Rush’s ‘Tom Sawyer’ Dazzles in Steven Spielberg’s New ‘Ready Player One’ Trailer
The modern-day warrior of Rush's "Tom Sawyer" helps cyber sleuth Wade Watts kick some major robot butt in the the new trailer for Steven Spielberg's upcoming film Ready Player One.
The highly anticipated movie, based on the popular 2011 science-fiction novel by Ernest Cline, is set in an energy crisis-ravaged future where millions of people have sought refuge in the world of virtual reality. From there, things get exciting and action-packed, as described in the book's official synopsis:
"In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.
But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape."
In the above trailer -- released during the annual San Diego Comic-Con festival -- "Tom Sawyer" provides the soundtrack to a massive chase scene featuring hundreds of VR-controlled police robots, Dr. Emmett Brown's DeLorean from Back to the Future and absolutely no respect for the laws of physics.
The synthesizer-dominated "Tom Sawyer" appears on Rush's 1981 album, Moving Pictures. Drummer Neil Peart explained the song's meaning in the band's 1985 Backstage Club newsletter: "'Tom Sawyer' was a collaboration between myself and Pye Dubois, an excellent lyricist who wrote the lyrics for Max Webster. His original lyrics were kind of a portrait of a modern day rebel, a free-spirited individualist striding through the world wide-eyed and purposeful. I added the themes of reconciling the boy and man in myself, and the difference between what people are and what others perceive them to be -- namely me I guess."
it has now been more than five years since Rush released a studio album -- 2012's Clockwork Angels -- and almost two since they completed what was billed as their last major concert tour. Peart has since strongly indicated that he is retiring from the road, citing a desire to spend more time with his family, as well as the toll that four decades of playing drums has taken on his body.
“I would say that it’s unlikely that we’ll tour again as Rush,” Guitarist Alex Lifeson revealed back in April. “Really, we toured for 41 years, and I have to say that first year off, I felt like I was grieving for my career and the band, but truly, 41 years of touring the way we toured, I shouldn’t feel badly about that.”
Ready Player One stars Tye Sheridan, Mark Rylance, Ben Mendelsohn, Simon Pegg, Olivia Cooke and Hannah John-Kamen. The movie hits theaters March 30, 2018; you can learn a whole lot more about it from our friends at Screencrush.
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