Posted on 04/02/2009 8:16:16 AM PDT by fella
With 'Atlas Shrugged,' Hollywood May Have its First Anti-Bailout Movie By Steven Zeitchik
Hollywood could soon be going Objectivist.
After decades in development hell, Ayn Rand’s capitalism-minded “Atlas Shrugged” is taking new steps toward the big screen — with one of the film world’s most prominent money men potentially at its center.
Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Media is circling the Baldwin Entertainment project and could come aboard to finance with Lionsgate, which got involved several years ago.
Rand’s popular but polarizing book — it’s derided by many literary critics but has a huge public following — tells the story of Dagny Taggart, a railroad executive trying to keep her corporation competitive in the face of what she perceives as a lack of innovation and individual responsibility.
A number of stars have expressed serious interest in playing the lead role of Taggart. Angelina Jolie previously had been reported as a candidate to play the strong female character, but the list is growing and now includes Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway.
Although it was written a half-century ago, producers say that the book’s themes of individualism resonate in the era of Obama, government bailouts and stimulus packages -- making this the perfect moment to bring the 1,100-page novel to the big screen.
“This couldn’t be more timely,” said Karen Baldwin, who along with husband Howard is producing, with film industry consultant John Logigian advising on the project. “It’s uncanny what Rand was able to predict — about the only things she didn’t anticipate are cell phones and the Internet.” Baldwin may be on to something -- love it or hate it, "Shrugged" is seeing a resurgence, with book sales spiking as debates rage in Washington and around the country about the government's role in a faltering free-market economy.
The author’s final novel offers an embattled railroad company as a metaphor for a society that Taggart (and Rand) sees as succumbing to socialism at the expense of individual creativity. Its backbone is a 50-page speech by the mysterious but major character John Galt in which he lays out the Rand principles of Objectivism, which argues for an aggressive free market and against government activism. Let's just say it's probably not on the president's nightstand.
With all the long speeches and with plot points often a Trojan Horse for Rand's ideas, it's not an easy writing or directing gig, but producers believe they've got the man who could do it. Randall Wallace, the writer on other crisis-era, politically themed works such as “Braveheart” and “Pearl Harbor,” has written the latest draft of the screenplay and is also interested in coming on to direct.(He would follow in the steps of "House of Sand and Fog" director Vadim Perelman, who had been attached to direct and fell off; we like Perelman, but would have been quite the transition for him.)
The project would likely land in the $50 million-budget range but could go higher depending on talent.
Producers are looking to shoot next year, driven in part by the timeliness, as well as by a clause in the option. A high net-worth individual with whom the Baldwins have partnered controls the option, but that option would revert to the Rand estate if production doesn't begin by the end of 2010.
An “Atlas Shrugged” movie has gone through endless development fits and starts. Faye Dunaway and Clint Eastwood had been attached to earlier versions -- if that doesn't give you an idea of how far back it goes, we don't know what will -- but with both Rand and the Rand estate very particular about how the story was handled, those iterations didn’t get traction.
This decade, Howard Baldwin and Philip Anschutz were on board to produce at their Crusader Entertainment banner, but that effort didn't take flight. The Baldwins took the project with them when the “Ray” producers split from Anschutz several years ago and pacted with the high net-worth figure, who is said to especially like the timeliness of the book's message.
Producers also say that while Relativity and Lionsgate are in the pole position to finance and distribute, other studio and financier suitors could yet materialize.
Still, Karen Baldwin praised Lionsgate and Michael Burns, who has championed the project at the studio, and also said Kavanaugh would be an appropriate partner. “The subject of the book would seem to fit with the kind of people who are willing to step up and take big chances," she said.
The Rand involvement on earlier versions -- along with the verbiage-heavy sections -- is probably why there hasn't been a Rand project on the big screen in 60 years, not since Gary Cooper played Howard Roark in Warner Bros.' "The Fountainhead." With some big-time entrepeneurs potentially coming board, there now may be a lot less shrugging and a lot more shooting.
That would take up the normal two hour movie slot by itself.
Ayn Rand really, really needed an editor.
Editors are the looters and moochers of the publishing industry. They can only cut the words of the producers without writing anything themselves. Ayn Rand would have nothing to do with them. < /sort of sarcasm>
I don't know how well some of the 1950s styling, especially the focus on the railroads, will transfer to the modern film. Will the screen writers try to update the story to 2009 (as Hank Rearden pulls out his Blackberry, only to realize the Department of Bandwidth Equalization had shut him down for the month), will they portray it as halfway through a collapse with the airlines having failed and railroads are again primary, or will they just put it in the 1950s without needing further justification?
As for actors, I saw Portia de Rossi in a show recently with her hair pulled back in a stern looking suit which would look great as Dagny Taggart. Of course with her being "married" to Ellen Degeneres, maybe the whole Hank Rearden character could be "updated" for Hollywood.
And Gary Sinise as John Galt! :)
Algore should play Dr.Ferris; Dr.Ferris was a goberment dupe, not real scientist; just like Algore
Couldn't of cast Wesley Mouch any better with Bwarny Fwamsk, he is the part.
Don’t bother. It will never happen.
Dagney=Penelope Cruz
Ann Coulter as Dagny!
Your pick of Angie Harmon works for me.
Mmmm-hmmmm! That would be very, very cool.
Lieutenant DAN!
>>>Your pick of Angie Harmon works for me.<<<
Me too.
+10000000 - if she is picked, she’ll RUIN it.
How about Ann Coulter!!
you know what would be better than a movie, is if they made it into a mini-series. there is NO way they can cram all the important info into 3-4 hours.
YES YES YES!!! i was thinking the same thing-—Harmon would be perfect! by the way, you’ll like the book...it’s worth the week it will take you to read it.
So far, of all those listed, I think Jolie is about the only one who would fit the part. Julia Roberts tends to be too frivolous and does that squawking thing too much to be believable in a serious part like that. Someone suggested Selleck in the role of Reardon. I don’t remember Reardon’s age, but think Selleck might be too old for the part now.
The Hollywood left make an actual, faithful movie of Atlas Shrugged?? NO WAY! I suspect no one will even recognize the book by the time these people are through with it. Of course that means the elite will have piddled away another 100 million, allowing the bomb to join “Che” as an encore parody of Hollywood arrogance and PC stupidity.
Not really, for her books, but definitely for any movie of one, especially Atlas Shrugged.
I saw "Fountainhead." It was one of the most horribly stiff, stilted movies, with terrible acting, that I ever went to. Since Rand spent a great deal of her life living in a way that was often contrary to the principles of personal freedom so brilliantly portrayed in her books, a life style that included a cult of the personality based on herself, it's easy to see what a totally irritating, galling author she would be to work with on a set. Indeed, I suspect one of the reasons "Fountainhead" was such a flop was intense micromanagement by Rand. The real trick will be to keep true to the book's plot and philosophy while translating it to the screen, no small feat, especially given the way Hollywood has totally destroyed other great books, like Tom Clancy's Sum of all Fears.
“>>>Your pick of Angie Harmon works for me.<<<
Me too.”
Me three.
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