bbbgtoby on Letterboxd has listed every movie referenced in Ernest Cline’s book Ready Player One — this site is FUN and I need to spend more time adding to my db of flicks. But lack of time is always the issue (as you can tell by how often I get to post here). Fwah fwah fwahhhh!
bbbgtoby’s list is not only a cool visual, but it shows how awesome Cline is at referencing the best of the best of the 80s (and beyond)!
I have 8 films off this list that I have yet to see. Amazing. Queuing up Netflix…
Yes, I admit — if I want to play Pac Man, I will play the video game and probably not bring out a table top version. But this is still pretty cool visually. I might get it just to display in our game room!
You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Anyplace is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we’ll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove
You got a fast car
And I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won’t have to drive too far
Just across the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living
You see my old man’s got a problem
He live with the bottle that’s the way it is
He says his body’s too old for working
I say his body’s too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody’s got to take care of him
So I quit school and that’s what I did
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so we can fly away?
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way
See I remember we were driving, driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
We go cruising entertain ourselves
You still ain’t got a job
And I work in the market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You’ll find work and I’ll get promoted
We’ll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs
See I remember we were driving, driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
And I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I’d always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me’d find it
I got no plans I ain’t going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving
See I remember when we were driving, driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away?
You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way
Ah, 1989. The last hurrah of the decade that was the 80s. Teased hair and spandex were making an exit (slowly) and grunge and plaid were queuing up to make a grand debut. By the end of the year we’d see the Berlin wall tumble down – amazing really. As a kid I never expected the cold war to end. But in June, I was enjoying my first full summer living on my own in Denver. I’d completed my first year of two at the Art Institute. I had an amazing array of friends, and I got back in touch with an old high school buddy, my BFF Chris, who had moved to Chicago and returned home.
It was one of those years that didn’t really feel special, but when you look back on it – a lot of stuff happened that formed the future me. I met my first long term boyfriend that fall. He wasn’t meant to be (thank god for both of us) but I learned a lot about love and relationships. I learned about money and how unfriendly collection agencies are when you bounce a check or two. I got my first real job (the video clerk position mentioned in a post earlier this year). And I met Ian Astbury from The Cult.
(Come on now, did the goth scene ever really die?)
What else was going on this week in June of 1989? Let’s see…
Tim Burton’s noir-esque version of the movie Batman starring Michael Keaton was released on the 23rd. Hyped as a summer blockbuster, it still raises heated debates over how good or bad it is depending on the type of comic book lover you are, especially with peeps that I know. It’s definitely not my favorite Burton film, nor it is my favorite super hero movie (thanks to my husbands influence Marvel trumps DC in my world) but at the time I watched that film more times than I can count on both hands!
Satisfied by Richard Marx was the top song on the Billbaord charts. (???)
Quantum Leap and COPS were top TV viewing (note: Simpsons will debut later this year – in December – amazing that now it’s my kiddos favorite go to junk food TV program).
And Halliday uses the 1989 classic set from the movie Heathers in part in Anorak’s Invitation…
His surroundings are actually from a scene in the 1989 film Heathers. Halliday appears to have digitally re-created the funeral parlor set and then inserted himself into it. - from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
This poll was inspired by a re-watch of “Pretty in Pink” with my daughter (who is in middle school). We started the film late on a school night so only got to watch the first half of it. We plan to wrap up the 2nd half tonight – to which she stated – “Can’t wait until Andie dumps that jerk and ends up with the cool guy, Duckie.” (Awwww, heart you little girl!) That led me to think…. Which of these male 80s film icons (the character, not the actor) would you want to date, go to the prom, or hang at the Gas-n-Sip with? Yes, this is an uber-scientific poll. And, go….
You’re choices are:
Lloyd…
Ferris…
or Duckie…
Vote for your favorite unsung hero of the 80s! I’m letting you fill in your own choice *ONLY IF* you hate all three of the choices provided (as if)!
And don’t worry, a similar – Leading Ladies of the 80s Poll is coming soon…
