A post by Maynard

I’m a great fan of Atlas Shrugged, but I’d be surprised if anyone could turn it into a decent movie. So we can hope for the best, but our enthusiasm must be cautious.

First the bad news. No, Angelina Jolie isn’t in this.

On the positive side, Variety says its actually filming. That makes it real, and not just another Hollywood rumor. Lots of projects never get off the ground.

The long-brewing feature version of author Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” has begun shooting in Los Angeles as a $5 million indie produced by John Aglialoro and Harmon Kaslow.

Cameras began rolling over the weekend on a five-week shoot for “Atlas Shrugged Part One” with Paul Johansson directing from Brian Patrick O’Toole’s script. Aglialoro would have lost the feature rights if the film wasn’t in production by Saturday.

A spokesman for Aglialoro — the CEO of exercise equipment producer Cybex — said there will be at least one more “Atlas Shrugged” shot after the current film’s completed. Rand’s massive novel is divided into three parts, each consisting of 10 chapters.

Hmmmm. $5 million is nothing. This is a tight budget. No big names. So there won’t be a lot of resources. I figure it will either have a limited art house release or it will go direct to video. But the real question is, do they have the talent? (I’m assuming the filming will actually continue, and they didn’t just put in a day of filming as a contractual obligation to avoid losing the rights, and now they’ll go into a hiatus. That sort of thing wouldn’t surprise me in Hollywood.)

Hmmmm again. If they’re filming in Los Angeles, I wonder if us locals can go over and volunteer to be extras. Maybe a cameo from the lovely Diana Moon Glampers?

Here is the IMDB entry. Yet another hmmm…The director, Paul Johansson, also plays the role of John Galt. This guy must really live and breathe the scenario. (Of course, that can now be said of anyone living in Obama’s America.)

Hey, the production has a Facebook page! Befriend them if you dare!

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14 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. Teri says:

    Looks interesting. Remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Low budget, no big stars yet became a blockbuster * what a great movie !* I wish them luck. Actually I think Jolie is too old to play Dagny. This Taylor Schilling looks like she would make a great Dagny 🙂 We will see 0_0

  2. Morgan says:

    Hmmmm again. If they’re filming in Los Angeles, I wonder if us locals can go over and volunteer to be extras. Maybe a cameo from the lovely Diana Moon Glampers?

    Or maybe a cameo from the lovely Tammy Bruce?

  3. Slimfemme says:

    I am not happy about this at all. They will ruin it!! This is a philosophical book. Hollywood does not do philosophical well at all!!

  4. lord-ruler says:

    The speech by John Galt would take over an hour.

  5. thierry says:

    films of books generally always suck. The Loved One was pretty good with the added thrill of liberace camping it up as a funeral director and the lovely tab hunter looking so young and lovely. but it still was no where near the greatness contained in evelyn waugh’s original with his magical way with the english language.

    so as i can’t stand ayn rand and find her writing to be typing there will be no reason for being indignant when hollywood as it always does messes it all up. it will be curious to see the product placements.

    sir elton john is working on “Animal Farm :The Musical”. i sent this to tammy. i don’t hold out much hope. bernie taupin always was responsible for the lyrics of his best songs- after that the dreaded 80s. blah. how about bjorn and benny from abba instead, although they do in fact come from a socialist winter wonderland.

    hell, Atlas Shrugged: The Musical by bjorn and benny, words by bernie taupin.

    http://tinyurl.com/2wh3hvc

    • ffigtree says:

      A commenter waveoverwave posted: “All ticket prices will be equal but some will be more equal than others.”
      LOL!

      • thierry says:

        snort! awesome. and some hair weaves are also more equal than others, i say.

        if i recall the hippies of my uncle’s generation( same age as elton actually) were quite fond of Animal Farm. when i was quite young he explained the book to me because his high school class was putting it on as a play. he also is responsible for making me a feminist by first pointing out and being vocal about sexism particularly that within the counter culture hippies whom he called exploitative selfish fascist pigs.

        now that they are in charge, the 60s counter culture has proved they do not get Animal
        Farm at all. and never did.

        nor do many who champion rand see the fascist underpinnings of some of her philosophizing- her debt to nazi favorite nietzsche, her idolization of serial killers as übermensch merely because the mass of humanity find killing and dismembering children- for some unknown reason- odious.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Edward_Hickman

        because some serial killers are more equal than most 12 year old girls.

        • Maynard says:

          That’s interesting. Yes, Rand was certainly an elitist, and probably annoyingly so. Her heroes were above the arbitrary rules created by the mob, whose commands were backed up (contrary to their lofty claims) by brute force rather than moral authority. Yes, Rand’s people might be taken as examples of Nietzsche’s Übermensch.

          However, a central tenet to Rand’s philosophy is the notion that everyone must be in control of his or her own life, and thus Rand fiercely objected to any application of aggressive coercive authority. This Hickman connection suggests a possible dramatic abstraction contemplated by a young Ayn Rand, but it’s an unfair leap to suggest her work could somehow validate the gruesome murder of an innocent. (You could hold a much more lively debate on the question of whether Dominique Francon (of The Fountainhead) was raped, and what this might say about Rand’s view of relationships. Rand is quoted as saying that “if it was rape, it was rape by engraved invitation”. Make of that what you will.)

          Setting aside any connection to Rand, it’s an interesting question of what we’re supposed to get out of Nietzsche. Like Rand, Nietzsche seems to get cited by people who probably don’t know what they’re talking about. The Kevin Kline character in “A Fish Called Wanda” comes to mind. In real life, the notorious case of Loeb and Leopold is a horrific example, and a lot of historians and dramatists have worked it over. Would Nietzsche have approved, or would he have cursed such people for skewering his philosophy? I don’t know myself; I’m not really a student of Nietzsche.

          • Teri says:

            May I add that if they distort the book and its message, let them fail. Good things can happen, depending on who is in charge here. Whether they be a nutcase lefty who would like to portray Rand as a bloody lunatic or one of those Hollywood closet cons who would like to spread Rands’ message of why capitalism rules. Again, we will see 0_0

  6. franknitti says:

    I’d rather see them film A Confederacy of Dunces.

  7. Having studied Objectivism, and even daring to call myself an “Objectivist”, I must say that it’s given me an internal moral certitude that I never found through any faith I ever studied…hence, I will be severely disappointed should they mangle the movie. 🙂

  8. AtlasShruggedMovie says:

    As the screenwriter of ATLAS SHRUGGED – PART ONE, I just wanted to let everyone know that I did my best to stay true to the spirit of Ayn Rand’s novel. For the most part people always seem to say that “the book was better” when they see a film adaptation. Really what they mean is that the movie was “different” – as it should be since it is another form of media. My job in adapting the first 336 pages into a 100 page script is to find the core of the story and tell it visually. ATLAS SHRUGGED was difficult because there is a lot of wonderfully intriguing things said in the book but if I put them all in the script it would have become a filmed dialogue. Not very cinematic, right? John Aglialoro fought through the Hollywood machine to keep his vision alive for this film. I hope you will all go see our finished product. As for our “low budget”, hundreds of millions of dollars thrown at a movie does not guarantee a winner. We told our version of Ayn Rand’s novel independently and respectfully. We all worked very hard and produced something for everyone. I would hope all of her fans will appreciate that.

    Please take a look at our Facebook page for all the latest news on the film at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atlas-Shrugged-The-Movie/144777702200729. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

    Best,

    Brian Patrick O’Toole

  9. girlsgotrhythm says:

    Hi Brian,

    As “Atlas Shrugged” is my favorite book of all time and because I am such a Rand admirer, I already went to the Atlas facebook page and ‘liked’ it! Of course, I will go see the movie when it comes out. I was very excited about it when the first rumblings of an “Atlas Shrugged” movie were buzzing around the internet. Thanks for giving us this update and thanks for giving the story the respect it deserves. I can’t wait to see it!

    All the best,

    Hilary

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