Indian Spielberg Fans Deserve Ready Player One; Warner Bros Must Deliver

Perhaps the most loyal fans in the history of cinema are Steven Spielberg fans. And why not. The man, in his almost five decade long career in Hollywood, has delivered blockbusters like Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, ET, Jurassic Park, Jaws, and Indiana Jones to name a few.

If a Spielberg movie is in pre-production, fans start discussing the plot, the ending and in many cases the sequel well in advance. Such is the level of anticipation and excitement.

However, if you are a true Steven Spielberg fan, one who expects his films to be nothing less than a ‘Pure Spielbergian Joy’, the 2000s and the 2010s have been somewhat disappointing.

There were sparks of Spielberg’s glory days as the most sought after director in Hollywood with titles like Bridge of Spies, Lincoln, The BFG, and War Horse but the heights of cinematic glory he reached in the 80s and 90s has not been seen in a long time.

In 2011, one Ernest Cline wrote a sci-fi novel called Ready Player One that sent shockwaves through the pop-culture industry. So much so that the book was dubbed as the “Holy-grail of pop-culture”.

A reviewer wrote – “It satisfied every geeky bone in my body.”

This leaves us with one obvious question – Why was the book so successful? Here’s why.

The plot was dystopian but it had a nostalgic throwback to the good old days of cassettes, boom boxes, action-figures, trump cards and more. It was a dream come true for every 80s, 90s and pop-culture fan.

Ready Player One has detailed references to legendary titles and characters like Back To The Future, Freddy Krueger, The Aliens franchise, Say Anything, RoboCop, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Chucky the Doll, Star Wars, The Iron Giant, and King Kong to name a few.

Wait, we have barely scratched the surface of the innumerable Easter eggs that grace the novel.

Ready Player One is not just a novel for pop-culture enthusiasts but also for gamers. Tomb Raider, Duke Nukem, Space Invaders, Galaga, Pac-Man. You name the game and RPO has it.

The book also took into consideration the likes and dislikes of the millennials. VR, Chatting, video calling, Virtual Gaming, MMO (Massively multiplayer online) games are the mainstay of the novel.

Since the release of the book in 2011, its author, Ernest Cline has become a revered figure for geeks, nerds and 80s fans. He also impressed one key figure from the 80's sci-fi revolution – Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was so enamoured by the book, he almost instantaneously decided to make a film out of it. And why not? It is a clear throwback to some of his own creations – T-Rex (Jurassic Park), Aliens (ET, Close Encounters of The Third Kind).

Its 2018, and Ernest Cline’s masterpiece is now a motion picture. The much awaited March 30 release has sent fans into a frenzy. It has opened to a massive response by the audience worldwide and has already made $181 Million at the Box-Office.

All is well. The dream has come true. But the film has not released in India.

READY PLAYER ONE HAS NOT RELEASED IN INDIA

The movie was well promoted just days before its release. Agregators like BookMyShow, PayTM sold tickets in large numbers. There were banner ads on websites. Social Media was abuzz with previews and discussions. But just a day before the release, the movie ran into some distributor/ content issue. Apparently, Warner Bros International are feuding with Warner Bros India.

It is yet to be released in all major cities.

For ardent fans, the experience was cruder. They were sent back home from the ticket counter by confused theatre managers. Soon, they started complaining and ranting on Twitter.

Last week, Pacific Rim Uprising was also cancelled in many theatres due to the same distributor issue.

However, the case of Ready Player One is different. Fans are fuming with anger and Warner Bros India is yet to come out with an official statement.

There is now a petition on Change.org to release the film:

Here’s the link - https://twitter.com/H0uDeeni/status/980333919676477440

Indian Spielberg fans, pop-culture enthusiasts, gamers deserve this film. It’s not just a throwback to the good old days, it also a crash-course about everything ‘cool’.

Release Ready Player One.

We are waiting.