Category: Atlas Shrugged Movie

Angelina Jolie: Atlas Shrugged Movie Moving Slowly

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

In a brief interview with Cinematical, Angelina Jolie provided this update on the upcoming Atlas Shrugged movie:

She had a little more to say about the adaptation of Atlas Shrugged, which is moving forward very slowly, despite having the Plan B powerhouse of Pitt and Jolie behind it. Angelina told me that the project is still on the table, but “the thing with Atlas is just, we all feel that it’s one of those projects where if you can’t do it right, you really can’t touch it. So we have not had all the pieces come together. There’s not been a director that’s right to come on, or all of those elements. So until it does, you know, I certainly don’t want to be a part of something that’s just put together to hit ‘this date.'”

When it comes to Atlas Shrugged, it’s hard to disagree with the perspective that “If you can’t do it right, you really can’t touch it.”

Randall Wallace (New Atlas Shrugged Screenwriter) Makes Cover of Script Magazine

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

script-cover_145x189.jpgThe May/June issue of Script, a magazine for screenwriters, has a cover story on Randall Wallace, focusing on his new job as writer of the screen adaptation of Atlas Shrugged.
Unfortunately, the story itself isn’t available online, but Script Magazine‘s web site lists newsstands around the country where the issue can be purchased.
From their blurb:

Randall Wallace: The World on His Shoulders
by Bob Verini
Recently tapped to adapt the epic tome Atlas Shrugged, Randall Wallace talks about the most challenging assignment of his career.

Don Hauptman, who alerted us to the article, sends this report:

Fortunately, Wallace admires Rand and “gets” a lot of her message. But he’s sometimes a bit confused.
For example, he claims that Rand held that “sacrifice and duty and honor are corrupt.” Honor?
Wallace explains how he translated a scene in Atlas into cinematic terms. Heâ??s obviously proud of what he did, but his version strikes me as ludicrous; I suspect that audiences would react with inappropriate laughter.
Finally, as many feared, it sounds as if the book is being condensed into a two-hour film. After all the talk last year about doing it as a trilogy, thatâ??s a letdown. Can this story really be told in 120 minutes?

IMDB: Atlas Movie Script 'Almost Complete'

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

The Atlas Shrugged movie now not only has its own page in the Internet Movie Database (which has probably been the case for a while), but their IMDB page also offers this update, as of 30 Jan 2007, on the movie’s status:

Status: Announced
Comments: The screenplay is nearly complete, and production is scheduled to begin this year (2007).
Status Updated: 30 January 2007
Note: Since this project is categorized as being in production, the data is subject to change; some data could be removed completely.

Hope springs eternal. 😉
I also see that Randall Wallace, of Braveheart and Pearl Harbor fame, is now listed as the screenwriter — rather than the previously-cited James Hart.

NY Times on Atlas Movie

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

An update and history of the Atlas Shrugged movie project was published in Sunday’s New York Times. The article discusses the current Baldwin Entertainment Group/Lions Gate project, and is framed by a recounting of past failed projects to bring Rand’s novel to the big screen.
The article ends with the following quote from writer/director Randall Wallaceâ??current screenwriter for the Atlas movie:

â??I can pretty much guarantee you that there wonâ??t be a 30-page speech at the end of the movie,â? he said. â??I have two hours to try to express what Rand believed to an audience, and my responsibility is not only to Ayn Rand, but to the audience, that this be a compelling movie. More people will see the movie than will read â??Atlas Shrugged.â?? And the movie has to work.â?

Read the full article…(free registration required)

Jolie Discusses Atlas Shrugged Film

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Angelina Jolie, signed to portray Dagny in the film version of Atlas Shrugged, discusses the project in a recent interview.
“Everybody involved, the producers involved, we all sat down around a table and we all agreed that if we couldn’t do it right, if we couldn’t do it justice, if along the way any one piece didn’t come together like the right director or the right script, then we would all just fold it and not do it. So that’s where we’re at right now. We’re taking it step by step, and we’re going to make damn sure that it’s done right.”

Braveheart Scribe To Pen Atlas Shrugged Screenplay

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Daily Variety reports that Braveheart screenwriter Randall Wallace has been signed by Lionsgate to write the movie version of Atlas Shrugged.
The story states that the writer-director of We Were Soldiers will “finish the adaptation before he starts production next year on Catherine the Great,” also with Jolie.
No reason for the switch from Contact adapter James Hart was given.
Daily Variety quotes Wallace as saying “I was fascinated by Rand’s book. It was original and provocative.”

Update from TOC on Atlas Shrugged Movie

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

The Atlas Society / Objectivist Center has published its own formal write-up of the Atlas Shrugged movie presentation by Atlas Shrugged movie producers Karen and Howard Baldwin at this year’s summer seminar.
Much of this information was mentioned in Robert Bidinotto’s writeup of the same event, but this elaboration was nice to see:

The climax of Part I [i.e., the first movie of the trilogy] will be the first run of the John Galt Line, with a cliffhanger denouement that sets the stage for Part II. â??The John Galt Line is the central plotline in the first part of the novel,â? Kelley notes. â??Itâ??s a wonderful story of successful achievement, revealing the heroic stature of Hank Rearden and especially Dagny Taggart. But itâ??s crucial to have the film end on a darker note, foreshadowing the rest of the story. Randâ??s central theme, after all, is that the world is not safe for producers until they challenge the morality of altruism and the politics of parasitism.â?

See The Atlas Society’s full article for more.

Bidinotto Dishes up News on Atlas Shrugged Movie

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Robert Bidinotto offers quite a few exciting updates on the Atlas Shrugged movie, drawn from one of the sessions at this summer’s Atlas Society seminar.
Some tasty excerpts:

  • The final go-ahead “deal” was signed on June 29. The film is well-capitalized, with Lionsgate — the studio that produced the most recent Oscar-winning film, “Crash” — investing $40 million or more for initial production effort.
  • The plan is for the film to be shot and shown in three parts, as a trilogy, like “Lord of the Rings.” Only that length, they said, would give sufficient scope to tell Ayn Rand’s long, complex story. (The initial $40 million would go mainly to Part I.)
  • To hold down production costs, much of the filming may take place in Europe and in the American Southwest, with only “second unit” establishing shots done in iconic venues such as New York City. Filming for more than one of the three parts may occur at the same time.
  • Karen Baldwin declared that the novel’s heroine, Dagny Taggart, may well be the greatest female character in all of literature. In selecting a director, they said, one of their first questions is: “When was the last time you read Atlas Shrugged?” They are committed to hiring a capable director who is completely familiar with the novel, and who understands its message, characters, and style.
  • The Baldwins revealed that they have been deluged with major stars who want to play in the film. … Karen Baldwin also stressed that for [Angelina] Jolie, fidelity to the Dagny character as she is in the novel — particularly the dialogue — is a must; she wants as much of Rand’s dialogue to be used in the film as possible.

Interestingly enough, philosopher David Kelley has worked closely with screenwriter James V. Hart to ensure the screenplay’s fidelity to the novel, and will be credited on-screen as a co-producer of the film.
Bidinotto concludes: “Bottom line: It looks like this grand tale WILL be made, at long last; and more importantly, it looks as if everyone connected with the production is dedicated to DOING IT RIGHT.”
See Bidinotto’s full post on the topic for much, much more.

Atlas Shrugged Movie May Come as 3-Part Trilogy

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Joe Duarte, who attended this year’s Objectivist Center summer seminar, had this to say about the session with Atlas Shrugged movie producers Karen and Howard Baldwin and financial backer John Aglialoro:

The Atlas Shrugged movie looks like it’s really going to happen. And it looks like Angelina Jolie is likely to play Dagny. Other names mentioned by the producers as people they’ve talked to or talked about: Julia Roberts and Ashley Judd. The big thing now is to sign a director. James Hart is the screenwriter.
The movie is likely to be a three-part trilogy, like Lord of the Rings. The most important thing I got out of the amazing session we had with producers Karen and Howard Baldwin, and John Aglialoro, the backer, is how committed they are to the message of the novel. Karen said that the character of Dagny is perhaps the best female character in all of literature. Bottom line: They get it.

This is encouraging.

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