Atlas Shrugged - the movies

[Spindrift]

Atlas Shrugged is being made into a series of movies. The first one is due out in April.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/

If a screenwriter can make a good screenplay out of the source material, he/she deserves not only an Oscar but a Nobel Prize.

I wonder if one of the movies will just be John Galt's monologue. I wonder how they will deal with that.

 

[Denver]

Sounds about as exciting as the Left Behind movie.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Sounds about as exciting as the Left Behind movie.

Hmmm. A franchise crossover could be a huge hit!

Except I'm pretty sure John Galt would more easily fit into the Antichrist role. Oh well, whatever brings in the audience. Alan Rickman, perhaps?

 

[Aepervius]

behind the Atlas ?
Left and shrugged ?

 

[Chris L]

Some books should really be left as books. I really can't see this as ending well at all. Either they'll botch the ideas and it will be a mess, or they'll get the ideas exactly right and it will be a mess. Outside of seeing Angelina Jolie in a rough sex scene or two, I'm not sure what the point of it might be.

 

[Aepervius]

Some books should really be left as books. I really can't see this as ending well at all. Either they'll botch the ideas and it will be a mess, or they'll get the ideas exactly right and it will be a mess. Outside of seeing Angelina Jolie in a rough sex scene or two, I'm not sure what the point of it might be.

Frankly even that would not be worth the entry. You can probably find look alike for cheaper to rent on soft core or hard core dvd (not that I would know...*whisttle onnocently*).

 

[drkitten]

Some books should really be left as books. I really can't see this as ending well at all. Either they'll botch the ideas and it will be a mess, or they'll get the ideas exactly right and it will be a mess. Outside of seeing Angelina Jolie in a rough sex scene or two, I'm not sure what the point of it might be.

Did they actually manage to put AJ in this destined-for-dog-status movie? What did they do, feed her agent roofies?

 

[stilicho]

Hmmm. A franchise crossover could be a huge hit!

Except I'm pretty sure John Galt would more easily fit into the Antichrist role. Oh well, whatever brings in the audience. Alan Rickman, perhaps?

I was thinking Michael Madsen and maybe let Mike Judge write the screenplay.

 

[dudalb]

Word circulating in the Film Business, where Atlas Shrugged has been a resident of Development Hell for Years.is this film was made on as small a budget as possible so the studio could keep the rights to the novel which otherwise they would lose..along with all the money they paid for the rights. The contract apparently had a "Drop dead "date where the rights reverted if a film was not made. The studio hopes this film will die quickly, be forgotten and another,more serious film version made later.
Think of the 1990 Fantastic Four film as a parrellel.
Just look at the resumes of the Director, Writer, and cast. This is not a serious attempt to film the novel. And it will probably turn out as well as the 1990 Fantastic Four film did.

 

[dudalb]

I have to repeat my favorite comment on Ayn Rand:

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

 

[Spindrift]

Word circulating in the Film Business, where Atlas Shrugged has been a resident of Development Hell for Years.is this film was made on as small a budget as possible so the studio could keep the rights to the novel which otherwise they would lose..along with all the money they paid for the rights. The contract apparently had a "Drop dead "date where the rights reverted if a film was not made. The studio hopes this film will die quickly, be forgotten and another,more serious film version made later.
Think of the 1990 Fantastic Four film as a parrellel.
Just look at the resumes of the Director, Writer, and cast. This is not a serious attempt to film the novel. And it will probably turn out as well as the 1990 Fantastic Four film did.

IMDB says they spent $15M on the film, less than Angelina's usual paycheck I think. Pretty much a no-name cast. A few character actors I've heard of though.

They might actually make some money off this though, they seem to be targeting the right audience. The trailer debuted at CPAC.

 

[joobz]

It lends itself well to Melodrama.
Perhaps Tyler Perry can direct it.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

IMDB says they spent $15M on the film, less than Angelina's usual paycheck I think. Pretty much a no-name cast. A few character actors I've heard of though.

They might actually make some money off this though, they seem to be targeting the right audience. The trailer debuted at CPAC.

I think the AJ thing was a joke. She's not listed in the credits. But you're right - these days $15M is nothing.

 

[technoextreme]

Some books should really be left as books. I really can't see this as ending well at all. Either they'll botch the ideas and it will be a mess, or they'll get the ideas exactly right and it will be a mess.

Actually someone got the ideas exactly right and it wasn't a mess. It was called Bioshock.

 

[Spindrift]

I think the AJ thing was a joke. She's not listed in the credits. But you're right - these days $15M is nothing.

At one point she was supposedly considered along with Charlize Theron, Maggie Gyllenhaald. And Brad Pitt was considered for John Galt.

Of course 'being considered' could just be PR BS.

 

[dudalb]

IMDB says they spent $15M on the film, less than Angelina's usual paycheck I think. Pretty much a no-name cast. A few character actors I've heard of though.

They might actually make some money off this though, they seem to be targeting the right audience. The trailer debuted at CPAC.

I wonder if Rand's militant atheism, a major strand in the novel, will vanish from the film so as not to offend the CPAC crowd. Of course that Omission would tick off the core Objectivist audience, so it might be a no win situation for the studio. There has always been a lot of tension between the traditional conservative movement and the Ayn Rand followers.

I still smell that the sudden reduction from a big budget film to a small budget movie (15 Mill ain't nothing nowdays) indicates a "use it or lose it" element is involved here.

 

[dudalb]

At one point she was supposedly considered along with Charlize Theron, Maggie Gyllenhaald. And Brad Pitt was considered for John Galt.

Of course 'being considered' could just be PR BS.

Atlas Shrugged has been in Development Hell for years,but no studio has been willing actually to pull the trigger on it.
I predict it will open in a few cities, flop badly, then straight to DVD.

 

[dudalb]

Did they actually manage to put AJ in this destined-for-dog-status movie? What did they do, feed her agent roofies?

No, the big budget Jolie/PItt version fell apart about a year ago. This is a main reason why the Show Biz rumors are this was a "make it and release it or lose the rights" film.

 

[Chris L]

I think the AJ thing was a joke. She's not listed in the credits. But you're right - these days $15M is nothing.

Shows you how much I've been paying attention to this thing. I heard the rumor about her and left it at that. I'm still not sure it is even worth spending $15M on, let alone a real budget.

 

[tomamitai]

Some books should really be left as books. I really can't see this as ending well at all. Either they'll botch the ideas and it will be a mess, or they'll get the ideas exactly right and it will be a mess. Outside of seeing Angelina Jolie in a rough sex scene or two, I'm not sure what the point of it might be.

That book should be left as a doorstop.

 

[angrysoba]

At one point she was supposedly considered along with Charlize Theron, Maggie Gyllenhaald. And Brad Pitt was considered for John Galt.

Of course 'being considered' could just be PR BS.

Yeah, considered could just mean, "I'd really like to get Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Charlize Theron in on this movie and, if he weren't dead maybe I'd have Stanley Kubrick direct it. But as I have to make this movie on the tips I earn at the local coffee shop I think I'll just have to settle for Greg Evigan, Joss Ackland and a few others who'll work for food."

 

[Narcopuppy]

A bio-pic on Rand herself would be much more interesting, as long as it was directed by someone who'd read "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" and wasn't an Objectivist.

 

[Robin]

I think the AJ thing was a joke. She's not listed in the credits. But you're right - these days $15M is nothing.

It would be quite difficult to make any sort of feature length film for that budget.

 

[Beerina]

Yeah, considered could just mean, "I'd really like to get Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Charlize Theron in on this movie and, if he weren't dead maybe I'd have Stanley Kubrick direct it. But as I have to make this movie on the tips I earn at the local coffee shop I think I'll just have to settle for Greg Evigan, Joss Ackland and a few others who'll work for food."

On the other hand, The Fountainhead starred Gary Cooper, so then again, maybe "considered" meant "mother-*****' considered".

Anyway, I'm sad it appears to be a Fantastic Four forced placeholder to maintain the movie rights.

On the other hand, a placeholder suggests potential huge movie in the future. So, too, does likening it to Lord of the Rings. In either case, a book could do a whole hell of a lot worse.

 

[332nd]

On the other hand, The Fountainhead starred Gary Cooper, so then again, maybe "considered" meant "mother-*****' considered".

Anyway, I'm sad it appears to be a Fantastic Four forced placeholder to maintain the movie rights.

On the other hand, a placeholder suggests potential huge movie in the future. So, too, does likening it to Lord of the Rings. In either case, a book could do a whole hell of a lot worse.

Yeah... it could also be "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell".

 

[TragicMonkey]

Actually, it might be a pretty good movie, if Martin Lawrence were to play all the roles in various fat suits and disguises.

 

[Travis]

A bio-pic on Rand herself would be much more interesting, as long as it was directed by someone who'd read "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" and wasn't an Objectivist.

I agree with this. Ayn Rand was in many ways more interesting than any character she ever created.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I agree with this. Ayn Rand was in many ways more interesting than any character she ever created.

I think she should be played by Stephen Dorff, in drag. He did pretty well as Candy Darling in that movie about Andy Warhol.

The more I think about it, the more I think it may be possible to turn a really awful book into a really good movie. You just have to mess with it enough. The clue is when you hear the author actually spinning in her grave, you're on the right track.

 

[Spindrift]

I think she should be played by Stephen Dorff, in drag. He did pretty well as Candy Darling in that movie about Andy Warhol.

The more I think about it, the more I think it may be possible to turn a really awful book into a really good movie. You just have to mess with it enough. The clue is when you hear the author actually spinning in her grave, you're on the right track.

I think you are right. The basic story is an intriguing high concept and it could make a good movie, but I think you'd have to play down the objectivism. I think that would be wonderful irony, Atlas Shrugged becomes a box office hit with most of the objectivism scrubbed. I rather doubt that scenario.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I think you are right. The basic story is an intriguing high concept and it could make a good movie, but I think you'd have to play down the objectivism. I think that would be wonderful irony, Atlas Shrugged becomes a box office hit with most of the objectivism scrubbed. I rather doubt that scenario.

Oh, no, keep the Objectivism, but just change it so it's an alien philosophy the aliens are trying to spread to humans, but the humans are resistant because it's against human nature. The human and alien characters can talk about it as pillowtalk after the sex scenes, while smoking cigarettes.

Dagny: I guess we just come from two different worlds.
Sexulon: Well, yeah.

 

[RobRoy]

A bio-pic on Rand herself would be much more interesting, as long as it was directed by someone who'd read "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" and wasn't an Objectivist.

I agree with this. Ayn Rand was in many ways more interesting than any character she ever created.

Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life – 1997 documentary nominated for Best Documentary.

The Passion of Ayn Rand – 1999 biopic staring Helen Mirren, Peter Fonda, Eric Stolz and Julie Delpy. Both Mirren and Fonda were nominated for Golden Globes. Fonda won.

 

[Craig4]

I probably won't see it but I pray to the FSM that the writers have the good sense to edit out about 2/3 of John Gault's speech on the radio. If those pages were a bear trap I'd gnaw my own leg off to escape reading them again.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I probably won't see it but I pray to the FSM that the writers have the good sense to edit out about 2/3 of John Gault's speech on the radio. If those pages were a bear trap I'd gnaw my own leg off to escape reading them again.

The speech isn't the real message. It's long because the real hidden truth of Objectivism is hidden in code inside that long speech. You have to use the Bible Code to decode it.

 

[RobRoy]

I probably won't see it but I pray to the FSM that the writers have the good sense to edit out about 2/3 of John Gault's speech on the radio. If those pages were a bear trap I'd gnaw my own leg off to escape reading them again.

As I recall, Galt's speech doesn't come until the second or third part of the book. The movie that is currently releasing is the part one. However, cinematicly speaking, it wouldn't make sense to hold an audience hostage while Galt drones on for about an hour. In fact, you couldn't. An audience would get up and walk away while the screen flickers on. Even two-thirds of that address would be too long. Much better to either have Galt give a short, five minute address to the world at large, or suggest the length of his speech through other means.

The speech isn't the real message. It's long because the real hidden truth of Objectivism is hidden in code inside that long speech. You have to use the Bible Code to decode it.

And the decoded messages reads:

Drink your Ovaltine!

 

[Craig4]

As I recall, Galt's speech doesn't come until the second or third part of the book. The movie that is currently releasing is the part one. However, cinematicly speaking, it wouldn't make sense to hold an audience hostage while Galt drones on for about an hour. In fact, you couldn't. An audience would get up and walk away while the screen flickers on. Even two-thirds of that address would be too long. Much better to either have Galt give a short, five minute address to the world at large, or suggest the length of his speech through other means.



And the decoded messages reads:

Drink your Ovaltine!

You rock.

 

[RobRoy]

You rock.

 

[Craig4]

The speech isn't the real message. It's long because the real hidden truth of Objectivism is hidden in code inside that long speech. You have to use the Bible Code to decode it.

I think I'd see if I could borrow Jocousta's hair pins and stab myself in the eyes before I forced myself to read through it enough times to work out the code.

 

[dudalb]

A bio-pic on Rand herself would be much more interesting, as long as it was directed by someone who'd read "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" and wasn't an Objectivist.

HBO did a movie about Ayn Rand with Helen Mirren As Rand. She was good, but the movie was not. It was actually even handed about Rand,it just was not well written.

Ouch.Rob Roy beat me to it.

 

[dudalb]

I watched the trailer. It looks like a below average Made for TV Movie.
I am betting that this vanishes quickly,and parts 2 and 3 never get made.

 

[Pardalis]

Maybe it's the only way it can work, as a movie.