Warner Bros. original film Ready Player One was released March 29th, 2018.
#ReadyPlayerOne made $607.8M at the international box office.
rottentomatoes: 72%
metacritic: 64
imdb: 7.4
oscars: 1 nomination
Parzival
Wade Watts is a prolific VR gamer in Columbus, Ohio.
“Hello, Mrs. Gilmore. I was born in 2027. After the Corn Syrup Droughts, after the Bandwidth Riots. After people stopped trying to fix problems and just tried to outlive them. My parents, they didn’t make it through those times, so I live here in Columbus, Ohio, with my Aunt Alice. In 2045, Columbus is the fastest-growing city on Earth. It’s where Halliday and Morrow started Gregarious Games. These days, reality is a bummer. Everyone is looking for a way to escape, and that’s why Halliday… that’s why he was such a hero to us. He showed us that we could go somewhere without going anywhere at all. You don’t need a destination when you’re running on an omnidirectional treadmill with quadrophonic, pressure-sensitive underlay. James Halliday saw the future. And then he built it. He gave us a place to go. A place called the OASIS.” — Wade Watts
“This is the OASIS. It’s a place where the limits of reality are your own imagination. You can do anything… …go anywhere. Like the vacation planet. Surf a 50-foot monster wave in Hawaii. You can ski down the pyramids. You can climb Mount Everest with Batman. Check out this place. It’s a casino the size of a planet. You can lose your money there. You can get married. You can get divorced. You can… you can go in there. People come to the OASIS for all the things they can do, but they stay because of all the things they can be. Tall, beautiful, scary, a different sex, a different species, live-action, cartoon. It’s all your call. Yeah, that’s me. Well, that’s my avatar. At least, until I feel like changing it. Except for eating, sleeping, and bathroom breaks, whatever people wanna do, they do it in the OASIS. And since everyone is here, this is where we meet each other. It’s where we make friends.” — Wade Watts
“Locate Aech. Planet Doom, the most dangerous place in the OASIS, and a pretty great place to pick up coin. Figures Aech would be there. Aech is my best friend in the OASIS. He’s my best friend, period. Even though I’ve never actually met him in the real world. What’s up, Aech? Next race is in 20 minutes, and I can’t do the late one. What the hell are you up to? Is that Daito? This an artifact hunt? Turn into any giant robot for two minutes. That’s rad. Artifacts. Those were key. Halliday made sure the OASIS was littered with enough randomly powerful stuff that anyone could win if they had skills. Death matches and artifact hunts are a good way to coin-snatch, but depending on your level of armor, they’re risky. You see, everyone starts the same, but the more coin you make… the more you level up. If you get killed, your avatar can come back to life… …but you lose all your stuff. Everything you’ve ever worked for. All your money. Your clothes. Your weapons. Since people spend most of their time in the OASIS… …losing your shit means… well, losing your shit.” — Wade Watts
“Aech, ten minutes until the race starts. You see, the OASIS was the brainchild of James Halliday. He and his partner, Ogden Morrow, released the first OASIS build in 2025. It was an instant success, and it made them both very rich. But Morrow was out of the picture after a few years. And Halliday? He wasn’t just the owner of the world’s biggest company. He was like a god. People loved him. They worshipped him as much as his creation. And then, on January 7, 2040… he died. And what he left behind changed everything.” — Wade Watts
“The challenge is to find three keys, but in five years, no one has even gotten one key. And the big scoreboard? Still empty. Some long-forgotten gunter cracked the first clue and found the first challenge. Then, this portal appeared. But the challenge to win the first key was a race designed by Halliday that was so hard, no one had ever finished it. The only ones still trying are the gunters, as in ‘egg hunters,’ like me and Sho and Daito, and my best friend, Aech. Oh, and of course, the Sixers. The Sixers work for IOI… …Innovative Online Industry. They’re the second-largest company in the world with designs on becoming the first. Which is why they’re putting everything they got into winning Halliday’s contest.” — Wade Watts
“We call ’em ‘Sixers’ ’cause that’s the company rule. No name, just numbers. They have a support team made up of Halliday scholars. Like me, they spend all their time studying pop culture that Halliday was obsessed with, trying to find clues to solve the contest. They’re just following the orders of the head of IOI, this dickweed named Nolan Sorrento. How’d you get here before me? What’s up, Aech? Thanks, bro. I gotta go to the back. Fuel’s low. First to the key. Aech, are you seeing this? No, not the bike. Forget the bike. The girl, I think it’s Art3mis. I’ve seen all her wal-throughs, her Twitch streams. It’s her. It’s definitely her. Balls. She’s not gonna make it. Bail! Bail out! Bail! Oh, Aech could… well, he’s my friend, but he could fix it for you.” — Wade Watts
“Oh, yeah. Aech is top-rated on the mod boards. People all over the OASIS pay him serious coin. Oh, hey, check this out! The Galactica, of course. Sulaco, from Aliens. Valley Forge, from Silent Running. Oh, where’s the Harkonnen Drop-ship? That thing is sick. Folds space like a boss. I mean, you can get from Incipio to Arrakis in three seconds… yup. He’s pretty great. Oh, Aech? Nah. I mean, he’s really good, but I don’t clan. What about you, Art3mis? Goddess of the hunt. Clans must be killing to sign you up. Excuse me? What? Oh. Goldeneye. Oddjob. Is this a test? Game variant was ‘slappers only.’ No weapons. Turbo. And his favorite food was Hot Pockets. Favorite restaurant was Chuck E Cheese. Song was Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles. Video was Take on Me by A-ha. Oh, oh… his favorite quote was from Superman. ‘Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it’s a simple adventure story…’ Lex Luthor. Cool. Oh! I mean, I’ve got tons of plans in the real world. I… I’d move into a huge mansion, buy a bunch of cool shit, not be poor. I stopped because of Kong. No one ever makes it past Kong. That’s, like, a rule. I can’t afford to zero out. No, I’m not! Who said that? Thanks to you, Captain Big Mouth. Shit. I gotta go.” — Wade Watts
“Who told you to use them? So you lost a death match. Why don’t you just respawn and level up like everyone else? My boys were in that challenge. You couldn’t have beat them in a bootsuit, you noob. Alice, call the police! Why do you put up with this guy? He’s a shitshow. ‘Wade Watts.’ My dad picked that name because it sounded like a superhero’s alter ego, like Peter Parker or Bruce Banner. But he died when I was a kid. My mom, too, and I ended up here, living with Aunt Alice and her endless string of hard-loving losers. ‘Halliday hated making rules.’ Why is that line sticking in my head? Maybe it’s ’cause Ar3mis said it, and she’s hot. Maybe it’s because she called me out, sitting here in my tiny corner of nowhere, protecting my small slice of nothing. Or maybe… maybe it’s because that line means something and I missed it.” — Wade Watts
“The day the contest was announced, the Halliday Journals appeared. He told us to look in his brain. This was the next best thing. At first, it was jammed with gunters looking for answers. Now, the once-crowded halls of Halliday’s memories are left to people like me. Gregarious Games, 2029… office party. Closer on Halliday. ‘I don’t wanna make any more rules.’ ‘I’m a dreamer.’ ‘I build worlds.’ Yeah, we’re finished. Go back ten seconds! Mr. Halliday… Anorak. It’s such an honor.” — Wade Watts
“As soon as I took the key, all the coins just appeared in my account. A bomb. Kills every avatar on a planet, even the owner. IOI. They buy everything. Twenty-thou for the holy hand grenade? That’s a steal! Whoa! Zemeckis Cube! I need one of those. X1 haptic bootsuit. Oh, yeah! There’s five of us on the big board now. Art3mis was next, no surprise there. She was on the track when I won. She saw me going backwards. I gave Aech a tip, made him promise not to say anything, and then he won next. I’m pretty sure he bragged to our pal Daito, ’cause he won right after. And of course, Daito told his best friend, Sho… he totally totaled his car, but then Sho got it, too. ‘A creator who hates his own creation. A hidden key, a leap not taken. Retrace your steps, escape your past. And the key of jade will be yours at last.’ ‘Escape your past.’ What part of your past are you trying to escape, Halliday? No, no, no, I… huh? Ahhh! That is… that is not funny. Ugh. I’m not wearing that.” — Wade Watts
“Check this out. You know who that is? Sorrento started as an intern. He claims he learned at the feet of the master. That’s how he convinced IOI to create the Sixers for him, his Halliday knowledge. But ask Ogden Morrow? He says the only thing Sorrento actually knew about Halliday was how he liked his coffee. Can you fast-forward to the stuff about Halliday’s date? Just watch. Just once, years before they were even married, but yeah. And despite that, and the fact that she died, the name ‘Kira’ is only mentioned once in all of Halliday’s Journals. It is. Look it up. What we just saw is the only time she’s ever mentioned it. I’ll bet you anything. All my coin. Halliday purposely removed every mention of her except for this one. It’s like, it was just so painful for him to have to see her face or hear her name. He couldn’t tell that to Morrow. Yeah, well, he missed his chance. Look. I found the clue to the race in the other scene, but… I’ve always felt that the biggest clue to the contest was hidden here. Don’t sweat it, Curator. You see, Kira is the Rosebud at the center of his story. She’s the big mystery. Oh, wow. A quarter. You can keep it. Who, me? Yeah, the dance club. Uh, bye-bye! All right.” — Wade Watts
“What? I told you. Hey, what about this? Hey, dude, she’s giving me a clue. Maybe I’m the one using her. Should I go more Thriller? Punk? Duran Duran. Does it look like I’m trying too hard? I got it! Yeah! I am that guy. Aech, Art3mis gets me. She’ll get my outfit. There’s just this connection. I mean, sometimes, we even– yeah! Yeah, I know, but that’s because we’re best friends, dude. Come on. Huh? Oh, thanks! Oh. Yeah! You look… you look awesome! Wow.” — Wade Watts
Aech
“Hey, what up, Z? Man, gettin’ my kills on, bro. Daito and Sho. Yup. Gregarious 120. Okay, Mom, I heard you.”
“Well, I didn’t make a pit stop at the hair salon. What up, Z? Saved you a spot. Ugh. So you can skim coins from crashed cars? Tsk. That’s just sad, man. Oh, but you still had enough to pay for that Something About Mary hairdo. First to the egg! Yeah, I see it. That’s Kaneda’s bike from Akira. It’s a licensed skin over a standard frame. The Art3mis? The Sixer Fixer?”
“Go, go, go! Get there! Come on! You got it! You got it! This is my workshop. Touch nothing. Find it? I’m building it. That’s a commission. Hey. Z, yo. These are my babies, all right, man? Dude, how are you showing off my shit? Fingers! You’ll have to excuse him. He gets a little nervous around pretty girls. I can fix it in ten minutes. There you go. Good as new. That went well.”
“Dude, you won the key and 100,000 coins? I’ll tell you what, I’m soiling my haptics right now. What the hell’s a Cataclyst? Who’d want that? Okay, don’t spend all your money.”
“Z, I can’t believe you told her about Kira. No. Have you considered that Art3mis could be using you? No. No. No. Yes! Listen to yourself! You have a massive cyber crush on this girl. She’s hacking your heart to get to your head. Buckaroo Benzai? Really? You’re gonna wear the outfit from your favorite movie? Don’t be that guy. Z, you gotta be careful about who you meet in the OASIS. finish each other’s sentences? We have that. Me and you. She could be a dude, too, dude. I’m serious! She could actually be a 300-pound dude who lives in his mama’s basement in suburban Detroit. And her name is Chuck. Think about that.”
Art3mis
“Ow! Damn, I loved that bike. Where did you find an Iron Giant? I assume you and Shoulder Blades are clanned up. Oh, ’cause you’re Parzival, as in the knight who found the Holy Grail by himself. Favorite shooter? James Halliday’s favorite first-person shooter. Playing as? Favorite game variant? I know what ‘slappers only’ means. Racer? ‘Others can read the ingredients on the back of a chewing-gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.’ What would you do? If you won. The whole contest, I mean. Now I know why you stopped short. Well, then you know it can’t be true. Because Halliday hated making rules. You’re afraid to lose your shit. What happens when IOI offers you guaranteed coin for the keys to the kingdom? Nolan Sorrento takes over the world. A real gunter would risk everything to save the OASIS from IOI. Me. Thanks for the fix-up, my man. That’s better. I’ll wave to you from the finish line, McFly.”
“Back again so soon? Careful not to lose your shit. You figured something out. Parzival, tell me. ‘A creator who hates his own creation. A hidden key, a leap not taken. Retrace your steps, escape your past.’ Oh, God. Oh, God. Don’t you get it? You’re ‘the Parzival’ now. You have to have a disguise. Okay, here. Clark Kent glasses. They hide your identity without changing your look.”
“This is right before the OASIS went live. Is that Sorrento? What? Halliday actually went on a date? No, no. Karen Underwood, as in Ogden Morrow’s wife? Hold the phone. Halliday went on a date with Ogden Morrow’s wife? That’s weird. Why? Well, he loved her. Oh, that’s sad. He should have told her how he felt. You free Thursday? No, him. Oh, my God. Yes, you! You know the Distracted Globe? Meet me there. 10:00 p.m. There’s something I wanna show you.”
“Get out of town! Buckaroo Bonzai? I like it. I like Buckaroo Banzai. It’s great. Oh. Thank you. Have you been here before? It’s cool, right? I mean… The Distracted Glove was one of the first clubs Halliday created in the OASIS.”
James Halliday
“Maybe we should stop talking about it and start, uh, showing it. If you all wanna reach under your seats, you’ll find that there’s nothing there. But we’re each gonna bring you one now.”
“Hello. I am James Halliday. If you’re watching this, I’m dead. Before I died, I created what we in the biz call an “Easter egg.’ A hidden object in a game that gives special powers to whoever discovers it. The first person to find the egg I’ve hidden somewhere inside the OASIS will inherit my stock in Gregarious Game, currently valued in excess of half a million… uh, half a trillion dollars’ worth, and total control of the OASIS itself. In the form of my avatar, Anorak the All-Knowing, I created three keys. Three hidden challenges test for worthy traits revealing three hidden keys to three magic gates. And those with the skill to survive these straits will reach the end, where the prize awaits. Off you go, keys. The keys aren’t just laying around under a rock somewhere. I suppose you could say they’re invisible, hidden in a dark room that’s at the center of a maze that’s located somewhere up here. Let the hunt for Halliday’s Easter egg begin.”
“I like cleaning up. Some things are perfect just the way they are. Asteroids. I know that. I built. I don’t really wanna talk about it anymore. I don’t wanna make any more rules. I’m a dreamer. ‘I build worlds.’ I liked how things were when they were… when it was a game. Why can’t we go backwards, for once? Backwards, really fast. Fast as we can. Really put the pedal to the metal, you know? Why can’t we go backwards, for once? Backwards, really fast. Fast as we can. Really put the pedal to the metal, you know? Bill and Ted did it.”
“Nice racing, Padawan. You’re the first to finish. The honor is all mine. Get yourself a clue.”
“They didn’t want any more blood. Hell of a latte. Nothing. I invited her over. Yeah. Kira, I told you, like the character in The Dark Crystal. Karen. Yeah, okay? Karen Underwood. She wanted to go dancing, so we watched a movie. There is no juice! Kira, I told you, like the character in The Dark Crystal. That’s her gamer tag.”
Ogden Morrow
“Okay, Jim, I’m, uh… I’m going. Everything changes, Jim. Everything evolves. People don’t live inside an Asteroids arcade cabinet. Yeah, well, people are living inside the arcade we built. Uh, well… right. Well, I guess you can say whatever you want. No, of course you don’t wanna talk about it. You’re forcing me out. Look, invention comes with responsibilities you didn’t ask for. All right, if you make something people want or need then it’s up to you to set the limits. You have to make some rules. We created something beautiful, Jim, but it’s changed. Okay? It’s really not a game anymore. And we’re back to where we started. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Things move forward whether you like it or not. Fine.”
“This is great. The way your inventory bursts out when you die. So, what happened? Well, did you at least get her name? That’s her gamer tag. Karen. So, listen, you and Karen Underwood. What’d you do? And? Where’s the juice? Give me some juice! Oh, God!”
Sixers / Sorrento
“Buckle up! Sit in!”
“Who is this Parzival, and how the hell is he winning?”
“Well, here’s a better question. Who cares? Halliday’s contest is vitally important. I mean, it’s nothing less than a war for control of the future. But this Parzival? He’s not even clanned up. He’s alone. We have an army. And yet, he’s got the first key. Yeah, he has a key, but you have to get three of ’em to win the contest.”
“Our stock dove 6% yesterday. Loyalty division is reporting profits of 28%. F’Nale. We’re opening five new loyalty centers this month. Debt Services dwarfs Hardware. Now, you really wanna talk to me about stock prices? The shareholders won’t be happy. It’s not our job to make them happy. It’s our job to make them money, but once we launch this little baby, they’re gonna flip. We call this Pure O2. This is the first of our planned upgrades. Once we can roll back some of Halliday’s ad restrictions, we estimate we can sell up to 80% of an individual’s visual field before inducing seizures, so picture this… all of this implies we win the contest. Indeed, it does.”
“i-R0k, old friend. How are you? Is there a reason we’re meeting here? Don’t say that again. Now, I’m gonna need you to keep this for now. I’m gonna let you know when I wanna use it. Okay? Right now, though, I have another job for you. Can you do that? i-R0k, how much more do you want. i-R0k. Done.”
“You could have, like, different tiers of accounts, like a gold member. A person could be silver, platinum, bronze. You know, depending on what they pay. You know, highest one maybe being ‘water’ because ‘OASIS,’ right?”
“So, what’s the plan? Are you gonna kill their avatars? Zero them out?”
i-R0k
“To be honest, I have kind of a neck thing. It’s like a carpel-tunnel deal but with your neck, if that’s even a thing. So if you could just stand to your right. My right, your left. Thanks, it’s the repetitive stress. Oh. Here he is. The steampunk pirate king. I knew him well, Sorrento. There are only three things in this world I hate, steampunk, pirates, and tabbouleh. I mean, why do they even have it? Yes, Nolan. The Orb of Osuvox. You wanted it. He had it. And so here it is. It creates an impenetrable magic shield that can only be taken down by a magic spell. The Orb of Osuvox. Okay. Ah. Parzival. Let me guess, you want him off the scoreboard. Well, he’s a superstar. He made it through the first gate and avatars are gonna be on him like hoes on Santa. That’s what I like about you, Nolan. You never lick. You bite straight to the chocolaty center of the Tootsie Pop. Remember that old commercial, with the owl? Three times my normal fee. Wait, really? I should have asked for five. Is four still on the table?”
“Get out of here. They’re both here at The Distracted Globe. I can’t talk.”
The OASIS
“Locating Aech. Aech located. Sector 12. Planet Doom.”
“Parzival. Oh, Joy! And how will you eat up my valuable search time today? Office party. Yes, you’ve only seen it a thousand times. Why not go back? Each entry into Halliday’s Journals is meticulously assembled from personal photographs, home video recordings, surveillance, and nanny cams. All rendered into a three-dimensional virtual experience. Also, Halliday archived every film, game, book, and television program he ever saw, located on the mezzanine. No weapons or mature-themed avatars are permitted within the Journals. Please enjoy your time with us, and happy gunting! Are we finished?”
“Hey, it’s Parzival! Dude! You’re, like, totally my hero! Hey, Parzival! Over here! Dude, you’re amazing! Hey, Parzival! Right here! LEt me get an autograph! Watch it! You’re famous now! You can’t just go wherever you want!”
“Six days prior. December 2nd, 2025. That’s not possible. It makes no sense. She was an important part of both of their lives. Search ‘Karen Underwood Morrow.’ You’re right. I lose. No, no. A bet is a bet. No. You can keep it. Did she just ask me out? And I was starting to like her. I don’t do that.”
“Whoa, dude, is that Parzival? Parzival! Oh, my God, Parzival! Come here, man. Hey, can we get a photo? Thank you so much! Dude, you’re my hero! Hey, Parzvial. Thank you. Oh, thanks! A big one, a small one? A big one! What a freak! I thought he was kind of cute.”
Aunt Alice / Her Boyfriend
“Wade? Wade? Where the hell are my gloves?”
“I zeroed out ’cause of your broke-ass gloves. You took hers. You don’t get it. I bought all these power-ups for this challenge, and I lost it all. That artifact was gonna pay for the house! Wait. How much of our money did you spend on upgrades? Well, all of it, but I was gonna win. That was our ticket out of here. You idiot. No, but I only lost ’cause of the bad gloves. Our house! Our goddamn house! Stop! No! No! No, we are not calling the cops. Go to your room, Rick. Come on, Alice. I ought to kick the both of you out. I swear to G-O-D, Wade Watts, if I catch you touching my stuff again, not joking… out.”
Columbus, Ohio
“Get ready for the feel, the feel of real. X1. No pain, no gain. Pizza, guys. Whoo-hoo! Hello, Wade. What’s the matter? Life getting you down?”
“Mom! Mom! Go get your dad!”
“X1. When I’m after gold on Planet Doom, I need every edge I can get. Every push, punch, gunshot, you feel it all. Get ready for the feel, the feel of real. X1. The X1 is like wearing a second skin. A skin that kicks ass.”