Steven Spielberg, Simon Pegg and Brian May among stars at Ready Player One premiere in London - as Birmingham welcomes Jasper Carrott to its own advance screening event
Steven Spielberg may have been in London at the premiere of his latest blockbuster, but Birmingham had its own glittering ceremony for the film - much of which was shot on second city's streets.
The world-renowned director, who was spotted on the Birmingham set for the film in September 2016, was joined at the Leicester Square event last night (Monday) by fellow stars including cast member and comedian Simon Pegg, Queen icon Brian May, and pop princess Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Read our review of the film here
Broad Street's Cineworld had its own advance screening of the flick, which saw Brummie comedy icon Jasper Carrott attend, as well as some from the cast of BBC series Doctors.
Many of the movies' scenes were shot in roads and buildings around the Custard Factory and Jewellery Quarter. The sets caused much speculation and confusion, as their design gave away very little about the theme of the film. The highly-anticipated trailers also revealed a very limited amount of information.
Ready Player One is just the latest in a line of films and TV shows shot in Birmingham and the Midlands, with The Girl With All The Gifts starring Glenn Close released in September 2016, Kingsman: The Golden Circle starring Colin Firth released in September 2017, as well as BBC Two series Peaky Blinders, starring Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy, which has ran for a total of four seasons since 2013.
The veteran filmmaker's latest blockbuster is an adaptation of Ernest Cline's book Ready Player One, in which a group of young people embark on a journey to win ownership of the virtual universe the Oasis, an internet-based simulation that allows people to live out their fantasies in virtual reality.
While at the London premiere, Steven spoke about filming in Birmingham - saying the second city was an ideal location as it could be made to look both nostalgic and futuristic.
"It was a good city, it looked like it could be a city from the past or a city from the future and also it was practically art directed for me," said the film-making idol.
"We had a really good time shooting in Birmingham and the people there were really wonderful."
The film is packed with pop culture references, including Back To The Future, Superman, King Kong and The Breakfast Club, as well as those from Spielberg's own films from the past three decades.
"I chose what not to include of my 80s movies, because if I included all my 80s movies my ego would be insufferable so I just cherry picked from the 80s the few films that I thought would help tell the story," explained Steven.
"All the references to 80s culture, style, music, film, television, all of that helps tell the story, but it's not what the film is about."
Speaking at the Birmingham screening, Jasper Carrott said he was pleased to have been invited to the event.
"Being an old fogey I had no idea what was going on," laughed Jasper.
"But the special effects were absolutely stunning.
"It appears Birmingham has finally arrived in the 21st century.
"Apparently that's the way you meet people now - online.
"I'm glad I saw it.
"It was good to see Birmingham in the film, but I was trying not to look too hard for it."
Simon Pegg, who starred in Spielberg's The Adventures Of Tintin, has reunited with the director to play the co-creator of the Oasis.
Speaking at the Leicester Square red carpet event, he said: "I think he has an extraordinary intuitive ability as a film director, he's an amazing storyteller and he knows how to speak in the language of cinema.
"He lives and eats and sleeps and breathes film and that is why he's Stephen Spielberg."
The film will be released in cinemas across the UK on March 30.
