SXSWORLD

2 6 SXS W O R L D | M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 8 | SXSW.COM Adventure Awaits Ready Player One's Movie Audience Ernest Cline's 2011 novel Ready Player One takes place in 2045, when environmental disasters and fossil fuel short- ages have triggered widespread economic hardships, but an escape to a better life is offered in a virtual world called the OASIS. The book's plot follows what happens after the OASIS' creator dies and announces a contest designed to find a worthy heir to take over control of the virtual world and inherit his fortune. The film adaptation of Ready Player One, co-written by Cline, was directed by Steven Spielberg, and will be released in the- aters worldwide on March 29, coincidentally Cline's birthday. SXSW 2018 attendees will get an early look inside the film during special activations and events. The presence at SXSW is especially fitting because Cline not only lives in Austin, he also first met his now manager/producer Dan Farah (who pro- duced Ready Player One, alongside Spielberg, Donald De Line, and Kristie Macosko Krieger) at a SXSW party in 2006, kicking off a collaboration and friendship that lead to Ready Player One and more. Cline recently took time to answer questions about both the book and film. A full version of the interview is at sxsw.com/world. What was the inspiration for Ready Player One? The initial idea came from the Atari game Adventure, which was the first video game to have an Easter egg in it. The designer, Warren Robinett, was upset that he wasn't going to get credit for the game, so he created a secret room that had his name hidden inside it. People all around the world discovered it, even though Atari didn't know that the secret room was there. So when I dis- covered this, it was my first experience finding something inside a virtual world hidden by the creator of that virtual world. And it was a really profound experience. It really felt like he had hidden something, a secret inside his world, for me to find. I was also a huge fan of Roald Dahl's books growing up, espe- cially the Willy Wonka books. And one day I had the idea: what if Willy Wonka had been a video game designer instead of a candymaker, and what if he held his golden ticket contest inside his greatest video game creation? And when I had that idea, I knew that I was onto something. It made me think of Adventure and finding those Easter eggs... What is it about 1980s pop culture that so appeals to you? I was 7 years old when the '80s began and 17 when they ended, so that was one of the most formative decades for me. It was By Andy Smith Ernest Cline on the set of Ready Player One. Photo by Jaap Buitendijk

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