I thought it would be appropriate to start a new thread regarding the coming movie, since the current sticky thread is mostly about the rumors and failed productions over the years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W07bFa4TzM
Despite what reservations I have, I certainly hope it does well enough to expand beyond its original release.
Despite what reservations I have, I certainly hope it does well enough to expand beyond its original release.
I do as well. The novel is afterall has three parts as well.
It was great coming home tonight and finding out about this movie trailer via email. Part 1 is scheduled to be released on April 15, 2011!
I do as well. The novel is afterall has three parts as well.
It was great coming home tonight and finding out about this movie trailer via email. Part 1 is scheduled to be released on April 15, 2011!
Released on Tax Day? That’s appropriate.
Dr. Potter is played by Armin Shimerman? Who the heck is Dr. Potter?
Characters from the novel included Dr. Floyd Ferris, Dr. Robert Stadler, Dr. Blodgett, Dr. Thomas Hendricks and Dr. Simon Pritchett.
Dr. Potter held some undefined position with the State Science Institute. He was sent to try to ‘buy’ the rights to Reardon Metal
Wikipedia entry is lacking. (fixed)
I has major dissapoint.
The acting looks pretty bad..even in the preview.
The progression/diologue of that trailer was choppy.
I might not watch this at all.
I’m still mad/confused that Peikoff sold the rights…
Actually, I assume all three films will be made–I just hope the initial showings are successful enough that lots more theaters decide to show the movie. Apparently it’s only being showed at roughly 100 theaters in select cities, at first.
Here’s the facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/AtlasShruggedMovie
If you go to the photos section, the “wall photos” album has some stills, which I think look fantastic.
There was actually a special 8 minute preview in New York a while back. There are three reviews based on that showing:
http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/101208-gleaves-atlas-preview.php
http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/101213-cookinham-atlas-preview.php
http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/101220-albanesi-spirit-atlas-shrugged.php
Based on those reviews I am MUCH more optimistic about the movie; throw in the stills, and I’m actually excited.
For those who think some of the dialog sounds weird, don’t forget how often they hack up lines for trailers.
Trains in a modern setting just… can’t work. No one uses trains for mass transit anymore, and what there is is little else besides Amtrak. I guess they might be playing some kind of high-speed bullet train angle, but… we’ll see.
The look is interesting, and could much worse. But it doesn’t exactly look very hopeless and dystopian like you’d expect for a world where skyscrapers are cracking from disrepair. That acting is also hella clunky.
Trains in a modern setting just… can’t work. No one uses trains for mass transit anymore, and what there is is little else besides Amtrak. I guess they might be playing some kind of high-speed bullet train angle, but… we’ll see.
Perhaps it is a near future setting where trouble in the Middle East has made private automobiles too expensive? That would be consistent with Atlas, since in the book the rest of the world is in trouble.
Atlas is kind of a warning, and these things work best in a near-future setting. That’s just my opinion anyway. More likely they’re just ignoring the anachronism of trains in the name of fidelity to the novel!
Perhaps it is a near future setting where trouble in the Middle East has made private automobiles too expensive? That would be consistent with Atlas, since in the book the rest of the world is in trouble.
That is precisely the case. The airlines have gone bankrupt and gas is 30-odd dollars a gallon, if I recall correctly. I thought it was a clever solution to the problem of having trains without making it a period piece.
The more I watch the trailer the less I like the actress playing Dagny. That’s my biggest complaint based on what I’ve seen.
My thoughts on how good the movie will be jumped through the roof after seeing the trailer.
Trains in a modern setting just… can’t work. No one uses trains for mass transit anymore, and what there is is little else besides Amtrak. I guess they might be playing some kind of high-speed bullet train angle, but… we’ll see.
See Steve’s reply. They made it work, at least in theory.
Trains in a modern setting just… can’t work. No one uses trains for mass transit anymore, and what there is is little else besides Amtrak. I guess they might be playing some kind of high-speed bullet train angle, but… we’ll see.
As much as high speed trains in North America seem unlikely, I had to laugh a little at the irony of this link relative to the timing of the film/trailer.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/08/biden.rail.network/index.html?iref=hpbua
I hate to say it, but the trailer makes it look like a cheesy TV movie.
If your’e going to do Atlas Shrugged, you gotta get A++ actors… (and it would even be difficult for them to pull it off). This looks like lots of story and 0 philosophy.
That is precisely the case. The airlines have gone bankrupt and gas is 30-odd dollars a gallon, if I recall correctly. I thought it was a clever solution to the problem of having trains without making it a period piece.
The more I watch the trailer the less I like the actress playing Dagny. That’s my biggest complaint based on what I’ve seen.
The actress playing Dagny was the star of the failed TV series “Mercy” where she played a nurse. My initial impression is that she is too young for the part. There are plenty of actresses out there who are capable and a more appropriate age. I imagined Dagny Taggert to be in her late 30’s or even early 40’s.
For my part, one of the things they got right was to NOT play this as a period piece. Trains are still a part of our culture to this day, and the failure of a huge transcontinental transportation company remains a compelling theme in this story.
The most important aspect of NOT playing this as a period piece is that Ayn Rand meant for her novels to have a timeless quality about them. Ayn Rand is a Romantic Realist.
Did you all catch this Salon article on what you might think Atlas Shrugged is all about based on the trailer, if you’ve never read the book and don’t know anything about Rand or her philosophy?
I have to say it reflects my feelings about not only the trailer, but about the whole idea of making a movie out of AS.
“Atlas Shrugged” is a book by Ayn Rand about railroads and the government and someone named John Galt, who may or may not be real/Jason Bourne/dead. A woman who owns a monorail company meets a guy who makes a top-secret type of metal that will help her make a super-train that looks like a monorail. But is he to be trusted? Is he John Galt?
Fedoras! In the rain! Do you trust them?
Everyone has cellphones and yells into them. “Get me Jason Bourne!” Except they mean John Galt. That guy with the big eyebrows who played Jimmy Barrett on “Mad Men” tells the guy who makes the secret metal not to tell people he only wants to make money. Somewhere, Gordon Gekko chuckles patronizingly.
And that, friends, is why you don’t adapt Ayn Rand or Thomas Pynchon books into movies.
For now, I’m going to hope that whoever made the trailer just really botched up…
If you want to get a glimpse at how this movie is going to be received by the vast majority of imbeciles in this world read the comments at 2046’s link.
I feel I should add that I am experiencing trepidation at the thought of this movie. Based on the clips I’ve seen of it the creators have absolutely ZERO idea what they are dealing with. It’s like a 13 year old stoner got hold of the cliffs notes and “tried” (no, he really did try) to make a short story out of it.
Even (perhaps especially) if the creators had made a very good movie rendition I think that the movie will be so thoroughly slagged in the press, by “academics” and the rest of the vocal left and their religious nut-job Conservative fellow travelers that it will make the harsh (and unwarranted) criticisms of the novel itself seem like a top ten review from the NY Times.
One thing to remember about the casting in this movie is that some of the most significant movies ever made had less than well-known actors in major roles, who later on rose to fame. Two movies that come to mind are “The Godfather” whose only big star was Marlon Brando, and “Star Wars” which featured a less-than-wellknown Harrison Ford.