The First of What Will Probably Be Many “Ready Player One” Reference Guides

Ernest Cline’s book, Ready Player One, takes place in the future but its main character is as enmeshed in the past as he is in the video game puzzle created by the mysterious man who is something between Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and whoever invented Grand Theft Auto. The book and movie are filled with references to the pop culture of the 1980’s and there are likely to be many critics and fans examining every frame to find them all. Rotten Tomatoes kicks it off, from “Saturday Night Fever” to “Terminator,” “Iron Giant,” “Say Anything,” and the original “Mad Max.” Of course “Ready Player One” director Steven Spielberg was himself responsible for many of the iconic pop culture moments of the 1980’s.

There are tons of nods to and cameos from Spielberg’s big blockbuster hits, especially the one about the dinos. The Spielberg gems come thick and fast and pretty early in the pic — so eyes out. It all makes a bunch of sense, given that the filmmakers had to secure the rights for every easter egg they use here. And it has us imagining a Spielberg-directed Ready Player One sequel, full of easter eggs referencing the original Spielberg-directed Ready Player One: Our pop-culture–loving minds were just blown.