Ernest Cline
Ernest Cline | |
|---|---|
 Ernest Cline at the 2011 Texas Book Festival. | |
| Born | 1972 |
Ernest Cline (born 1972) is an American novelist, spoken word artist and screenwriter.
Spoken word
From 1997-2001, Cline performed his original work at the 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.[2] His most popular spoken word pieces include: "Dance, Monkeys, Dance", "Nerd Porn Auteur" and "When I Was a Kid."[3] Paulo Ang, a UCSD student, created a popular flash cartoon out of Ernie's track "Dance Monkeys Dance." Cline himself 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.[4]
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, both sold through his website.[5]
Screenwriting
In 1996, Cline wrote a sequel (Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League)[6] to W. D. Richter's 1984 film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension and made it available on the Internet.
In 1998, Cline's screenplay, Fanboys, generated local interest in Austin, TX, including mention on Harry Knowles' website Ain't It Cool News. In late 2005, the Weinstein Company purchased Ernest Cline's script for Fanboys film, casting Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Kristen Bell as the five main characters. Fanboys was released on February 6, 2009.[7]
Also in the summer of 2008, Lakeshore Entertainment announced that they would be producing Cline's screenplay, Thundercade.[8] Thundercade follows the story of a video game junkie in his mid-30's who learns that a young gamer has beaten a record he set when he was a teenager, who then travels with his friends to the world's largest gaming championship, Thundercade, to restore his former glory.
Fiction
In June 2010 Cline sold his first novel Ready Player One in a bidding war to the Crown Publishing Group (a division of Random House).[9] The film rights to the novel were sold the following day to Warner Bros. with Cline attached to write the screenplay.[10] Ten months after the hardcover release and coinciding with the paperback release, Cline revealed on his blog that both the paperback and hardcover editions of Ready Player One contained an elaborately hidden easter egg. This clue will form 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.[11]
On December 5, 2012, Cline announced the sale of his second novel, Armada to Crown Publishing Group (a division of Random House). No publication date or plot information was revealed at that time.
On December 7, 2012, Cline announced the sale of the film rights to Armada to Universal Pictures for a reported seven-figure sum.
Personal life
Like the hero of Ready Player One, Ernest Cline spent much of his young adulthood working a series of low-paying tech support jobs that allowed him to surf the Internet while on the clock and research his many pop-culture obsessions.[12]
Cline, a huge fan of the Back to the Future film series, owns a 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 sports car that has been modified to look like the time-travelling vehicle from the films.[13]
Cline’s all-time favorite video game is Black Tiger, which figures prominently into the plot of Ready Player One.[12]
References
- ^ John R. Alden. "Ernest Cline's smart 'Ready Player One' makes cybernerds fun", Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 22, 2011.
- ^ Austin Poetry Slam website: Ernest Cline poet profile
- ^ Ernest Cline website: Spoken Word page
- ^ Ernest Cline's About Dance Monkeys Dance page
- ^ Ernest Cline's Spoken Word page
- ^ Buckaroo Banzai website: FAQ page
- ^ TheForce.net - Contact Weistein Co. To See Fanboys In Your City
- ^ Lakeshore Entertainment Enters Thundercade
- ^ Fused Film - Cool Novel Ready Player One Gets Publishing Rights and Movie Deal
- ^ Deadline Hollywood - Warner Bros and De Line Pictures Win Book Auction For Ready Player One
- ^ http://www.ernestcline.com/blog/2012/06/05/three-hidden-keys-open-three-secret-gates/
- ^ a b Q&A with Ernest Cline, Amazon.com
- ^ Author's Blog Introducing the ECTO88, his customized DeLorean
External links
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