Ernest Cline

Ernest Christy Cline (born March 29, 1972) is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet, and screenwriter. He wrote the novels Ready Player One, Armada, and Ready Player Two and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg.

Ernest Cline
Cline at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
BornErnest Christy Cline[1]
(1972-03-29) March 29, 1972[1]
Ashland, Ohio, U.S.[2]
OccupationNovelist, screenwriter, artist, poet
Spouse
​
​
(m. after 2016)​
Website
www.ernestcline.com

Life and career

Cline was born and raised in Ashland, Ohio, the son of Ernest Christy Cline and Faye Imogene (née Williams) Cline.[1][3] As a youth in the 1970s and 1980s, Cline was "addicted to video games and movies," especially Star Wars, the movies of John Hughes, and the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons.[3] He worked in information technology in his twenties and worked on screenwriting during his spare time.[3]

Spoken word

From 1997 to 2001, Cline performed his original work at Austin Poetry Slam venues. He was the Austin Poetry Slam Champ in 1998 and 2001 and competed on the Austin Poetry Slam Teams at the 1998 Austin National Poetry Slam and the 2001 Seattle National Poetry Slam.[4][5] His most popular spoken-word pieces include "Dance, Monkeys, Dance," "Nerd Porn Auteur," and "When I Was a Kid."[6][7] Cline subsequently reworked "Dance Monkeys Dance" into a faux educational filmstrip, which became a popular viral video that has now been translated into 29 different languages.

In 2001, Cline self-published a chapbook collection of his spoken-word writing, The Importance of Being Ernest, and released an album, The Geek Wants Out. In fall 2013 Write Bloody Publishing published a new edition of The Importance of Being Ernest with new cover art by Gary Musgrave and new interior illustrations by Len Peralta.

Books

In June 2010, Cline sold his first novel, Ready Player One, a book that takes place in a dystopian vision of the 2040s. The book is about a kid who tries to solve the keys to find a billionaire's wealth in a sort of competition. The book was sold in a bidding war to the Crown Publishing Group (a division of Random House).[8] The film rights to the novel were sold the following day, to Warner Bros., with Cline co-writing the screenplay.[9] Ten months later, with the hardcover release coinciding with the paperback release, Cline revealed on his blog that both the paperback and hardcover editions of Ready Player One contain an elaborately hidden Easter egg. This clue formed the first part of a series of staged video gaming tests, similar to the plot of the novel. Cline also revealed that the competition's grand prize would be a 1981 DeLorean. The prize was awarded in 2012.[10] The paperback is currently in its 17th printing.

Cline's second novel, Armada, was released on July 14, 2015, by Crown Publishing Group.[11] In December 2015 the film rights to Armada were sold to Universal Pictures for a seven-figure sum.[12]

The third novel, Ready Player Two was announced in August 2015[13] and published in November 2020 as a sequel to Ready Player One.[14] It was released on November 24, 2020.[15]

Personal life

In 2016, he married poet/nonfiction writer Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, whom he met at the 1998 National Poetry Slam.[16]

Cline's all-time favorite video game is Black Tiger,[17] which figures prominently in the plot of Ready Player One.

Bibliography

Novels

Ready Player One series:

  1. Ready Player One (2011)
  2. Ready Player Two (2020)[18][19]

Standalone:

Short stories

Screenplays

Poetry
  • The Importance of Being Ernest (2013)[21]

Adaptations

References
  1. "Ernest Christy Cline (b. 1972)". birth-records.mooseroots.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  2. John R. Alden. "Ernest Cline's smart 'Ready Player One' makes cybernerds fun", Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 22, 2011.
  3. Hamburger, Ellis (March 11, 2014). "Ernest Cline is the luckiest geek alive". The Verge. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  4. "Postscripts: Bloomin' Poets – Books". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  5. Smith, Clay (July 13, 2001). "Postscripts". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  6. Wheaton, Wil (August 15, 2011). "You want to accept Anorak's Invitation. Trust me". Wilwheaton.net. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  7. Whittaker, Richard (October 27, 2012). "Wizard World: Wil Wheaton Versus the Burrito". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  8. Coll, Kevin (June 21, 2010) Cool Novel Ready Player One Gets Publishing Rights and Movie Deal. fusedfilm.com
  9. Fleming, Mike (June 18, 2010). "Deadline Hollywood – Warner Bros and De Line Pictures Win Book Auction For Ready Player One". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  10. "Ready Player One DeLorean prize awarded". Boing Boing. August 31, 2012.
  11. "A Long Overdue Update". Ernie's Blog. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  12. "Universal sets sail with 'Armada'". Variety. December 6, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  13. Busch, Anita (August 10, 2015). "'Ready Player One' Author Ernest Cline Seals Monster Deal For Next Book; All Eyes On Film Rights". Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  14. "Ernie Cline is writing a sequel to Ready Player One". The Virge. December 10, 2017.
  15. "'Ready Player One' Book Sequel Sets November Publishing Date". The Hollywood Reporter. July 8, 2020.
  16. "VOWS: "Cristin Aptowicz, Ernest Cline"". The New York Times. June 19, 2016.
  17. Bilton, Nick (August 22, 2012). "One on One: Ernest Cline, Author of 'Ready Player One'". Bits Blog. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  18. https://deadline.com/2020/07/ready-player-two-sequel-novel-ernest-cline-november-publication-date-1202980261/
  19. "Ernest Cline confirms he's writing a 'Ready Player One' sequel". EW.com.
  20. "AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Ernest Cline". March 31, 2014.
  21. "The Importance of Being Ernest' page at publisher Write Bloody Publishing's Website". Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
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