Lena Waithe is the secret weapon ofReady Player One.
You cannot contain Aech.
Aech is too big to hide.
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures (2)
To Waithe, theres something meaningful about her character, beyond the movies thrills and effects.
She had to have that swagger, that confidence.
Thats a privilege that maybe she doesnt have in the real world.
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Theyre out there setting up a big crash stunt.
So what are your responsibilities today when that goes down?LENA WAITHE:Today?
Im going to get behind the wheel of a truck and Im not going to drive it at all.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Its going to appear as if I did.
[Laughs]
Theyre going to ram the trucks together…Exactly.
Then of course, theyre going to walk me down when all that car stuff is done.
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
Theres going to be a part of me trying to unhook my seatbelt to get out and run away.
Youre already in costume, right?
Rush 2112!He couldnt believe that they found this T-shirt.
Everybody wants to be so loyal to the book.
Only Im not wearing it now because its warm.
[Laughs] Its an amazing outfit.
These are my kicks, some Adidas situations.
This is actually something I would wear.
Are you a Rush fan too?Well, look, I wasnt before but now Im very aware.
I cant walk anywhere in this, I get, like, cool points, with people.
Like Ben Mendelsohn, who is a huge Rush fan.
So obviously, we have Wonder Woman, Harry Potter…Yeah.
A little bit ofRocky Horror Picture Show.
What are the roses?I think the roses are sort of a nice girly touch to it.
But yeah, I remember [costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone] literally building this jacket.
There were a ton of patches and she had to scale it back.
Theres a little Terminator in there.
Part machine, part human.
Shes pretending to be something she isnt but in that sense its still really her personality.
The person inside is still you, even if you dont physically look that way.
He recognizes her, no matter what.I think its a really interesting message, so layered.
Were all playing double duty in a way, because everyones a different person in the OASIS.
Tye said that Steven told him that you should think of these as two different characters.Absolutely.
For me, its one of the most drastic differences, because Im a different sex in the OASIS.
But, they really are.
Thats a privilege that maybe she doesnt have in the real world.
So there were a lot of things that I was really fascinated by.
What did you discover about Aech while playing this part?I remember asking Steven those questions.
I was like, Whydoes she choose to be a guy in the OASIS?
She doesnt want to question why shes such a great mechanic and why shes so good at the games.
And why she knows everything so well.
You literally in a white box and youre covered in dots, and theres a lot happening.
A helmet with cameras, and Stevens giving you direction to do all these crazy things.
You could do anything.
There was so much freedom, really.
I think thats kind of how it is in the OASIS.
Theres no rules, no barriers.
And now?Now were in the real world.
Now we shoot on film, and its a whole different thing.
When youre in that imaginary world, it’s possible for you to do anything.
But when youre in the real world, you kind of have to go by real world rules.
I was born in the 80s so, technically, I didnt grow up in it.
Because you were too young.To appreciate it, yeah.
So, I got a chance to experience it and watch it.
And also, I think it was really fun, loud, crazy, interesting time.
Theres still a fascination with it.The 80s really were, talk about no rules.
People just did whatever they wanted, they could look however they wanted.
There was just a lot of bigness and brightness.
I think thats what this film really feels like, too.
Its an homage to that time.
What are your favorites?Now that stuff is still coming back!
Im a big sneaker head.
The fact that a lot of these Jordans are coming back now.
And Im a big TV person, you know watchingA Different World.
Or because its a part ofReady Player Oneresearch?
[Laughs] No, just for fun.
Im a big Whitney Houston fan, so its like her early stuff that came out in the 80s.
It gives me such a warm, gooey, feeling inside.
I want to learn that.
I want to figure it out.
I can relate to that, that old school.
As a writer too, what are your thoughts on the whole nostalgia phenomena?
What makes a large number of people yearn to go back, rather than asking for something new?
I think we get that a lot in our culture now.Totally.
I am always searching for something different or something fresh, something hasnt been done.
But the truth is, at the end of the day, were all sort of retelling something.
Were doing a version of something thats already been done.
Yes, so many things are remakes, or reboots, though.Theres nothing new anymore, really.
Its just a different version of it.
They love what they know.
So youre okay with it all?For me, its kind of two fold.
Im like, Why are they doing that?
Leave it alone, its amazing as is.!
I love watching the original, whatever, likeThe Goonies, or whatever it may be.
So, I think, thats what these remakes do for people.
Whether it be Transformers or something.
It makes you feel like a kid again.
Then there are the things that just live forever, but shouldnt be remade.Theres something interesting:Purple Rain.
It was this amazing moment in time, that you cant remake that.
People can pick it apart.
It doesnt work, this and that… Its like, it doesnt matter!
Your experience is what matters.Yeah.
Is it a perfect film?
Theres just certain things about it, you just go,man.The Breakfast Clubwas one of my favorites.
Is it a natural creative inhale and exhale?
Were looking back and were looking forward and then were looking back again?I think so.
I think theres always room for both.
Literally, you could watch it in front of your eyes, this new era being ushered in.
And now, its been a while.
Theres wasFresh Princeand all that stuff.
