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==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.AtlasShruggedPart1.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.AtlasShruggedPart1.com/ Atlas Shrugged Part 1 Official website]
* [http://www.AtlasShruggedPart2.com/ Atlas Shrugged Part 2 Official website]
* {{IMDb title|0480239|Atlas Shrugged: Part I}}
* {{IMDb title|0480239|Atlas Shrugged: Part I}}
* {{Allmovie title|374744|Atlas Shrugged: Part I}}
* {{Allmovie title|374744|Atlas Shrugged: Part I}}

Revision as of 17:50, 8 June 2011

Atlas Shrugged: Part I
Directed byPaul Johansson
Written byBrian Patrick O'Toole
Produced byJohn Aglialoro
Harmon Kaslow
Bruce Wayne Gillies
StarringTaylor Schilling
Grant Bowler
Music byElia Cmiral
Release date
  • April 15, 2011 (2011-04-15)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[1][2]
Box office$4,627,375[2]

Atlas Shrugged: Part I is a 2011 film adaptation of the first part of Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged, intended as the first in a film trilogy encompassing the entire 1,368-page book. After various treatments and proposals floundered for nearly 40 years,[3] investor John Aglialoro initiated production in June 2010. The film was directed by Paul Johansson and stars Taylor Schilling as Dagny Taggart and Grant Bowler as Hank Rearden.

If the trilogy is completed, it will tell the story of Atlas Shrugged, set in a dystopian United States where leading innovators, from industrialists to artists, are led by John Galt to go on strike, "stopping the motor of the world" to reassert the importance of the free use of the mind.

Plot

It is 2016 and the United States is in a sustained economic depression. Air crashes and gasoline at nearly $40/gallon have resulted in the return of railroads as the nation's primary mode of transportation. After a major accident on the Rio Norte line of the Taggart Transcontinental railroad, CEO James Taggart shirks responsibility. His sister Dagny Taggart, Vice-President in Charge of Operation, unilaterally decides to save part of the railroad by replacing the aging track with new rails made of the experimental Rearden Metal. The inventor, industrialist Hank Rearden, claims that his metal is lighter yet stronger than conventional steel, but industry rivals denounce it as untested and dangerous.

Politician Wesley Mouch—nominally Rearden's lobbyist in Washington, D.C.—is in fact part of a crowd that views heads of industry as persons who must be broken or tamed. James Taggart uses political influence to ensure that Taggart Transcontinental is designated the exclusive railroad for the state of Colorado. Dagny is confronted by Ellis Wyatt, an oil man from Colorado angry to be forced to do business with Taggart Transcontinental. Dagny promises him that he will get the service he needs.

Dagny encounters childhood friend and former lover Francisco d'Anconia, heir to a copper company who presents a facade of a playboy grown bored with business and the pursuit of money. He reveals that a series of copper mines he built are worthless, costing his investors millions.

Rearden lives in a magnificent home with a wife and a brother who are happy to live off his effort, though they overtly disrespect it. Rearden's anniversary gift to his wife Lillian is a bracelet from the first batch of Rearden Metal, but she considers it a garish symbol of Hank's egotism. At a dinner party, Dagny dares Lillian to exchange it for Dagny's diamond necklace, which she does.

As Dagny and Hank rebuild the Rio Norte line, talented people resign from the workforce and refuse all inducements to stay. Meanwhile, Dr. Robert Stadler of the State Science Institute puts out a report implying that Rearden Metal is dangerous. Taggart Transcontinental stock plummets because of its use of Rearden Metal, and Dagny leaves Taggart Transcontinental temporarily and forms her own company to finish the Rio Norte line. She renames it the John Galt Line after the phrase "Who is John Galt?", which has become a meme for any question to which it is pointless to seek an answer.

A new law forces Rearden to sell most of his businesses, but he retains Rearden Steel for the sake of his metal and to finish the John Galt Line. The line opens and completes its first run safely on the Rearden rail. Hank and Dagny celebrate the success of the line at the home of Wyatt, now a close friend. That night, Dagny and Hank make love. The next morning, Hank and Dagny begin investigating an abandoned prototype for an advanced motor that could revolutionize the world. They realize the genius of the mind who created this concept and search for him. Dagny tracks down Dr. Hugh Akston, working as a cook at a diner; he understands whom Dagny is seeking and says she will never find him.

Another new law limits rail freight and levies a special tax on Colorado. When Dagny hears that Wyatt's oil fields are on fire, she rushes to his home but finds a handwritten sign that reads, "I am leaving it as I found it. Take over. It's yours." The film closes with an answering machine voice-over of Wyatt declaring that he is on strike.

Cast

See also: List of Atlas Shrugged characters

Production

Development

In 1972, Albert S. Ruddy approached Rand to produce a cinematic adaptation of Atlas Shrugged. Rand insisted on having final script approval, which Ruddy refused to give her, thus preventing a deal. In 1978, Henry and Michael Jaffe negotiated a deal for an eight-hour Atlas Shrugged television miniseries on NBC. Michael Jaffe hired screenwriter Sterling Silliphant to adapt the novel and he obtained approval from Rand on the final script. However, in 1979, with Fred Silverman's rise as president of NBC, the project was scrapped.[6]

Rand, a former Hollywood screenwriter herself, began writing her own screenplay, but died in 1982 with only one third of it finished. She left her estate, including the film rights to Atlas Shrugged, to her student Leonard Peikoff, who sold an option to Michael Jaffe and Ed Snider. Peikoff would not approve the script they wrote and the deal fell through. In 1992, investor John Aglialoro bought an option to produce the film, paying Peikoff over $1 million for full creative control.[6]

In 1999, under John Aglialoro's sponsorship, Albert Ruddy negotiated a deal with Turner Network Television for a four-hour miniseries, but the project was killed after the AOL Time Warner merger. After the TNT deal fell through, Howard and Karen Baldwin obtained the rights while running Phillip Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment. The Baldwins left Crusader and formed Baldwin Entertainment Group in 2004, taking the rights to Atlas Shrugged with them. Michael Burns of Lions Gate Entertainment approached the Baldwins to fund and distribute Atlas Shrugged.[6] A two-part draft screenplay written by James V. Hart[7] was re-written into a 127-page screenplay by Randall Wallace, with Vadim Perelman expected to direct.[8] Potential cast members for this production had included Angelina Jolie,[9] Charlize Theron,[10] Julia Roberts,[10] Anne Hathaway,[10] Russell Crowe,[11] and Brad Pitt.[7] Between 2009 and 2010, however, these deals came apart, including studio backing from Lions Gate, and therefore none of the stars mentioned above appear in the final film, Wallace did not do the screenplay, and Perelman did not direct.[12][13]

Aglialoro says producers have spent "something in the $20 million range" on the project over the last 18 years.[1]

Writing

In May 2010, Brian Patrick O'Toole and Aglialoro wrote a screenplay, intent on filming in June 2010. While initial rumors claimed that the films would have a "timeless" setting, the released Part 1 of the movie is set in the year 2016, with a dystopian, economically-crippled United States suffering amid greater calls for collectivism and government intervention. In the theatrical release, some characters and side stories, such as that of Eddie Willers, had been trimmed, and others, such as that of composer Richard Halley, had been removed. This occasioned significant debate among fans of the book.

Casting

Though director Johansson has been reported by various sources as playing the pivotal role of John Galt,[14] he made it clear in an interview that with regard to "who is John Galt" in the film, the answer was, "Not me."[4] He explained that his portrayal of the character would be limited to the first film as a silhouetted figure wearing a trenchcoat and fedora,[5] suggesting that another actor will be cast as Galt for the subsequent parts of the trilogy.

Filming

Though Stephen Polk was initially set to direct,[15] he was replaced by Paul Johansson nine days before filming was scheduled to begin. With the 18-year-long option to the films rights set to expire on June 15, 2010, producer Aglialoro began principal photography on June 13, 2010, thus managing to retain the rights. Shooting took five weeks, and the total production cost of the movie came in on a budget around US$10 million.[16]

Score

Elia Cmiral composed the score for the film.[17]

Marketing

"In a lot of ways, this project reflects the ethos of the Tea Party. You had both Republicans and Democrats who felt rejected by the establishment, and the same process is going to happen with Atlas Shrugged: We're going to build a constituency of people who believe in limited government and individual liberty."

— Matt Kibbe, President of FreedomWorks[18]

The film had a very low marketing budget and was not marketed in conventional methods.[19] Prior to the film's release on the politically symbolic date of Tax Day, the project was promoted throughout the Tea Party movement and affiliated organizations such as FreedomWorks.[18] The National Journal reported that FreedomWorks, the Tea Party-allied group headed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, (R-Texas), had been trying to get the movie opened in more theaters.[18] FreedomWorks also helped unveil the Atlas Shrugged movie trailer at the February 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference.[18] Additionally, it was reported that Tea Party groups across the country were plugging the movie trailer on their websites and Facebook pages.[18] Release of the movie was also covered and promoted by Fox News TV personalities John Stossel and Sean Hannity.[20][21]

Release

Box office

The U.S. release of Atlas Shrugged: Part I was unsuccessful. It opened on 300 screens on April 15, 2011, and made $1,676,917 in its opening weekend, finishing in 14th place overall.[22]. Producers announced expansion to 423 theaters several days after release, and spoke of their intent to place the movie in 1000 theaters by the end of April 2011.[23] However, the release never reached 500 screens.

Ticket sales dropped off significantly in its second week of release, despite opening an additional 165 screens. The per-screen average dropped 71% from $2,254 dollars on the opening Friday to $660 one week later, with the result that despite the increased number of screens, the total revenue actually dropped by 54%. Similar losses continued in successive weeks; after six weeks, the film showed on only 32 screens and total ticket sales had not crossed the $5 million mark, meaning that less than a quarter of the production budget had been recouped in domestic ticket sales.[24]

Critical reception

The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 13% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on a count of 38 written reviews -- only five of them positive -- with an average score of 3.6 out of 10.[25] Metacritic gives the film a "generally unfavorable" rating of 28%, as determined by averaging 18 professional reviews.[26] Some commentators noted differences in reaction to the film from professional critics as compared to audience members.[27][28][29] Columnist Jo Piazza noted in FoxNews.com, "Critics may hate it, but audiences seem to love it."[30]

"So OK. Let’s say you know the novel, you agree with Ayn Rand, you’re an objectivist or a libertarian, and you’ve been waiting eagerly for this movie. Man, are you going to get a letdown. It’s not enough that a movie agree with you, in however an incoherent and murky fashion. It would help if it were like, you know, entertaining?"

— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, 14 April 2011[31]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film only one star, calling it "the most anticlimactic non-event since Geraldo Rivera broke into Al Capone’s vault." [31] Libertarian columnist Cathy Young in The Boston Globe gave the film a negative review.[32] Chicago Tribune published a predominantly negative review arguing the film lacks Rand's philosophical theme, while at the same time saying "the actors, none of them big names, are well-suited to the roles. The story has drive, color and mystery. It looks good on the screen".[33] Kyle Smith in the New York Post gave Atlas Shrugged a marginally positive review, grading it at 2.5/4 stars, criticizing its "stilted dialogue and stern, unironic hectoring" and calling it "stiff in the joints", but also adding that it "nevertheless contains a fire and a fury that makes it more compelling than the average mass-produced studio item".[34]

Reviews in the conservative press were mixed as well. American economist Mark Skousen praised the film and wrote in the Human Events, "The script is true to the philosophy of Ayn Rand’s novel".[35] The Weekly Standard senior editor Fred Barnes noted that the film "gets Rand’s point across forcefully without too much pounding," "fast-paced" when compared the the original novel's 1200-page length, and "at least as relevant today as it was when the novel was published in 1957."[36] Jack Hunter, contributing editor to The American Conservative, wrote "If you ask the average film critic about the new movie adaptation of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” they will tell you it is a horrible movie. If you ask the average conservative or libertarian they will tell you it is a great movie. Objectively, it is a mediocre movie at best. Subjectively, it is one of the best mediocre movies you’ll ever see."[37]

Sequel

The poor reception of Atlas Shrugged: Part I led Aglialoro to reconsider his plans for the rest of his intended trilogy. [38] In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said he was continuing with plans to produce Part II and Part III for release on April 15 in 2012 and 2013 respectively. [39] In a later interview with The Boston Globe, Aglialoro was ambivalent: "I learned something long ago playing poker. If you think you’re beat, don’t go all in. If Part 1 makes [enough of] a return to support Part 2, I’ll do it. Other than that, I’ll throw the hand in."[40]

On June 8, 2011, the Atlas Shrugged: Part II web site was launched, with a planned release date of fall 2012.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b David Weigel (2011-03-03). "Libertarians Shrugged". Slate. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Atlas Shrugged: Part I". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  3. ^ Britting, Jeff (2009). "Bringing Atlas Shrugged to Film". In Mayhew, Robert (ed.). Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-7391-2780-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  4. ^ a b Murty, Govindini (July 21, 2010). "EXCLUSIVE: LFM Visits the Set of Atlas Shrugged + Director Paul Johansson's First Interview About the Film". Libertas Film Magazine. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  5. ^ a b "Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 - Official Movie Trailer".
  6. ^ a b c Brown, Kimberly (January 14, 2007). "Ayn Rand No Longer Has Script Approval". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  7. ^ a b McClintock, Pamela (April 26, 2006). "Lionsgate Shrugging". Variety. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  8. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 4, 2007). "Vadim Perelman to direct 'Atlas'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  9. ^ "Angelina Jolie set to star in Atlas Shrugged". Objectivistcenter.org. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2009-09-12.[dead link]
  10. ^ a b c "Charlize Theron Could Topline Atlas Shrugged Mini-Series | /Film". Slashfilm.com. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  11. ^ Paris, Susan (February 25, 2008). "John Aglialoro on the Atlas Shrugged Movie". Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  12. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (April 1, 2009). "Shrugs over 'Atlas' are ending". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  13. ^ "IMDb:the Internet Movie Database". Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  14. ^ "Atlas Shrugged" (2011) Internet Movie Database.
  15. ^ Fleming, Mike (May 26, 2010). "'Atlas Shrugged' Rights Holder Sets June Production Start Whether Or Not Stars Align". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
  16. ^ Zader, Joshua (November 23, 2010). "John Aglialoro on the Atlas Shrugged Movie". Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  17. ^ Atlas Shrugged Movie: The First 10 Minutes
  18. ^ a b c d e Tea Party Groups Push Atlas Shrugged Movie by Catalina Camia, USA Today, March 23, 2011
  19. ^ STEVE PERSALL, Film about big government bypasses Hollywood, The St. Petersburg Times.
  20. ^ "Will Hollywood Let You See 'Atlas Shrugged'? - Fox News Video - FoxNews.com". Fox News. June 3, 2011.
  21. ^ "Atlas Shrugged Hits the Silver Screen." Stossel. Fox Business News. Air date: April 15, 2011.
  22. ^ the-numbers.com, The Numbers - US Movie Box Office Chart Weekend of April 15, 2011
  23. ^ 'Atlas Shrugged' Author Attacked While Film Expands, Atlas Productions Press Release
  24. ^ Box Office Mojo
  25. ^ Rotten Tomatoes
  26. ^ metacritic.com
  27. ^ ‘Atlas Shrugged’ Is Upon Us Wall Street Journal.
  28. ^ Sorry, Objectivists: Atlas Shrugged Movie Gets Pummeled By Critics Time Magazine.
  29. ^ "Atlas Shrugged" film adaptation banking on conservative support CBS News.
  30. ^ Critics and Audiences Disagree on 'Atlas Shrugged': Were They Watching the Same Movie?, FoxNews.com,April 27, 2011.
  31. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (April 14, 2011). "Atlas Shrugged". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 16, 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ Cathy Young, Atlas mugged, The Boston Globe, April 19, 2011.
  33. ^ Steve Chapman, 'Atlas Shrugged,' the movie, Chicago Tribune, April 14, 2011.
  34. ^ Kyle Smith, Rand old time for Ayn adherents, New York Post, April 14, 2011.
  35. ^ Mark Skousen, To Protest Tax Day, Go See "Atlas Shrugged" The Movie, Human Events, April 15, 2011.
  36. ^ Fred Barnes (April 14, 2011). "This Is John Galt". The Blog. The Weekly Standard. Retrieved 2011-04-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ Jack Hunter, Atlas vs. Avatar, The American Conservative, April 18, 2011.
  38. ^ "'Atlas Shrugged' producer: 'Critics, you won.' He's going 'on strike.'". 24 Frames. Los Angeles Times. 2011-04-26. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  39. ^ Paul Bond (2011-04-27). "'Atlas Shrugged' Producer Promises Two Sequels Despite Terrible Reviews, Poor Box Office". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  40. ^ Jenn Abelson (8 May 2011). "John Algialoro is Ayn Rand's Biggest Fan". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
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