The good-looking of Ready Player One is the kind that makes people feel at ease and happy. It's a bit like the first time I saw Avatar that year. A few years ago, I learned about some of the project development process. I read a few interviews on the business trip. I feel more and more that the whole film’s process from scratch is exactly the same as the plot in the movie. .
The first key-the original work In 2010, producer Dan Farah chose the copyright before the Ready Player One novel was officially published, which is bold. He pitched around with the story, and finally ended up in Warner Bros. Producer Donald De Line is very knowledgeable, but also hesitant. The story is too complicated, how can it be compressed into a two-hour three-act structure? The first two scripts of Warner Bros were written by the original author Ernest Cline himself, which is not very good to be honest. It is inevitable for the original author to be a screenwriter-too close to the book. Several roundabouts in the middle of the project ran aground. (A friend of mine wrote a draft but it was not adopted.)
The second key-Script Studio hired X-men and The Avergers' screenwriter Zak Penn to write the script. Professional writers come on stage with rich experience and a high degree of style and type. The turning point is coming. Of course, it is indispensable to communicate with the original author Ernest Cline massively, to fully build trust, and to move boldly in the direction of the sense of cinema. For example, the movie started much later than the novel. When it came up, all the players had been looking for easter eggs for N years. The motivation of the characters was clear and they entered the competitive state directly. After a few more years, I finally produced a decent script, which can be handed over to the director of A-list.
The third key-director In 2015, Steven Spielberg finished reading the script and novel and officially signed the directorship. He also has a lot of his own ideas about the script, such as asking the screenwriter to put back some of the plots in the novel that were abandoned because of fear that it could not be realized (or too expensive). And the story is required to switch back and forth between virtual and reality more frequently. Finally, Director Spielberg found the best balance between novel and script. With him, everyone was at ease. In an interview, he said that at first he thought that this movie should be made by a young director. It’s best if you are in your 20s, and you won’t be afraid if you don’t have experience. Until the live shooting in London, he often wanted to call JJ Abrams to help him when he woke up in the morning, but in the end he still made a good cup of tea, asked his wife for a few words of encouragement, and then went to work on the set. (Is it cute?!)
The final battle-of course, is the IP licensing battle. Some belong to Warner Bros, but are much simpler. Some are due to Steven Spielberg's own charm and appeal, and most of them have been directed by the director for more than 20 years. Amblin’s partner, female producer Kristie Krieger, led the Amblin team to fight hard, knocking down one family after another. The hard work during this period is not enough for outsiders.
At this point, I suddenly felt a little bit emotional. China's one billion box office is coming soon, and the ratings are all overwhelming. However, there are very few people who know about the eight-year journey. The movie is really amazing. Three billboards are not just three billboards. Everyone thought it would be finished before gravity cut. Go trek for a long time, and then take the leap.
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