After decades of anticipation, it's finally here: A movie based on Philosopher/Objectivist Ayn Rand's most famous novel, her masterpiece, Atlas Shrugged (1957).
Taylor Schilling as Dagny Taggart Grant Bowler as Hank Rearden Matthew Marsden as James Taggart Graham Beckel as Ellis Wyatt Edi Gathegi as Edwin "Eddie" Willers Jsu Garcia as Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia Michael Lerner as Wesley Mouch Nick Cassavetes as Richard McNamara Ethan Cohn as Owen Kellogg Rebecca Wisocky as Lillian Rearden Christina Pickles as Mother Rearden Neill Barry as Philip Rearden Patrick Fischler as Paul Larkin Sylva Kelegian as Ivy Starnes Jon Polito as Orren Boyle Michael O'Keefe as Hugh Akston Paul Johansson as John Galt (not shown fully)
Grant Bowler and Taylor Schilling as Hank Rearden and Dagny Taggart
Taylor Schilling as Dagny Taggart, Vice-President in Charge of Operations for Taggart Transcontinental
Grant Bowler (from True Blood) as Hank Rearden
Matthew Marsden as James Taggart
Jim Taggart, Wesley Mouch, Paul Larkin, Orren Boyle clockwise around the table.
Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia is looking a little ragged
Last year, producer John Aglialoro, who bought the rights in 1992, had to make the film or lose the option. Interview: Atlasphere
Atlas Shrugged was one of the biggest development disasters of the past few years. Lionsgate was ready to cast Pitt and Jolie as Dagny and Galt. Jolie is a well-known Rand enthusiast. Things fell through. In 2009 the novel's sales were making news as they tend to do during economic downturns (probably also to do with the political climate and ). Then there was going to be a Atlas Shrugged miniseries, then Charlize Theron was going to play Dagny. Aglialoro finally rushed to get started early in 2010 before he lost the rights to the movie.
I have been anticipating this moment for months and now that the trailer is finally out all I can say is I am blown away and so excited. So maybe the casting isn't perfect. So what? At least it has been done in some meaningful way - not totally intellectually compromised, and not some B-list movie either. Furthermore, it's just the first of three parts. Depending on the reception the next two parts could come quite quickly and with greater production value. Meanwhile, the release date is set at April 15, 2011.
UPDATE: The movie was screened to a private audience on February 25th to create some buzz. The reviews by Rand supporters were generally glowing. Here is one:
The skeptics are wrong. The completed film was shown today for the first time in a private screening. It is simply beautiful. With a screenplay faithful to the narrative and message of the novel, the adaptation is lushly produced. The acting, cinematography, and score create a powerful experience of the story.
Obviously if you are a detractor of Ayn Rand you probably won't enjoy a faithful adaptation. Sorry. But I think a wider scope of people will agree with Kelly that "This film is going to turbocharge the debate over Rand’s vision of capitalism as a moral ideal." Considering the film comes out on tax day while collective bargainers conduct a circus in several states it seems like something of a perfect storm for an objectivist debate.
Finally, check out this scene. If you have read the book, does it capture the moment well? For me it really does. I love the music, the acting, the production - It really gets me hyped.
Check out the reactions of other people who actually care in the comments section at the movie promotion site
I'm worried that the high school film class that was responsible for editing the trailer might also have other roles in the movie's production...
I also wonder how they'll converts the 50 pages or so in the book where Ayn Rand simply announces her philosophy in the middle of the book into movie form. I hope the movie cuts to black and is just a woman screaming it at you.
Yeah something about the way the trailer starts off by saying "IT'S FAKE", makes me somehow doubt the genuinity of the trailer. It sort of makes a mockery of the book, but it is funny in an absurd, cynical way.
Atlas Shrugged is a straw man argument for Laissez-faire capitalism. It's a great book but Rand supported communism before capitalism and the book is just the result of here disillusionment with that system after it failed to live up to her pure idealism. I would recommend looking into the book although it is pretty boring up until about 1/2 of the way into it.
edit: the reason I liked the book is because I truly hated the villains, you want to yell at them for being so absurdly stupid. Laissez-faire capitalism on the other hand just ends up with society being taken advantage of by tycoons and monopolies after they have control of a market.
With Rand's philosophy institutions that operate at a loss such as NASA, public schools, the DMV, the FDA, ect would not likely exist and breakthroughs in theoretical science would be hard to achieve because they are not obviously financially viable but theoretical science has given us so many things that would be almost impossible to come by in a world that followed Rand's core valves like MRI's, Nuclear power, X-rays machines, and Chemotherapy for cancer patiences to name a few.
Oh my, it looks like second-handers made this movie I hope I am wrong...
EDIT: A soap-opera star directing it, and B-grade actors, even the cameras in the trailer looks cheap. This really would have been better unmade. And BTW, I think you all comment on some fan trailer with Bad Pitt the OP mistakenly linked to.
On February 12 2011 08:40 Torte de Lini wrote: "why don't you let me finish!"
...
Sounded so out of place and cheap.
The movie sounds interesting. I don't understand the plot nor why it has to be "part 1"
Yea, they didn't bother to explain the plot at all in the trailer. I think they are assuming that the target audience would have read the book. And it's part 1 because the book is something like 1400 pages long
On February 12 2011 08:40 Torte de Lini wrote: "why don't you let me finish!"
...
Sounded so out of place and cheap.
The movie sounds interesting. I don't understand the plot nor why it has to be "part 1"
Yea, they didn't bother to explain the plot at all in the trailer. I think they are assuming that the target audience would have read the book. And it's part 1 because the book is something like 1400 pages long
That or they botched the book so much that the plot is linear, one-dimensional and boring. So they add really nice music and one-two good actresses/actors.
On February 12 2011 08:21 Andtwo wrote: I'm worried that the high school film class that was responsible for editing the trailer might also have other roles in the movie's production...
I also wonder how they'll converts the 50 pages or so in the book where Ayn Rand simply announces her philosophy in the middle of the book into movie form. I hope the movie cuts to black and is just a woman screaming it at you.
Ogod, what this guy said about the philosophy thing. I'm still lolling over "I hope the movie cuts to black and is just a woman screaming it at you." Hehehoho.I cant help but laugh every reread of this line, thank you for the amusement andtwo.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/TCAIa.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/3HPmt.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/tfvtk.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1sEfz.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/FVBXp.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/RqpSC.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Jwhn0.jpg)
I hope I am wrong...
