LOS ANGELES (AP) — From “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to “War of the Worlds,” the cast and crew behind “Ready Player One” pick their favorite Steven Spielberg film.
TYE SHERIDAN, “Parzival/Wade”
“`E.T. (the Extra-Terrestrial)’ I think. It’s that story of an unlikely friendship with someone who is an `alien’ which I think is so relatable because a lot of us feel alienated and isolated in our own lives because we’re the only ones who can truly feel what we feel. To have a character that is completely foreign to a world is kind of a metaphor for me. That feeling that everybody feels out their own place in their world. And the friendship between E.T. and Elliott. That movie played hundreds of times in my childhood.”
LENA WAITHE, “Aech/Helen”
“I’ve got a lot. I mean look, I’m a black lesbian so I can’t not say `The Color Purple,’ but I also really love `Jurassic Park’ and `E.T.’ I also like `Lincoln,’ I just thought it was a really well-made movie and Daniel Day-Lewis is phenomenal. Also `Catch Me If You Can’ is really dope, I feel like it’s one of the more slept on movies. I just really love the way he tells a story. I love how he tells stories.”
OLIVIA COOKE, “Art3mis/Samantha”
“I have to say `Hook.’ The world that he created is just mind-blowing. I know he’s spoken about how he didn’t have the best time because it was just kids, but I grew up on that movie. I loved it and I thought it was so magical and awe-inspiring and I wanted Robin Williams to be my dad and I think it just encapsulates pure imagination and also the mentality of kids banding together for the greater good, who do have the greatest moral compass and aren’t tampered by adult bitterness and by life.”
ZAK PENN, Co-Screenwriter
“The easiest answer for me to give is `Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ because I think it’s one of the most unique. It tells a story through sound and image. Every time you hear those notes or every time you see an image of the devil tower the story shifts. It’s so hard to tell a story that way. And it’s a movie I loved. But I mean look, it’s really tough. I love so many of his films. I’m a big fan of `War of the Worlds.’ I don’t think it is as perfect a movie as `Raiders (of the Lost Ark),’ and I think `Close Encounters’ is a perfect movie, but `War of the Worlds,’ man does that hold up well. I’ve watched it so many times. But he makes so many different kinds of movies. Like `Schindler’s List.’ How do I not include that in my favorites list? The only reason I don’t is because it’s so devastating. It’s not easy with Steven.”
ERNEST CLINE, Author and Co-Screenwriter
“It’s this one (‘Ready Player One’). I can’t help it. But my second favorite would be `E.T.’ It meant so much to me as a kid and that’s why my favorite moment in `Ready Player One’ is when Wade is on the washer and dryer and looking out the window and dreaming of a better life. It’s such an Amblin moment. It’s Sean Astin in `The Goonies’ or Henry Thomas in `E.T.’ when he’s at the sink and he’s looking out the window and the steam is rising and he’s dreaming of a better life. That inspired me to write this story and then the guy who did that ended up executing my idea. It’s pretty great.”
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