'Ready Player One' Set for December 15th, 2017; Steven Spielberg To Direct

Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow and DreamWorks Studios have set a December 15th, 2017 release date for Ready Player One, to be directed by none other than Steven Spielberg himself. The film is an adaptation of Ernest Cline's novel of the same name about a not-too-distant future where virtual reality is valued by society above the real world.

It is still somewhat surprising that this project is moving forward, especially with Spielberg still attached. You see, Ready Player One centers on a teenager named Wade Watts who, throughout his short life, has grown up with OASIS, a virtual utopia that humans can enter to escape the real world. Basically, a video game that anyone and everyone around the globe can play at any time. Watts - along with many, many others - is set on finding the creator of the virtual reality's fortune, hidden somewhere inside the utopia. This utopia is littered everywhere in 80s pop culture, from video games, to movies, to TV shows, to books because the creator was obsessed with the decade. Or in other words for a film, a licensing nightmare.

In order to make the film work, these references to 80s culture need to be in there, and you can't just put them in like that. Money needs to be paid to whomever owns the rights to...whatever it is your referencing in order to allow it in the film.

For movies specifically, the ones that are referenced a lot in the book (which, by the way, if you haven't figured out by now, I'm currently reading) are The Goonies, Back to the Future, Gremlins and even E.T. I believe is in there too. Getting the rights to use footage and even mentioning these films on screen can be extremely costly, that is, unless you're Steven Spielberg. That's where the big guy comes in.

Spielberg, in terms of 80s pop culture, basically defined the decade. Go back and look at many of the great films from that time and I bet you he's involved in nearly every single one. You know who produced The Goonies? Spielberg. Back to the Future? Spielberg. Gremlins? You guessed it, Spielberg. A special mention for Poltergeist? Spielberg (though it's widely believed he ghost directed that thing too). Oh and I probably don't need to tell you who created E.T.

By having Spielberg on as director, it gives the project ease and availability in using these films for reference. The man running the show is also the key to make this book come alive. In short, the studio and all involved better hope Spielberg doesn't drop out of this thing, otherwise it'll be tough to still move forward with any other director (well, maybe other than Robert Zemeckis).

The book has been adapted by Zak Penn for the screen. Not exactly a name that brings confidence to mind (X-Men: The Last Stand anyone?) but with Spielberg behind the camera, it can be great.

Dan Fellman, the president Warner Bros. domestic distribution, had this to say regarding the December 2017 release date:

“Any film from Steven Spielberg is an event film, so it felt right to date this thrilling new project from one of our greatest filmmakers for the holiday season."

Very true, but let's just hope that doesn't change.

Source: Variety