© 2026 ABC News

\"I felt like I was making this movie, not from behind the camera where I make a lot of my historical dramas, but I was making this movie in the audience with the audience as my collaborators, telling a story for the audience,\" Spielberg said.

In the world of \"Ready Player One,\" reality is grim. But everyone can feel like they are escaping by entering The Oasis, a virtual reality program that lets users do anything and be anyone they want.

When The Oasis' inventor dies, he leaves behind a challenge: Whoever solves the puzzles he's embedded in the program will inherit it.

\"PHOTO:
IMDB
PHOTO: Tye Sheridan in "Ready Player One," 2018.
>

When the hero, Wade, played by Tye Sheridan, joins the quest, he gets way more than he bargained for.

Spielberg says filming a movie set in a VR program allowed him to stage incredible scenes, but there were pros and cons. Take car chases, for example.

“Steven Spielberg is a giant that doesn’t make people feel small.” #ReadyPlayerOne #IAMREADY Get tickets: https://t.co/uyuPQXAgmi pic.twitter.com/F21VAwASvK

— Ready Player One (@readyplayerone) March 27, 2018

\"The virtual world car chase was a heck of a lot safer than if I had tried to create those exact shots with those exact stunts in the real world,\" said Spielberg. \"But I think it would probably be a little less expensive shooting a real car chase...It cost more to do that digitally.\"

\"Ready Player One\" is out in theaters nationwide today.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/steven-spielbergs-ready-player-made-feel-kid/story?id=54093366","legacySlug":"/culture/story/steven-spielbergs-ready-player-made-feel-kid-54093366","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"14:29","publishDate":"03-29-2018","updatedTime":"17:38","updatedDate":"03-29-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Steven Spielberg arrives to the Warner Bros. Pictures world premiere of \"Ready Player One\" held at Dolby Theatre, March 26, 2018, in Hollywood, Calif.","credit":"Michael Tran/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/steven-spielberg-gty-mem-180329_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"3/29/2018 14:29:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":54093366,"headline":"Director talks new film 'Ready Player One'","mediaAssetTitle":"rothman_readyplayer_interview_180329","description":"The legendary director dishes on creating a virtual world!","duration":"NaN:NaN","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{},"playlist":["137841142","137841141","137803591"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"November 4, 2026","headline":"Alaska still too early to call","section":"News","slug":"/video/137841142","id":"137841142","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Alaska still too early to call","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Alaska still too early to call","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ault_alsaka_734_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"November 4, 2026","headline":"History made in Kansas Senate race","section":"News","slug":"/video/137841141","id":"137841141","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: History made in Kansas Senate race","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: History made in Kansas Senate race","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261104_gma_ramos_kansas_733_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"November 3, 2026","headline":"New states in play as record gas prices hit on Election Day","section":"News","slug":"/video/137803591","id":"137803591","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: New states in play as record gas prices hit on Election Day","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: New states in play as record gas prices hit on Election Day","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/261103_gma_karl_jarvis_gas1_711_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Director talks new film 'Ready Player One'","description":"The legendary director dishes on creating a virtual world!","duration":"NaN:NaN","uploadDate":"03-29-2018","publication":"03-29-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/steven-spielbergs-ready-player-made-feel-kid-54093366"}},"playlist":[{"id":"138024523","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137979832","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137976484","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137958306","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137912305","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137885086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137853814","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137841842","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137680927","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137443017","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137471181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136253720","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137220313","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137234817","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137147457","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"137132187","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136945841","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136945748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136930796","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"136874802","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Director talks new film 'Ready Player One'","pubTime":"10:29","pubDate":"03-29-2018","modTime":"13:38","modDate":"03-29-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":54093366,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Director talks new film 'Ready Player One'","mediaAssetTitle":"rothman_readyplayer_interview_180329","videoId":54093366,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/steven-spielbergs-ready-player-made-feel-kid-54093366"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/54093366","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/54093366","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};