhausen says such omissions are a mixed blessing. "Not being able to have that property forced us to do a deep dive on what would the ultimate thing be," he insists. "If we could have used any giant robot, what would we want? Every time we couldn't get something, it forced a deeper discussion about what might be better."
- #269
Percival was one of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, written about first by Chretien de Troyes and later by Thomas Malory and Wolfram von Eschenbach. In the legend and in the film Excalibur (1981), Percival rose from humble beginnings to knighthood. He and the other Knights of the Round Table embark on a quest to find the 'Holy Grail' that will restore King Arthur's kingdom (largely symbolic in the film). As noted earlier, the spell used to activate the Osuvox Sphere is the 'Making Spell' from Excalibur (1981). Percival's German name is 'Parzival'.
- #270
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the High Five's trip into The Shining simulation, Sho says he watched the film through his fingers, implying he is actually too young to watch something like that. This also explains why he is one of the group who completes his car in the race despite there being no obstacles on the correct path, since children are generally not known for their driving skills.
- #271
Contains a major spoiler — show
Spielberg expanded the contest to more accurately capture Halliday's anti-escape Aesop: understanding Halliday's passions was how the hunters figured out each challenge, since that was the only way Halliday knew to interact with the world. But completing each challenge requires understanding Halliday himself, especially his deepest regrets. The first challenge looks like a Bullet Hell race along a Death Route full of pop culture references that no one has successfully progressed through in five years… because the only way to complete it is to literally "go really fast, backwards as fast as possible — really put the pedal to the metal," which leads to the Extra-Dimensional Shortcut that bypasses all those hazards; this symbolizes Halliday's regret at drowning in nostalgia. It is also an elegant way of adapting the first key on the school planet to maximize its potential for access; even if someone understood the clue, they would be unlikely to try it unless they were low-level and had nothing to lose. The second challenge looks like a Dungeon Crawl based on The Shining, the film he and his only love watched on their only date. But every playstyle puzzle and enemy in the simulation is invincible; the solution is to rescue the Damsel in Distress from the ballroom and ask her to dance, which symbolizes Halliday's regret at letting the world's horrors keep him from pursuing love. The final challenge is an Atari 2600 and a library containing every game ever made for the system. It can only be completed by finding the hidden Easter egg in the Trope Namer, Adventure, which symbolizes his love of games as things to be played rather than merely won, but the real test is the Magic Binding Contract offered at the end; this is a retelling of how Halliday forced Ogden Morrow to give up his shares in Gregarious Games, rejected his intervention, and retreated into the OASIS for the rest of his life. It is in effect a Secret Character Test symbolizing Halliday's regret at turning his back on his closest friend and, with him, on communication with the world in general. Wade refuses to sign, which is the real solution.
- #272
Contains a major spoiler — show
During Halliday's death video, one of the lapel pins on his suit is a miniature of Simon, Milton-Bradley's popular electronic game in which you must match the lights by pressing four buttons in the order they light up. Although it was a very popular game in the 1980s, the pin represents the 'modern', 21st-century version of the game (a black disc shape with buttons in each quarter).
- #273
While Halliday searches for the Easter egg, you see a Mac LC "pizza box." The original Mac in 1984 revolutionized graphical user interfaces, operating systems, the integration between OS and hardware, and computer graphics. The LC in 1990 was the next revolution on the Mac side, and the release of OS7 a few months later completely revolutionized the computing interface and was a direct inspiration for Windows 95. It was also very popular among creators in graphics, video and 3D. Naturally, along with a number of game stations, Windows PCs and Linux boxes, this would have been one of the first stepping stones on Halliday's path to creating the Oasis.
- #274
Production was scheduled to begin in July 2016. Screenwriter Zak Penn tweeted on July 1, 2016, that the first week of shooting had been completed. In August and September 2016, filming took place in Birmingham, England; Livery Street in the city's Jewellery Quarter was heavily used, including for the van chase that takes place near the end of the film. The chase was staged so the street would look longer than it actually is. Hatters, a backpacker hostel on Livery Street, was also used for the interior shoot of a basement scene. Ludgate Hill Car Park on Lionel Street, where the caravan homes were partly built, was also used, and a planned explosion there caused some local businesses and homes to call emergency services because the production team had not given prior notice. Other locations in the city included Digbeth, an old industrial area, and a rooftop overlooking the Birmingham city centre skyline. To create a dystopian Ohio in 2045, some of the city's landmarks were erased and replaced with CGI buildings. Principal photography ended on September 27, 2016.
Career & Awards (1)
- #275
Toshiro's virtual avatar 'Daito' is a samurai resembling Toshiro Mifune, Japan's legendary actor who played a samurai in many films over his long distinguished career.
Related pages
- Doctor Sleep — Ready Player One comes up in the facts on that page
- Silent Running — Ready Player One comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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