[OMFG Squee!] Atlas Shrugged Part 1 Movie Trailer!!!

[Sentient Void]

Website:
http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/

Trailer!!!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6W07bFa4TzM

DISCUSS!

[WilliamShrugged]

Beat me to it :)

[WilliamShrugged]

I noticed no big names in it, but overall i look forward to seeing it.

[Bruno]

Awesome. Thanks!


I noticed no big names in it, but overall i look forward to seeing it.


That makes me want to see it more.

[low preference guy]

i'll watch it but i don't expect much.

[BuddyRey]

I'm so glad they didn't cast a bunch of A-list lightweights for this movie (Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, etc.) It looks like they've done a tremendous job of casting. Can't wait to see this!!!

[WilliamShrugged]

That makes me want to see it more.

Same here. I just think that most people will be turned off because of it.

[Bruno]

Same here. I just think that most people will be turned off because of it.

That's probably true for a lot of people. I'm more inclined to like a movie when I get lost in it and am not distracted by knowing the actor and not being able to believe he or she is the charachter.

[BuddyRey]

By the way, we could use a higher presence in that comments section. Yikes!!! :-(

[heavenlyboy34]

I haven't read the book yet. I dunno if I should do that or watch the movie first. :confused: Suggestions?

[low preference guy]

I haven't read the book yet. I dunno if I should do that or watch the movie first. :confused: Suggestions?

have you read or watched the fountainhead? some like that one better.

[BuddyRey]

I haven't read the book yet. I dunno if I should do that or watch the movie first. :confused: Suggestions?

It's hard to say, but I always find it more satisfying to read a story before I see it on the big screen, so that my imagination can decide what all the settings, characters, and atmosphere looks like. This particular book is absolutely indispensable, IMO, and definitely changed my life. The movie's going to be great, but if I were you, I would read/listen to the book first. It's not as daunting as most people say, especially if you take it in via audiobook in several hours-long installments.

[Maximus]

Read the book, it's an all time classic

[Depressed Liberator]

Ayn Rand is an asshole.

[low preference guy]

Ayn Rand is an asshole.

what a great contribution to the thread.

[2young2vote]

Atlas Shrugged is brought up. Huge debate starts. It is just the way the world works I guess.

[silverhandorder]

I read Fountain head great book the trailer was awesome.

[__27__]

have you read or watched the fountainhead? some like that one better.

I've read fountainhead, I think I'll just watch the movie on this one. I like many of the things Ann has to say, dislike many others, but apart from the philosophy of it I really just can't stand her writing. I mean to say that the stories are good, or at least fountainhead was, but it's just in the way she goes about telling it that I'm not particularly fond of.

[BuddyRey]

I've read fountainhead, I think I'll just watch the movie on this one. I like many of the things Ann has to say, dislike many others, but apart from the philosophy of it I really just can't stand her writing. I mean to say that the stories are good, or at least fountainhead was, but it's just in the way she goes about telling it that I'm not particularly fond of.

I didn't much care for the Fountainhead either, because of the very wooden, one-dimensional characters who fit so easily into a black & white, good vs. evil sort of scheme. But she actually did much better with Atlas Shrugged, and her writing evolved significantly, along with her philosophy. There is some real inner-conflict in some of the main characters, along with heroes and villains who aren't just blatantly obvious stereotypes right off the bat.

The Fountainhead was Rand's freshman effort at epic fiction, but Atlas Shrugged is her magnum opus. Even if you didn't much care for the earlier book, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised with this one.

[__27__]

I didn't much care for the Fountainhead either, because of the very wooden, one-dimensional characters who fit so easily into a black & white, good vs. evil sort of scheme. But she actually did much better with Atlas Shrugged, and her writing evolved significantly, along with her philosophy. There is some real inner-conflict in some of the main characters, along with heroes and villains who aren't just blatantly obvious stereotypes right off the bat.

The Fountainhead was Rand's freshman effort at epic fiction, but Atlas Shrugged is her magnum opus. Even if you didn't much care for the earlier book, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised with this one.

The sad thing is Atlas is sitting on my bookshelf, I just haven't brought myself to read it yet because of my experience with fountainhead. I guess it's a magnum opus debate in my head, as the other book I'm considering reading at the moment is Human Action as I haven't yet read it cover to cover.

[low preference guy]

The sad thing is Atlas is sitting on my bookshelf, I just haven't brought myself to read it yet because of my experience with fountainhead. I guess it's a magnum opus debate in my head, as the other book I'm considering reading at the moment is Human Action as I haven't yet read it cover to cover.

you can read both at different moments of the day. they require different types of mental effort, so you can read one while you take a break from the other.

[cindy25]

this should have been a TV mini-series; a movie in parts? stupid idea

[__27__]

this should have been a TV mini-series; a movie in parts? stupid idea

Yeah, movies in parts never work...


http://powermongr.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_26/StarWars1Cover.jpg
http://kidscorner.org/imgs/attackoftheclones.jpg
http://movie.masjo.com/images/star-wars-episode-iii--revenge-of-the-sith.jpg

http://www.nzvideos.org/lordfellowshipfront.JPG
http://www.nzvideos.org/lordtowers.JPG
http://moviesoftheday.com/upload/covers/40785/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-return-of-the-king-cover-3.jpg

[cindy25]

those were separate books. Atlas is a single book. showing it years apart is stupid

[Texan4Life]

As a person who dislikes reading books, I can't wait to see the movie.....although I did muster up enough interest to read The Revolution.

[__27__]

those were separate books. Atlas is a single book. showing it years apart is stupid

They were separate books of the same story. One can no more get the entire story from reading one of the Tolkien books and ignoring the others than one could from reading chapter 1 of Atlas and ignoring the rest.

[TroySmith]

I've read fountainhead, I think I'll just watch the movie on this one. I like many of the things Ann has to say, dislike many others, but apart from the philosophy of it I really just can't stand her writing. I mean to say that the stories are good, or at least fountainhead was, but it's just in the way she goes about telling it that I'm not particularly fond of.

imho, Atlas Shrugged is the single most important book/resource to read for anyone who is serious at all about liberty and individualism. As much as I love Rothbard, Hayek, etc Rand tops them all and sets the bar for philosophy (and crushes the older ones) with Atlas Shrugged. It is to philosophy to what E=MC2 was to physics.

[TNforPaul45]

Well, at least they tried. The acting seems stiff as if everyone has a nifty little secret that they are not going to share.

It has the look and feel of a lifetime movie. I was afraid of this. Of course i am going to go see it, but i will probably be cringing at acting.

Old fart rant over

[purplechoe]

Yeah, movies in parts never work...


http://powermongr.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_26/StarWars1Cover.jpg
http://kidscorner.org/imgs/attackoftheclones.jpg
http://movie.masjo.com/images/star-wars-episode-iii--revenge-of-the-sith.jpg



bad example, those suck so much that words fail me at the moment... LOTR was good though...

read the book, I was looking forward to this movie but the trailer looks terrible IMHO... looks like a bad cable movie...

[Rothbardian Girl]

I might see it someday. It didn't look quite as bad as I was expecting. I won't be rushing out of my house to see this one, but Atlas Shrugged did have a profound effect on me, and caused me to look Rothbard up (after I heard about the feud between Rand and Rothbard). I don't really agree with Rand on a lot of things any longer, but the book was an enjoyable read for the most part. And yes, I do believe I read all of Galt's 70-page long speech, although it probably took me a good week to finish that part alone. ;)

[1000-points-of-fright]

The acting seems stiff

As opposed to Rand's writing?

[Suzu]

As a person who dislikes reading books, I can't wait to see the movie.

Try the audiobook.

[Deborah K]

Very intriguing. I noticed at the end it read: Who is John Galt part I. ???

[Kludge]

The trailer wasn't particularly stunning. Looks like a typical dogmatic drama which takes itself seriously - AKA something I'll regret watching.

You know what of Rand's I'd like to see? We the Living. It's a book of Rand's which gets almost no praise or even mention but I truly believe it's one of Rand's greatest works. It gets the point across in something like 1/10 the time of Atlas Shrugged, has more interesting characters (or rather, characters which Rand didn't feel compelled to justify every action they took with a page of dialogue), and is simply fun to read. The characters are actually likable whereas Rand's later works all had stiff characters with protagonists I wanted to die just so something interesting happened. Better yet, it actually has a premise based on Rand's experiences. What's happening is believable, detailed, and thus very immersive, all while having a strong pro-individuality message readers can relate to. None of that anti-religion, "parasite" dogma to turn people away. For all its tragedies, it's one of Rand's most hopeful-seeming pieces, perhaps because it was her first.

[nayjevin]

Atlas Shrugged on IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/)

A powerful railroad executive, Dagny Taggart, struggles to keep her business alive while society is crumbling around her. Based on the 1957 novel by Ayn Rand.
Director: Paul Johansson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424035/) Johansson is directing this movie and playing Galt.

[Depressed Liberator]

Looks like shit.

[low preference guy]

The trailer wasn't particularly stunning. Looks like a typical dogmatic drama which takes itself seriously - AKA something I'll regret watching.

You know what of Rand's I'd like to see? We the Living.


There is a movie version of We the Living. I actually haven't read or seen it, but I know a movie exists.

[rckt24]

I have a feeling the biggest problem with this movie is going to be Paul Johansson.

[Gaius1981]

Johansson is directing this movie and playing Galt.

You'll only see the back of Galt's head in Part 1. The director said they'd get someone else for the role when he appears in Part 2.

[emazur]

We the Living was made into a movie during 1940s Italy:
http://www.wethelivingmovie.com/history.php
The Fountainhead was made a movie in 1949:
http://www.amazon.com/Fountainhead-Gary-Cooper/dp/B000HWZ4A2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297581595&sr=8-1
I've not seen either one. I've read some of We the Living but gave up on it (I'm willing to give it another shot though), I own and have finished The Fountainhead mp3 audiobook (good but nowhere near as good as Atlas). Anthem is available as a free audiobook b/c the copyright expired:
http://librivox.org/anthem-by-ayn-rand/
I think the trailer looks good and I think the movie will be successful. The abridged audiobook of Atlas I think is only 9 hours (might be 12), so I think 3 movies can do justice to the book, especially if they are long like Lord of the Rings.

[__27__]

We the Living was made into a movie during 1940s Italy:
http://www.wethelivingmovie.com/history.php
The Fountainhead was made a movie in 1949:
http://www.amazon.com/Fountainhead-Gary-Cooper/dp/B000HWZ4A2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297581595&sr=8-1
I've not seen either one. I've read some of We the Living but gave up on it (I'm willing to give it another shot though), I own and have finished The Fountainhead mp3 audiobook (good but nowhere near as good as Atlas). Anthem is available as a free audiobook b/c the copyright expired:
http://librivox.org/anthem-by-ayn-rand/
I think the trailer looks good and I think the movie will be successful. The abridged audiobook of Atlas I think is only 9 hours (might be 12), so I think 3 movies can do justice to the book, especially if they are long like Lord of the Rings.

I saw fountainhead after reading it, and I'd say as bad as Rand is in one direction (long winded description) is as bad as the movie was in the opposite (whole chunks missing).

[anaconda]

I haven't read the book yet. I dunno if I should do that or watch the movie first. :confused: Suggestions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlOKMXn4KJ8

[realtonygoodwin]

Why can't the Koch's finance a libertarian-themed movie like this with a decent budget? Get some known actors and crew (directors, etc) that will get people's butts in theater seats.

[ClayTrainor]

I've had the book on my shelf and reading list for a couple years now, and still haven't gotten around to reading it yet. This trailer really makes me want to finally open it up though. Looks like a great story!

[bkreigh]

I havent read the book and after watching that trailer i dont know if ill see the movie. It just didnt do anything for me. I just get the feeling that it will be very very slow.

[0zzy]

I will be a bad movie. The only reason it was made was to retain the copyrights to the movie. If they didn't make it during a certain time frame, then some other studio could of picked it up and their initial investment would have been lost.

so instead, they got no names for a reason to direct and star in it, with a low budget. Kinda like Fantastic Four the original:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcpmM-eTESI

[TNforPaul45]

I will be a bad movie. The only reason it was made was to retain the copyrights to the movie. If they didn't make it during a certain time frame, then some other studio could of picked it up and their initial investment would have been lost.

so instead, they got no names for a reason to direct and star in it, with a low budget. Kinda like Fantastic Four the original:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcpmM-eTESI

I never knew horribleness until I watched that video.

Then I watched your "Original Fantastic Four" video :)

[Matt Collins]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an-jkqnpDz4&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Y_IUgoyCk&feature=player_embedded

[EndDaFed]

Why can't the Koch's finance a libertarian-themed movie like this with a decent budget? Get some known actors and crew (directors, etc) that will get people's butts in theater seats.

They are too busy collecting corporate welfare. Libertarianism for everyone else, government money for themselves.

http://www.observer.com/2010/slideshow/131739/communist-shipbuilding

[Sentient Void]

They are too busy collecting corporate welfare. Libertarianism for everyone else, government money for themselves.

http://www.observer.com/2010/slideshow/131739/communist-shipbuilding

hahaha, truth.

[RedStripe]

This movie is going to be terrible, just like the book.

It's going to be... a train wreck. har har har

[Sentient Void]

This movie is going to be terrible, just like the book.

It's going to be... a train wreck. har har har

icwudt

[Sentient Void]

Sooo... some updates/reviews/etc! Share this stuff with your social networks, guys! If the movie is indeed as good as these reviewers say it is (they both love it), and we get enough people to see it, they'll be even more fundign for the next two movies. if any time is ripe for people to be exposed to a movie like Atlas Shrugged in the US, the time is definitely now!

Review 1 (Private Screening):
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2011/02/barbara_branden.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d69264d64690e33,0

Review 2 (Private Screening):
http://www.atlassociety.org/review-atlas-shrugged-part-1-film

DEMAND IT COME TO YOUR LOCAL THEATERS!:
http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/get_involved

Click on 'Demand it!". The more people in given areas request it be played, the better chances these guys will be able to get it played. I requested it for my area code - which is the Boston metro area. More, Massholes, please (once you get the email asking you to do stuff with an account, just unsubscribe if you like, which is what I did)? :)

Some Trailers/vids:

http://www.youtube.com/AtlasShruggedPart1#p/a/f/0/6W07bFa4TzM

http://www.youtube.com/AtlasShruggedPart1#p/a/u/0/5PK5Sq3bIHY

[outspoken]

I suspect all the A-list liberal-minded actors couldn't understand what the book was about.

[CheezItsRule]

You know what of Rand's I'd like to see? We the Living. It's a book of Rand's which gets almost no praise or even mention but I truly believe it's one of Rand's greatest works. It gets the point across in something like 1/10 the time of Atlas Shrugged, has more interesting characters (or rather, characters which Rand didn't feel compelled to justify every action they took with a page of dialogue), and is simply fun to read. The characters are actually likable whereas Rand's later works all had stiff characters with protagonists I wanted to die just so something interesting happened. Better yet, it actually has a premise based on Rand's experiences. What's happening is believable, detailed, and thus very immersive, all while having a strong pro-individuality message readers can relate to.

We The Living was my favorite out of the three as well. It was more visceral than cerebral though. More like an insight into how the pro-individuality message was born rather than the message itself.

I picked up a copy of the Fountainhead because I read in an interview with Jim Carey that it was his favorite book so maybe Jim can play John Galt as an homage to Rand. How cool would that be?

[1000-points-of-fright]

Review 1 (Private Screening):
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2011/02/barbara_branden.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d69264d64690e33,0

Review 2 (Private Screening):
http://www.atlassociety.org/review-atlas-shrugged-part-1-film

Not exactly unbiased reviewers. I'd be more inclined to believe a politically neutral or even hostile reviewer tell me it's a well executed cinematic work that delivers its message without hitting you over the head even though they disagree with that message. Or the Atlas Society telling me it sucks.

But the Atlas society telling me how awesome it is? Pardon my skepticism. Kinda like an obsessive Ben Affleck fan telling me how great Gigli is.

However, their praise could be justified. But I think you know what I mean.

PS: Anthem is a great book, but how many more distopian movies do we need?

[Sentient Void]

Fair enough. I'm still looking forward to it though - I think the trailer and scene look great.

[tangent4ronpaul]

I noticed no big names in it, but overall i look forward to seeing it.

Big names were interested in parts, but backed out - presumably under pressure. Angelina Joline was one.

[Sentient Void]

And Charlize Theron.

[tangent4ronpaul]

Part 1 comes out April 15th this year
Part 2 comes out April 15th next year

What kind of effect will this have on RP's election?

[Bergie Bergeron]

Our fear was that the movie would be cheesy and wouldn't do justice to the book, let the critics check the rest.

[doodle]

I liked the movie where they go into racial equality and


arabs = jews


chosen races explanations. Fascinating.

All evangelicals are not going to be happy about tone of this movie though.

[Matt Collins]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq-P5Oqr6s0&feature=uploademail

[Matt Collins]

Who is going to see it?

[Jeremy Tyler]

Those who have seen it...was it any good? Rotten Tomatoes has it at 6%. I love the book but does not mean it will necessarily translate into a good movie.

[Sentient Void]

Those who have seen it...was it any good? Rotten Tomatoes has it at 6%. I love the book but does not mean it will necessarily translate into a good movie.

Yeah, the 'critics' have it at 5% (the film critic industry are mostly a bunch of liberal statists anyways)... but if you notice, the audience has it at 86%... I thought it was decent. It definitely wasn't awesome, but it also wasn't bad. The acting in some scenes was sub par, and it was clearly a low budget movie trying to come off as some high budget epic. I think it did well considering the resources it had. Overally I'm glad I went to see it. I'm actually very excited about seeing part 2, with how they left off at Part 1. It's clearly a philosophical indie film - definitely not meant for the lowest common denominator of the masses.

I would recommend checking it out.

[Sentient Void]

Here's a more positive review:

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/rand_old_time_for_ayn_adherents_yK8YmADIKXJ6ARzqRp PotN?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=


In "Atlas Shrugged," it's 2016 America. The Dow has fallen below 4,000, gasoline prices are through the roof and infrastructure is falling apart. High-speed rail looks like the future. Government denounces selfish corporate interests and concerns itself mainly with dividing the dwindling wealth.
This isn't loony-bin stuff: Attention must be paid.
Though a bit stiff in the joints and acted by an undistinguished cast amid TV-movie trappings, this low-budget adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel nevertheless contains a fire and a fury that makes it more compelling than the average mass-produced studio item.

'Atlas Shrugged' stars Taylor Schilling.
Photos: Atlas Shrugged - Part I

PHOTOS: ATLAS SHRUGGED
"Atlas Shrugged," a mega-fable that is to capitalists roughly what "To Kill a Mockingbird" is to liberals, centers on the struggles of a railroad exec, the beautiful and exacting Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling), to overhaul a line with a controversial, untested new steel alloy produced by an equally arrogant industrialist, Hank Rearden (Grant Bowler).
Rearden is being forced to sell off his conglomerate bit by bit because of a new law that no one can own more than one business, while Taggart's brother (Matthew Marsden) believes the railroad's most important source of innovation ought to be collaborating with the government on tightly state-controlled enterprises.
The movie covers only the first third of the book and ends on a cliffhanger without fully resolving its central question: "Who is John Galt?" -- a shadowy figure who seems to be linked to the disappearance of many leading business figures.
The subjects the film deals with are fascinating, important -- and almost completely ignored at the movies. Even "The Social Network," the most acclaimed business movie of last year, placed the building of one of the world's most valuable companies in the background of a personality dispute and some whining about club membership. "Atlas Shrugged" wants to start an argument with you, to force you to (in Rand's often-repeated words) "check your premises."
It would be easier to do no such thing, to laugh off the stilted dialogue and stern, unironic hectoring, so that's what most viewers will do.

agreed.