Category: Celebrity Rand Fans

Preity Zinta on Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

preity-zinta.jpgFrom a new article in The Hindustan Times about actresses with a passion for reading:

They are hot. They are sassy. They are sexy. But mind you, they are not dumb! We’re talking about the Bollywood starlets. Check out what some of these gorgeous actresses manage to indulge in despite having a pressure-cooker kind of life.
Whenever some actresses are off work, all they are glued on to is…Books! Reading has influenced their thinking in many ways. The starlets have drawn inspiration from reading award-winning novels.
They believe that books have influenced their lives as much as other important social and professional events. Actress Preity Zinta is among the passionate readers club, who finds Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead as one of the most influential book of all time. “I have read this book several times till now and still whenever I find time, I like to read it again. This is the book, which has influenced me a lot. Initially when I read this book, it was difficult for me to understand it but later on when I read it again, I realized the importance of its character,” explains Preity.
Talking further about the book she says, “The character of Howard Roark in this book has inspired me very much. He is a man of strong will who faces big problems in life but wins over them with his wisdom and endurance.”

Her father gave her the book when she was in 8th grade. See our earlier post on this topic for additional background.

Bidinotto Dishes up News on Atlas Shrugged Movie

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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.

Indian Actress Raageshwari, Ayn Rand Fan

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Raageshwari - Indian ActressA new article in the Times of India delivers yet another beautiful Indian celebrity who is an admirer of Ayn Rand’s work: Singer, actress, and anchorwoman Raageshwari.

It is Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged which has helped singer and actor Raageshwari acquire a similar broad perspective of life. “In this world everybody tries to exploit the creative mind for their own benefit. A fact which I resented greatly and which caused me untold trauma till I read this wonderful book.
“It made me less angry about such situations and gave me the strength to fight them.” However, it was Robert James Waller’s Bridges of Madison County which keeps the hope in this young romantic’s heart alive “that I will meet my soulmate someday. And hopefully, I will not be married by then!” she chuckles.

You can learn more about Raageshwari at India-Today and in her bubbly culinary profile at Upper Crust India, from which this photo was taken.
In the past, we’ve noted several other beautiful Indian celebrities who are also fans of Ayn Rand’s writings: Miss “India Earth” Niharika Singh, actress Preity Zinta, and India’s first woman astronaut, Kalpana Chawla, who was tragically killed in the Columbia shuttle explosion. Then there’s India’s richest woman, Kiran Majumdar-Shaw. And fashion model Lakshmi Rana has also dipped her toe in the world of Atlas Shrugged, though we don’t yet know what she thought.
Let’s just say, if you’re a single fellow looking for a beautiful and intelligent bride — or even just someone to lust after — you should not overlook the jewels of India.
And we’ll give a free Atlasphere subscription to anyone who can persuade one of the starlets above to join the Atlasphere’s dating service! 🙂

Atlas Shrugged Movie to Come in Multiple Parts?

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

More on the development of an Atlas Shrugged movie, in an announcement from the Objectivist Center:

“Atlas” Movie One Step Closer! The Inside Scoop
April 27, 2006 — The effort to film Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged has just taken a big step forward. Daily Variety reports a leaked story that Lionsgate, the independent studio whose movie “Crash” recently won the Oscar for best picture, will be distributing the film.
We’ve confirmed today that a deal is going forward under which Lionsgate will take an option to finance and distribute the film. The executive producers are John Aglialoro, a Trustee of The Atlas Society and The Objectivist Center, and Howard Baldwin, whose movie “Ray” won an Oscar for best actor (Jamie Foxx). Lionsgate will put around $35 million into the film.
The film will be based on a script of the first part of the novel, written by Jim V. Hart and reviewed by David Kelley, founder of The Atlas Society-The Objectivist Center. Hart also penned the script for the film “Contact,” based on the novel by astronomer Carl Sagan. It is anticipated “Atlas” will be a multi- part film.
So far no actors have been cast; that will be done by the director, once one is chosen, in conjunction with the executive producers and Lionsgate.
Variety also reports that stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are interested in parts in the film. This will come as no surprise to subscribers of The New Individualist. The current issue features the two on the cover, and in an article by the publication’s editor, Robert Bidinotto, which looks at the interest in Rand’s works among Hollywood’s elite.

The New York Post is also reporting today on these same developments.
UPDATE: The original story in Variety, which spawned much of the media chatter on this topic over the past few days, gives a lot of useful background, including this:

In 2003, [producers Howard and Karen Baldwin] acquired the film rights to the novel from Aglialoro, a New York businessman, after launching Crusader Entertainment with Philip Anschutz. [Writer James V.] Hart was hired at that time to adapt.
Anschutz, however, ultimately decided not to make the movie.
The Baldwins then took the project with them when they left Crusader and formed the Baldwin Entertainment Group.
“What we’ve always needed was a studio that had the same passion for this project that we and John have,” said Baldwin.
Generally speaking, Lionsgate keeps production budgets below $25 million. “Atlas” is likely to cost north of $30 million, but the studio will reduce its exposure through international pre-sales and co-financing partners. Actors would likely take less money upfront — a common practice for the indie.

Atlas Shrugged Movie: Lionsgate Moving Forward

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New Individualist editor Robert Bidinotto reports that Lionsgate is moving forward with its plans to produce the Atlas Shrugged movie:

According to Variety, “Ray” producers Howard and Karen Baldwin believe they’ve cracked the challenge of turning the 1,100 page novel “Atlas Shrugged” into a manageable feature. Lionsgate has acquired worldwide distribution.

And reportedly both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are very interested in the project:

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been linked to the film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s bestselling novel ‘Atlas Shrugged’.
Variety reports that the couple are rumoured to be considering starring as lead characters Dagny Taggart and John Galt.
‘Atlas Shrugged’ tells the story of the economic collapse of the US in the future when American industrialists go on strike and retreat to a hideaway in the mountains.
The book espouses Rand’s philosophy of objectivism, which the author described as: “the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.”
Both Pitt and Jolie are fans of Rand’s work.

More here, here, and here:

Lionsgate Films, who like to keep their films under a $25M budget, are looking to spend north of $30M for Atlas Shrugged.

Bidinotto promises that “The New Individualist WILL have exclusive, behind-the-scenes news and interviews with the principals about this coming project in the very near future. (John Aglialoro, who owns the screen rights, is a co-executive producer on the project, and also serves on the Board of The Objectivist Center — the publisher of The New Individualist.)”

Rand Fan: Tennis Star Billie Jean King

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

A squirrely review of HBO’s new Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer includes this bit:

For these early years, Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer sticks close to the story lines laid down in the autobiography she wrote in the early eighties with the help of Frank Deford, who is also interviewed here like a wise old tortoise. Though executive producers Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein choose not to mention her past enthusiasms for astrology and Ayn Rand, nor the fact that sheâ??s part Seminole, we do spend quality time in blue-collar Long Beach, with her firefighter father, homemaking mother, and baseball-playing brother (Randy Moffitt), among the grammar schools and concrete courts in the public parks where the lower classes could play tennis for free.

Here is a familiar story of upward social mobility via organized sports instead of organized religion or organized crime. But here as well is a less familiar story, of democratizing from below. The genteel world of tennis into which Billie Jean entered at age 12, a chubby five feet four with glasses, was as white as it was male and moneyed, a country club of people born at center court. She never forgot scrounging for lessons, being sent home for not knowing better than to wear shorts when a skirt was required, having to make do without a scholarship despite the fact that she was Cal Stateâ??s best player, nor the coach who told her, at age 17, â??youâ??ll be good because youâ??re ugly, Billie Jean.â? So she attacked every net. And grew up from her first Wimbledon win, in doubles in 1961, to her feminist coming-of-age in the tumultuous sixties, to her organizing of the Virginia Slims tour, her unionizing of women players, her developmental work for the Womenâ??s Sports Foundation and World Team Tennis, and, of course, her thrashing of Bobby Riggs in three straight sets, after which she would show up on The Odd Couple and Sonny & Cher and even talk at a press conference about bisexuality as if it werenâ??t a war crime.

Somehow ‘astrology and Ayn Rand’ doesn’t come off as a compliment, but King seems like someone in whom we shouldn’t be surprised to find an individualist streak.
Apparently Atlas Shrugged turned her around, when she was going through a bad period in tennis, and considered quitting.

Interview with Whole Foods' John Mackey

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We’ve mentioned before that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is a fan of Ayn Rand’s novels. Today I stumbled across an interview with Mackey (actually, because the interviewer had linked to our blog) from last year.
In the interview, Mackey discusses his enjoyment of Ayn Rand’s writings, his experiences with libertarians, and why he no longer considers himself a libertarian, per se.
Here’s one relevant excerpt, regarding his (qualified) appreciation for Rand, and his own philosophy of business:

SUNNI: It sounds to me like you aren’t a libertarian of a Randian persuasion — wholly profit-driven and focused on the self; is that accurate?
JOHN: That is correct. I was very inspired by Ayn Rand’s novels like millions of other people have been. However, I don’t agree with some of her philosophies. For example: I don’t think selfishness is a virtue and I don’t believe that business primarily exists to make a profit. Profit is of course essential to any business to fulfill its mission and to be successful and to flourish and I will defend the goodness and appropriateness of profits for business with great passion. However, profit is not the primary purpose of business. Renee and I didn’t begin Whole Foods Market to maximize profits for our shareholders. We began it for three main reasons: we thought it would be fun to create a business; we needed to earn a living; and we wanted to contribute to the well-being of other people.
As the business grew we created our mission statement back in 1985 and have tried to fulfill it ever since. That mission very clearly articulates that we have collective — there’s that word again — responsibilities to all the various constituencies who are voluntarily cooperating with the company. In order of priority these constituencies or stakeholders are: customers; team members; investors; vendors; community; and environment.
We measure our success on how well we meet the needs and desires of all of these various stakeholders. All must flourish or we aren’t succeeding as a business.

You don’t have to agree with everything he says to see that he’s a colorful example of a businessman who’s willing to at least think for himself. He has a pretty good track record of opposing unions, for example:

JOHN: I’ve written a 17-page pamphlet (a chapter in my upcoming book) called Beyond Unions. In it I outline my philosophy towards unions. I can’t do complete justice to all my ideas briefly. Let me just make a few points.
The right to collective bargaining (unionization) is an important legal right. It is important that employees, when they wish to, should have the legal right to form unions. In countries where unions are outlawed we see massive totalitarian exploitation of workers. Solidarity in Poland was a very important force to liberating that country from communism.
No employee should be forced to join a union against their will. Unfortunately in many states in our country, such as California, once a union is voted in by a majority of the employees, employees no longer have free choice in this matter. This closed shop means they must join the union and pay dues to the union whether they wish to or not. If they don’t join then they are fired. I believe open shops should be legal in all states and no employee should be forced against their will, as a condition of employment, to join a union.

See the full interview for more.

Major Media Interviews with Tal Ben-Shahar

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We’ve mentioned here before that Tal Ben-Shahar‘s positive psychology class was getting a good deal of coverage in the Harvard Crimson.
Ben-Shahar founded the Harvard Objectivist Club in the 1990s and is currently an instructor at Harvard, where he teaches the largest class on campus, positive psychology.
Now his class is getting coverage in major media outlets, including Fox News (Four Happiness Tips from Tal Ben-Shahar), NPR (Finding Happiness in a Harvard Classroom), and the New York Post (C’mon, Get Happy).
He was also interviewed on Boston’s “Good Morning Live,” the video of which is available online (scroll down to “Harvard Psychology Professor Tal Ben-Shahar” on 3/16/06).
The central premise of positive psychology — the importance of personal happiness — is one that Ayn Rand understood and appreciated in her writings and in her philosophy of Objectivism.
Positive psychology, as a field, has elevated the importance of personal happiness to a science, allowing people to study the empirical precursors of happiness rather than relying on folk psychology remedies.
There is a lot of good work being done in this field, and professor Ben-Shahar has probably done more than anyone recently to bring that information into the public eye.

Bank Won't Lend When Eminent Domain Is Involved

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A terrific AP article in this morning’s San-Antonio Express News:

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — On its face, it appeared to be an odd decision for a banker, to turn down business on a principle that most people don’t think much about.
And so far, the banking giants haven’t seen fit to follow the lead of BB&T Corp.’s John Allison, who declared in January that the nation’s ninth-largest bank would no longer make loans to developers who plan to build commercial projects on land seized from citizens through the power of eminent domain.
“We happen to believe in the fundamental concept of individual rights, and one of those is property rights,” Allison said. “If that is jeopardized, our entire financial system is also in jeopardy.”
The prospect of losing out on a few loans, or taking a stand alone, hasn’t shaken Allison’s resolve and has only added to his reputation as a banker whose thoughts routinely stray to the philosophical.
Colleagues probably should have seen it coming from an executive known to quote Aristotle during board meetings.

Later in the article:

“John has a pretty unshakable moral compass, and frankly I think he is right on this,” said Charles Moyer, dean of the business school at the University of Louisville. “The potential for abuse is great, and someone needs to stand up for it. I was not surprised it was John and BB&T.”
Allison is an executive who mixes in re-readings of the works of Thomas Aquinas and John Locke into a book-a-month habit.
“My absolute favorite writer is Ayn Rand,” he said, referring to the Russian American philosopher and advocate of capitalism.
Allison’s reasoning against eminent domain is based in part on a strong belief in property rights, one of Locke’s cornerstone values, and one shared by the farmers in rural North Carolina.
“To these people, property rights are the single most important thing,” he said. “It’s the basis of economic freedom in this country, so they take it very seriously.”
Slipping into the role of college professor, a job for which Janeway said he’d be well-suited, Allison asks rhetorically why there is a need to use the power of government to force people from their homes. The answer sounds like one that would please a banker focused on shareholder value and the next quarter’s results, but that doesn’t hold sway with Allison.
“They really want to use it as lever to drive down the price,” he said, adding there have already been abuses of eminent domain rules, with the victims mostly among the poor, minorities and the elderly.

There’s lots more. Keep reading…

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