Casting announcements have been heating up surrounding the upcoming adaptation of the popular sci-fi novel Ready Player One, set to be directed by Steven Spielberg. Before young actor Tye Sheridan landed the lead role of video game obsessor Wade Watts in the flick though, he had to go through an extensive audition process for the movie.
In a new interview with Collider, Sheridan shared his experience, including his chemistry test with co-lead Olivia Cooke. Apparently, Spielberg was impressed with the first group of tapes the actor sent in and eventually invited him to Los Angeles to read for the movie before bringing him on board for the role earlier in the year.
Sheridan told Collider that the chance to work with the director was like being in “the best film school there is.”
Just the idea that I would be able to stand on the set with Mr. Spielberg and ask him a question about filmmaking, or ask him why a certain camera movement, or why this choice, or whether he can give me advice. […] For me, learning about cinema and the craft and the art of it […] this is the best film school there is, just to make movies and be there on set.
Sheridan – who will don the visor of young Cyclops in X-Men: Apocalypse – admitted that he’s only half-way through the source material of Ready Player One right now, but thinks that the film could be “a huge milestone for virtual reality in cinema.” The novel is subtly mind-blowing from a world-building point of view, so Sheridan might turn out to be right about that one. Spielberg’s ability to grab much-needed brand names to make the story work should undoubtedly help out, too.
What’s great about the book and about the story is that it’s such a strong and honest depiction of what is to come, not only in entertainment, but for our future. I think that there will be a different plane of existence that is a virtual realm, and I think this movie is the key note to portraying that in entertainment. Potentially, it’s a huge milestone for virtual reality in cinema. And I was obsessed with virtual reality before I even found out that they were doing the film.
Written by Ernest Cline, Ready Player One describes a future in which a massive virtual world called OASIS is the escape from reality everyone in the world uses, not just niche gamers. When the creator of OASIS announces a treasure hunt with a massive fortune on the line, main character Wade Watts finds himself hunted down in the game – and IRL – because he’s just nerd-smart enough to decipher the ridiculously hardcore references to 1980’s video game, movie, and geek culture.
Unfortunately, the film is still quite a long ways off: it won’t be released in theaters until March 30, 2018. Until then, however, let us know if you’re liking how Ready Player One is shaping up so far in the comments section below.
