In addition to our own new interview with Atlas Shrugged movie producer John Aglialoro, also check out this interview with screenwriter Brian Patrick O’Toole.
One noteworthy exchange:
Ã?therCzar: The production of Atlas Shrugged has been criticized for its relatively low budget and lack of famous acting talent. Do you believe these factors have compromised your ability to bring Ayn Randâ??s story to the screen?
Brian Oâ??Toole: Why is it that everyone on the Internet, when talking about our production of ATLAS SHRUGGED-PART ONE, seem to fixate on the â??low budgetâ?? It puzzles me. Five million dollars is still a lot of money.
We made ATLAS SHRUGGED-PART ONE independently â?? in every sense of that word. John Aglialoro personally financed the film so that the story could be told without studio executive pressure to make the story more Hollywood-friendly, which I believe he encountered in his past dealings to have the book brought to the screen. I think itâ??s heroic that someone would put up their own money to finance something that obviously means a lot to them. Itâ??s something to be respected. To me, thatâ??s the story people should be focusing on, not who the actors are and how much the movie cost.
As for the lack of star power behind the names in the film, I think itâ??s a bit ridiculous. I canâ??t believe audiences would rather say â??Wow, Julia Roberts did a great job portraying Dagny Taggartâ? than be involved in the journey that the character takes in the story as portrayed by a very gifted actress like Taylor Schilling.
There was a story in the Los Angeles Times recently about a television production that was paying each of its writers $200,000 a week and yet they were not required to write a single word until Spring 2011. This is a good example as to why Hollywood productions are out of control.
When you use money efficiently and wisely, and you hire a crew that is imaginative and thinks out of the box and not from the checkbook, youâ??ll be surprised by the quality you can get up on the screen. In my opinion, the budget was exactly right for this film, so, please everybody, stop worrying how much the film cost to make and enjoy the show.
See the full interview for much more.