Benicio Del Toro as Francisco d'Anconia
Posted on 04/27/2006 12:06:00 PM PDT by Monkey King
Ayn Rand's most ambitious novel may finally be brought to the bigscreen after years of false starts. Lionsgate has picked up worldwide distribution rights to "Atlas Shrugged" from Howard and Karen Baldwin ("Ray"), who will produce with John Aglialoro.
Angelina Jolie, a longtime devotee of Rand's, and Brad Pitt, also a fan, are rumored to be circling the leading roles of Dagny Taggart and John Galt.
"Atlas Shrugged," which runs more than 1,100 pages, has faced a lengthy and circuitous journey to a film adaptation.
The Russian-born author's seminal tome, published in 1957, revolves around the economic collapse of the U.S. sometime in the future and espouses her individualistic philosophy of objectivism. The violent, apocalyptic ending has always posed a challenge but could prove especially so in the post-9/11 climate.
(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...
I think Harrison Ford or Bill Pullman would be great as John Galt. They both have that everyman quality about them.
Francisco D'Anconia
You're right...Niles Crane would be perfect as Philip...
I can't see this as a three-hour movie. They really need to mini-series or Kill Bill it - but I really doubt it would be a commercial success.
I'd see it twice, however.
Oh yeah, and Carrie Ann Moss as Dagny.
Benicio Del Toro as Francisco d'Anconia
Sean Connery could do Midas Mulligan...
LOL the only "who is...?" in a thread that isn't flame-worthy
Johnny Depp as RAGNAR!!!!!!(he's such a good pirate)........
Banned, eh? Well, we're gonna have to step up our personal attacks around here, bud.
He's good. Lorenzo Lamas is probably too old now........
Alec Baldwin as Orren Boyle. Because he is a boil..........
They're both too old.........
Al Gore as Floyd Ferris.
How about Clive Owen as J.G.? I thought he was pretty good in the two movies of his I've seen: Sin City and Arthur (not the Dudley Moore one).
You are quite correct.
In the rest of the article, they did mention the extant script was for TWO movies, and the creators were, in fact, thinking along the lines of a mini-series.
The catching point for all of this was, while she was alive, Ayn Rand had total script approval - no dummy was Ayn. Now, of course, her estate might likely approve whatever brings in some dough.
or perhaps I'm being too cynical ...
I believe so, yes. But she's been more of an issues advocate than a candidate advocate.
Liberal issues, of course.
He could be an interesting Reardon too!
Amen.
Hollywood stars are usually fans of the characters in her novels. Any star with half a brain wants to play a complex, intelligent, heroic character. Name the last hero like that created for the screen. So when they say they are fans of Ayn Rand, one must remember that they think first as actors, and second, if at all, of philosophy.
Her estate has tried to keep as much control of the project as possible over the last 20 years. However, it was a gamble to see it produced vs. not. A fine script was written following the outline that Rand herself made for a 4 1/2 hour two part movie. That script was too clear for Hollywood, since it followed the book closely, with some changes to condense the plot. No one in Hollywood understands ideas anymore. This new writer will make a hash of it as the several who came before him since her death. The problem the writers have is not lack of sympathy for her ideas, but the inability to integrate ideas with the actions that carry them out. Thus, their scripts end up a confusing blend of melodrama and sci-fi.
Yes, I believe Clive Owen would be a good choice too..........
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