Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” debuted at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival on Sunday night, and fans who scored a ticket to the sneak screening erupted in a standing ovation after the film ended well past midnight.
The Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, was packed Sunday night as fans of the filmmaker as well as fans of the novel by Ernest Cline flocked to the theater. As soon as the lights dimmed, the theater burst out in cheers, which only got louder when the legendary filmmaker himself came onto the stage to introduce the film.
“We made this with a lot of ambition to really fill the screens, and I hope I can do that tonight,” Spielberg said.