Although Spielberg recognized that his films were a significant part of the 1980s popular culture cited in the book, he opted to remove many references to them to avoid accusations of vanity.[75] Cline believed Spielberg wanted to avoid self-references to films he directed, due to the criticism he received for his film 1941, which lampooned his own previous works Jaws and Duel. Cline said he had to convince Spielberg to include some iconic elements, such as the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future, which Spielberg conceded as he only produced the film.[76] Spielberg also allowed the Tyrannosaurus rex from Jurassic Park to be included.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_Player_One_(film)#Cultural_references
For your last paragraph. What references to old Spielberg movies do you think you remember in Ready Player One?
I might be a little out of the loop. Is that like... a mother?