In an interview with ReelzChannel, Vadim Perelman says of his Atlas Shrugged script: “I was really true to the book and they said that I solved it, finally. Not my words. I didn’t feel I did, but they really liked it a lot.”
Perelman doesn’t say who “they” are, but one would assume (and hope) that at least one of the “they” is David Kelley, founder and senior fellow of The Atlas Society, who has been working with Perelman, The Baldwin Entertainment Group, and Lionsgate to insure philosophical fidelity to the novel.
There isn’t a whole lot more in the interview, but the rest of it is here.
Category: Atlas Shrugged Movie
Jamie Clay Speaks (and He's Not John Galt)
It looks like IMDB is still listing an unknown actor named “Jamie Clay” as having been cast for the role of John Galt in the upcoming Atlas Shrugged movie.
While it is true that Lionsgate will probably cast an unknown for the role of John Galt, it won’t be Jamie Clay.
At least, not if this is true, from someone who claims to be the Jamie Clay in question and says his friends supplied the erroneous information to IMDB as an inside joke:
Let me start with a simple background profile. Iâ??m first generation born to objectivism. Was raised on the Brandon lectures, Fountain Head and of course Atlas Shrugged. Prof. Tibor Machan is a dear friend (who I grew up with calling Uncle) and Brandon was council to one of my brothers during less stable times. Note if you donâ??t know who Tibor is, itâ??s your loss but google him + Rand.
Iâ??ve always been a Galt like character and when I had my special effects company, my crew would sometimes tease me in comparison. Sometime near the end of last year, one of them thought it would be a funny joke to put my name is for Galt on IMDB, and yes itâ??s very much like Wikipedia only with a larger delay before the change occurs. They also thought it was funny because I was a big Angelina Jolie fan (and that we both share a common birth DAY â?? not year, obviously).
Needless to say when they â??pulled the prankâ??, we all had a good laugh and I didnâ??t think anything of leaving it there, fully expecting IMDB to eventually get the word that it was erroneous. They did and my name was removed.
Then it returned â?? and THEN I noticed these message boards where my name was coming up. (not much of a message board surfer, at least for this sort of topic)
Anyway – I theorized the studio may have liked that there was this buzz about this nobody guy playing “Galt” â?? and maybe thatâ??s why someone put my name back. Iâ??ve made no attempt to resolve this because Iâ??m confident it will resolve itself. If youâ??re offended by my lack of concern on this issue, Iâ??m sorry, take a deep breath and enjoy knowing that your hero is still safe and no doubt will be played by some formula hunk that fits what youâ??ve imagined. (oh sure, as if)
At this point you would have to torture me to play Galt.
PS: part of me does like the foolish, erroneous and biting speculation that has come from this â?? itâ??s made the original prank all the more glorious. Thank you internets.
Actually, that is a pretty funny prank… (Say, can I be next? Maybe we could take turns every week. And by the time the movie comes out, no one will know who John Galt is!)
Atlas Shrugged Movie Update: Interview with Executive Producer John Aglialoro
For the latest scoop on the Atlas Shrugged movie, see Susan Paris’s interview with Aglialoro in our new column “John Aglialoro on the Atlas Shrugged Movie.”
Tasty excerpt:
SP: When will filming begin?
Aglialoro: Fourth quarter of 2008 or 1st quarter of 2009.
SP: When would it open in theaters?
Aglialoro: You got to figure an editing process of at least six months. Probably youâ??re talking about the Fall of 2009.
SP: Do you think the final script will adequately convey the message of Rand’s book?
Aglialoro: The essence of the message will be there. We canâ??t include every detail from the book.
We want people to be driven to the book by the movie.
In fact, when we do the DVD we want to include something on the disc to promote the book. I expect to include a feature on the making of the movie.
See the full article for more.
Vadim Perelman: The Life Before Her Eyes (Trailer)
Planned Atlas Shrugged movie director Vadim Perelman (who also wrote and directed House of Sand and Fog) has a new movie coming out in April: The Life Before Her Eyes, starring Uma Thurman.
From the summary provided at Apple movies:
Based on the best-selling novel by Laura Kasischke, Life Before Her Eyes is a dramatic thriller about Diana (Oscar-nominee Uma Thurman), a suburban wife and mother who begins to question her seemingly perfect lifeâ??and perhaps her sanityâ??on the 15th anniversary of a tragic high school shooting that took the life of her best friend. In flashbacks, Diana is a vibrant high schooler (Evan Rachel Wood of THIRTEEN and THE UPSIDE OF ANGER) who, with her shy best friend Maureen, plot typical teenage strategiesâ??cutting class, fantasizing about boysâ??and vow to leave their sleepy suburb at the first opportunity. The older Diana, however, is haunted by the increasingly strained relationship she had with Maureen as day of the school shooting approached. These memories disrupt the idyllic life sheâ??s now leading with her professor husband Paul and their young daughter Emma. As older Dianaâ??s life begins to unravel and younger Diana gets closer and closer to the fatal day, a deeper mystery slowly unravels.
Judging from the trailer, it looks like the movie will be intense, stylized, and dark — much like House of Sand and Fog.
Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog"
Last week I watched the DVD of Atlas Shrugged movie director Vadim Perelman’s House of Sand and Fog.
Since he’s going to be the proverbial “god” of the new Atlas Shrugged movie, I figured it would be worth witnessing his previous cinematic work first-hand.
This is a dark movie, no question about it. I can easily imagine some Ayn Rand fans liking the movie, and others actively disliking it.
The writing, acting, and directing are excellent — but it would be hard, and an act of questionable integrity, to squeeze a feel-good movie out of such a tragic novel.
So instead you’re left with a gorgeously filmed and produced adaptation of a sad and disturbing story.
Personally I would recommend the movie highly — but only to someone with a fair tolerance for psychologically dark films.
If you do rent the DVD, I highly recommend watching it again, a second time, with the “commentary” feature turned on.
I’m not normally a big fan of watching the commentary for a movie — but, in this case, it was very well done and I found my appreciation for the movie deepening even more.
The commentary is by Perelman, Kingsley, and the author of the original book — who was positively beaming about Perelman’s adaptation, for whatever that’s worth.
…And it’s probably worth a lot, because it speaks to Perelman’s ability to remain true to a novelist’s vision, while still making a credible and compelling screen adaptation of his work.
I hope to write a fuller review of this movie for the Atlasphere one week soon.
Big Atlas Shrugged Movie Update from Bidinotto
UPDATE (13 Oct) – We have now published a slightly modified version of Bidinotto’s post as a feature column at the Atlasphere: “Major Atlas Shrugged Movie Updates.”
Robert Bidinotto has just published a long and excellent post on the upcoming Atlas Shrugged movie, drawing upon his experiences and observations at the recent Atlas Shrugged 50th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, D.C.
After reviewing some key aspects of the movie’s likely format (it’s likely to be one movie rather than a series), new director (Vadim Perelman, who Bidinotto says is unlikely to “shrug”), and some tantalizing plot details (strikes, gulches, and lovers), Bidinotto concludes:
[L]et me say that my longstanding worries about this film project were very much allayed during the movie panel discussion and the subsequent conversation with Perelman. I want to emphasize this as strongly as I can: These people are all absolutely committed to doing a great film, faithful to Rand’s story, characters, and ideas.
Michael Burns, vice president of Lionsgate, read Atlas at age 17 and even attended Ayn Rand’s funeral in 1982. John Aglialoro, the businessman who bought the film rights, is a committed Objectivist and a trustee of The Atlas Society; he has fought for fifteen long years to make this project a reality.
Co-producers Howard and Karen Baldwin are devoted to this project and have worked on it with John for years. David Kelley’s credibility, credentials, and commitment regarding Atlas Shrugged need no further discussion.
Co-executive producer Geyer Kosinski, who is also Angelina Jolie’s representative, is a long-time enthusiastic Rand fan. Angelina herself loves the novel and the lead character, and has insisted that she wants to “get it right.” And I’ve just told you my impressions of Vadim Perelman.
Folks, I really think this film will be made — and in a way that Ayn Rand would have liked.
See Robert’s full post for much, much more information.
If you only read one thing this month about the Atlas Shrugged movie, read this.
Atlas Shrugged Movie Producers, Director to Speak at Atlas 50th Celebration in NYC
This just in from The Atlas Society:
We’ve just received word that the producers and director of the Atlas Shrugged movie will be joining us at our October 6, 2007 50th anniversary celebration of the publication of Ayn Rand’s epic novel. These will include Michael Burns, a longtime admirer of Rand and the vice chairman of Lionsgate studio, which is producing the film. With him will be producers Howard and Karen Baldwin, the team that gave us the Oscar-winning film Ray, as well as executive producer and Atlas Society trustee John Aglialoro. Also expected is Vadim Perelman, the director of House of Sand and Fog, who is being tapped to direct the film of Rand’s novel that’s still a best seller after half a century. Their remarks will be during the lunch or dinner portions of the program. Details will be posted on The Atlas Society’s website.
More info at AtlasEvents.org.
Atlas Shrugged Movie Update: Lionsgate Hires Director Vadim Perelman
Sounds like the Atlas Shrugged movie isn’t in turnaround after all. Here’s an update from Variety:
Lionsgate has brought on Vadim Perelman to rewrite “Atlas Shrugged” and direct Angelina Jolie in the starring role.
While Lionsgate needs to get a final script before formally committing to a start date with Perelman at the helm, the move puts the company in a strong position for an early 2008 production start, just a shade over 50 years after Ayn Rand’s famed novel was first published in 1957.
Pic will be produced by Howard and Karen Baldwin and Media Talent Group’s Geyer Kosinski.
Perelman will work from a draft of the script penned by “Braveheart” scribe Randall Wallace, who managed to boil down the Rand manifesto of 1,100-plus pages into a 127-page script. The drama revolves around what happens when great industrialists and thinkers go on strike and the world grinds to a halt.
Wallace will remain involved, and in a recent meeting with Perelman, the pair traded Russian dialogue. Perelman was born in Kiev, while Wallace has picked up the language researching his Catherine the Great pic “The Mercenary”; Rand was born in Russia. Perelman has brought his own take that will be incorporated into Wallace’s script.
Perelman’s latest film, the Uma Thurman-Evan Rachel Wood starrer “In Bloom,” premieres at the Toronto Film Festival. It’s his first since his 2003 breakthrough, “House of Sand and Fog.”
Jolie starts work in early fall on the Clint Eastwood-directed “The Changeling” for Universal, Imagine and Malpaso. She would like to follow with “Atlas Shrugged,” long a passion project for her.
Hat-tip: Joe Duarte.
UPDATE: Oops, I see that Shawn and I have doubled up on this announcement. Oh well, this one probably deserved multiple announcements. 😉
Atlas has a director!
Variety.com is reporting that Vadim Perelman will direct the movie adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. The article also reports an early 2008 start of production. Perelman directed the 2003 film, “The House of Sand and Fog”.
Read the full article
Atlas Shrugged Movie Dead?
A friend of mine posted this on his blog:
The word on the street is that the Atlas Shrugged movie project is in “turnaround” status. That means that the producers (Baldwin Entertainment Group) have given up trying to make the movie right now, and are willing to sell the rights to someone else (presumably for their accrued development costs).
This is a major turn of events since last year, when the film looked like a sure thing. It’s amazing how fast a project can hit a dead end in the movie business.
Sigh.
UPDATE – JUL 18: I’m removing the name of my friend who originally posted this on his blog, because (due to my relative inexperience with LiveJournal) I was quoting a friends-only entry from his blog.
That said, I have telephoned the original source of this rumor, who is a Rand-admiring movie producer uninvolved in the Atlas Shrugged movie, for additional information.
He pointed out — and verified while we were on the phone — that the Pro version of IMDB lists the movie as “Status: Turnaround.” This status, he says, was posted on June 18th.
“Turnaround,” of course, has a very specific meaning in the film industry — basically, that the producer wants to sell the movie.
So it’s either a typo in the Internet Movie Database or the movie is, in fact, in turnaround.