Ready Player One comes home: the Steven Spielberg film, based on the novel by Austin's Ernest Cline, debuts at SXSW this Sunday.

Stop your guessing and get in line: SXSW has filled that last TBA slot at the Paramount on Sunday night, and if you guessed Ready Player One, then you got the high score.

Ready Player One comes home: the Steven Spielberg film, based on the novel by Austin’s Ernest Cline, debuts at SXSW this Sunday.

Festival attendees have already had a chance to go through the Ready Player One Experience (read more about that here), now the full feature gets its world premiere. Based on the novel by Austin’s own Ernest Cline (who we knew way back when), it’s the VR future of 2045, where Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) finds himself trying to survive in an age when humanity has retreated into the pop culture smorgasbord of the Oasis.

“We are thrilled to be premiering Ready Player One at SXSW,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film at SXSW. “The film brings to the screen a story that has captivated millions of readers around the globe, written by Austin’s very own Ernest Cline. And in the hands of Steven Spielberg – inarguably one of our greatest directors – we know the film is going to be a special cinematic event for our attendees.”

Ready Player One screens Sunday, March 11, at 9:30pm at the Paramount.

This article appears in March 9 • 2018.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.