Announcing Atlas Shrugged Part 2 on Ayn Rand’s Birthday!


Ed Hudgins

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On the Set of Atlas Shrugged Part II

A reason.com report on the movie now shooting around the Los Angeles area.

On the Set of Atlas Shrugged Part II

A reason.com report on the movie now shooting around the Los Angeles area.

Don't be modest Dennis -- we've all heard the rumours of how you nailed the part of "respectable-seeming but sinister Dr Floyd Ferris"

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It was a cinch, Daunce. At the audition, all I had to do was read one line.

"We're after power and we mean it, Mr. Rearden."

I smiled, doing my best Joe Biden impersonation. They hired me on the spot.

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Whenever you;re ready, Mr. R.

This is quite a cast we are assembling. I hear that a hot new part-Brazilian is the new Francisco - with an Irish-Scottish name though.

Carol,

I just bought today's latest Movie Gossip issue where the American ex-Brazil resident with the Irish-Scottish name is quoted saying that, while he certainly meets the criterion of 'non-beardedness' and feels honored at being offered the role of Francisco, he regrets having to decline since he is currently involved in too many other projects. :smile:

So we're back to square one for the casting of Francisco. Hmm - who might fit the role? Perhaps Jonathan? What do you think?

Don't be modest Dennis -- we've all heard the rumours of how you nailed the part of "respectable-seeming but sinister Dr Floyd Ferris"

I've heard that too, Carol, and in Today's Movie Gossip issue it says he got the part. See also post # 54 where DH himself confirms it. Good choice.

[i think it's time for me to put up a 'banter' sign in case new members should wonder what the hell we are talking about here ... :D]

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Don't be modest Dennis -- we've all heard the rumours of how you nailed the part of "respectable-seeming but sinister Dr Floyd Ferris"

I've heard that too, Carol, and in Today's Movie Gossip issue it says he got the part. See also post # 54 where DH himself confirms it. Good choice.

[i think it's time for me to put up a 'banter' sign in case new members should wonder what the hell we are talking about here ... :D]

I only agreed to do it on the condition that the script would be redone to include a hot love scene between Dr. Ferris and Lillian. This will highight the contrast between Francisco--the pretender--and the true Don Juan "playboy," Ferris. I thought this was important from the perspective of plot development and philosophical theme. It had nothing to do with the fact that Lillian happens to be smokin' hot (though some cynics will probably say otherwise).

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Don't be modest Dennis -- we've all heard the rumours of how you nailed the part of "respectable-seeming but sinister Dr Floyd Ferris"

I've heard that too, Carol, and in Today's Movie Gossip issue it says he got the part. See also post # 54 where DH himself confirms it. Good choice.

[i think it's time for me to put up a 'banter' sign in case new members should wonder what the hell we are talking about here ... :D]

I only agreed to do it on the condition that the script would be redone to include a hot love scene between Dr. Ferris and Lillian. This will highight the contrast between Francisco--the pretender--and the true Don Juan "playboy," Ferris. I thought this was important from the perspective of plot development and philosophical theme. It had nothing to do with the fact that Lillian happens to be smokin' hot (though some cynics will probably say otherwise).

You can't fool me. You have an interior motive.

--Brant

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XRay -Jonathan as Francisco...hmm, no, a wholesome Minnesota boy, however artistic, just would not have that edge. My sources indicate that insiders are pegging Adam Selene as the best bet. His reps say he has "the combination of New York toughness, Northern Italian suavity and polymorphous perversity the part demands. Also, he carries that damn Rand book around with him everywhere."

Other reports say he is so eager to be part of the movie, he has offered to double as one of John Galt's torturers in the film's climactic scenes.

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Now, on to Ragnar. Or does he not appear till part 3? Nevermind, it never hurts to be forehanded.

Ideal casting would be a liberty loving modern pirate type who is intellectually opposed to government monopolies and copyright laws and stuff....

Arrr, that be mighty like Cap'n Smith of the good ship Chastiseur, updated for modern audiences as the Pride of Bloomington!

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Memo to the Casting Couch Blog:

Ok - the Ragnar role is mine, so I will assume the Peter Sellers approach and do three roles.

No cross dressing roles and no trench coats.

Pride and passion reject them.

The unholy trinity...

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Now, on to Ragnar. Or does he not appear till part 3? Nevermind, it never hurts to be forehanded.

Ideal casting would be a liberty loving modern pirate type who is intellectually opposed to government monopolies and copyright laws and stuff....

Arrr, that be mighty like Cap'n Smith of the good ship Chastiseur, updated for modern audiences as the Pride of Bloomington!

Why wasn't his wife on the boat with him, doing their pirate thing?

--Brant

did he have a parrot?

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  • 2 months later...

Not bad.

--Brant

but a little too much about the book

I'm a bit surprised no nitpicker's come along yet to note, maliciously, that the quote actually comes from The Fountainhead. Maybe if I post it on OO, there's some vocal naysayers there over yonder.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a pep rally for the movie from "FreePAC", which I gather was a 20K get together in Dallas yesterday. Looks like it was a Glenn Beck thing, or at least he's listed at the top.

http://connect.freedomworks.org/portals/freepac

Seems this should be the ad for part III.

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'Atlas Shrugged' sequel changes rails

120426_ayn_rand_ap_605.jpg

'Atlas Shrugged: Part 1' underperformed at the box office. | AP Photo

By PATRICK GAVIN | 6/20/12 10:02 AM EDT

The story of the recent film adaptations of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” is a telling tale of how politics and Hollywood make for complicated marketing.

The first installment, 2011’s “Atlas Shrugged: Part 1,” received withering reviews and, partly because few theaters screened it, underperformed at the box office: The $20 million movie grossed only $4.6 million, according to Box Office Mojo. This, despite an aggressive effort to pitch the movie to tea party groups and conservative activists (the story’s themes of limited government and individual freedom are shared by many conservative groups).

Part 2 is due to hit theaters in October and producer Harmon Kaslow anticipates a broader, and more aggressive, marketing effort this time around.

(Also on POLITICO: 7 politicians who praised Ayn Rand)

Kaslow says that, despite the buzz generated online for the first film, “we realized that that’s not necessarily translating into people immediately going out and seeing the movie that weekend.”

“So one of the lessons we learned from Part 1 is that we need to use, in addition to the on line media where we had that success, we also need to do more traditional media marketing and to that extent we’re spending nearly 10 times more money than we did on Part 1’s advertising budget to market Part 2.”

To do so, they’re teaming up with seasoned Hollywood marketer Russell Schwartz.

“We have a real seasoned pro who really understands the message and the adaptation of the book that we are pursuing and will help us market in a more traditional fashion, in addition to what we are continuing to do with our on line marketing methods.”

Tea party types will still be involved, but as part of a broader outreach.

“The core message of the book really revolves around respecting the rights of the individual, so we have identified hundreds of groups across the country who really have, as part of their mission, that type of concept and message. So in addition to the support that we got from Freedom Works and the Heritage Foundation and tea party groups, we’re reaching out really to all of the various policy groups and others that subscribe to the message or are predisposed to the message of the book.”

The film will premiere in Washington, D.C., at the Ronald Reagan Building.

Kaslow is also hoping to shift the film’s reputation, lest it be pigeonholed.

“It’s not a tea party film per se,” said Kaslow. “There is a connection between what Ayn Rand’s beliefs were and what the tea party beliefs are but, really, the story is a science fiction story, especially in Part 2, where there is, for lack of a better term, a magic motor that can generate energy at a very low cost.”

So why not bill it as an energy film?

“We think that a lot of the themes of Part 2 will really be reflected by the things that people are going to be hearing about with the election. You’re going to be hearing about energy and the economy and those are the two topics that are dealt with in Part 2 and I think resonate with people regardless of their political beliefs.”

That the film comes out so close to the November elections is hardly an accident.

“We wanted to be part of the discussion during the election cycle,” said Kaslow. “We just thought it was an opportune time for us to present the movie to hopefully a larger audience than might exist in some other period of time during the year. It’s no different than the analysis a major Hollywood studio goes through.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77633.html#ixzz21qbf6bxy

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Ayn Rand is dangerous to the left, and therefore she’s smeared – something of which she herself was acutely aware. When The Ayn Rand Lexicon was made, she told the editor that such a lexicon would be very convenient: “People will be able to look up BREAKFAST and see that I did not advocate eating babies for breakfast.” — Ole Martin Moen, Forbes - Capital Flows #

Now that is hilarious!!

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'Atlas Shrugged: Part 1' underperformed at the box office.

By PATRICK GAVIN | 6/20/12 10:02 AM EDT

<...>

Kaslow is also hoping to shift the film’s reputation, lest it be pigeonholed.

“It’s not a tea party film per se,” said Kaslow. “There is a connection between what Ayn Rand’s beliefs were and what the tea party beliefs are but, really, the story is a science fiction story, especially in Part 2, where there is, for lack of a better term, a magic motor that can generate energy at a very low cost.”

Imo labeling the film as a science fiction story will have a counterproductive effect. AS may contain a few science fiction elements, but its message is essentially political.

In addition, the label 'science fiction story' does not really mesh with the marketing idea of "various policy groups and others that subscribe to the message or are predisposed to the message of the book.”

And frankly, who (even if they have read the novel) really wants to watch Part 2 of a film adaptation whose Part 1 has flopped?

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'Atlas Shrugged: Part 1' underperformed at the box office.

By PATRICK GAVIN | 6/20/12 10:02 AM EDT

<...>

Kaslow is also hoping to shift the film’s reputation, lest it be pigeonholed.

“It’s not a tea party film per se,” said Kaslow. “There is a connection between what Ayn Rand’s beliefs were and what the tea party beliefs are but, really, the story is a science fiction story, especially in Part 2, where there is, for lack of a better term, a magic motor that can generate energy at a very low cost.”

Imo labeling the film as a science fiction story will have a counterproductive effect. AS may contain a few science fiction elements, but its message is essentially political.

In addition, the label 'science fiction story' does not really mesh with the marketing idea of "various policy groups and others that subscribe to the message or are predisposed to the message of the book.”

And frankly, who (even if they have read the novel) really wants to watch Part 2 of a film adaptation whose Part 1 has flopped?

Angela:

Everyone that saw part one (1) will want to see part two (2).

Lot's of science fiction is political. Most of Heinlein is political. Asimov's Foundation series is completely political. Fahrenheit 451. The entire Dune books. 1984. Clockwork Orange. Brave New World. It is infinite.

Adam

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Atlas Shrugged is not primarily political. It's a story about the role of reason in human life, and any political messages fall out from this. Read it and see for yourself.

The book isn't primarily sci-fi, but a movie that treated it that way might succeed. We'll see.

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Angela:

Everyone that saw part one (1) will want to see part two (2).

Adam:

I'm not sure about that. For example, some who saw part (1) may have come to the conclusion that AS cannot be made into a concvincing film at all.

Lot's of science fiction is political. Most of Heinlein is political. Asimov's Foundation series is completely political. Fahrenheit 451. The entire Dune books. 1984. Clockwork Orange. Brave New World. It is infinite.

I'm not saying that science fiction can't be political. My point was that AS, while it may contain a few science fiction elements, is no science fiction novel. Ayn Rand would probably have been very surprised if her magnum opus had been labeled as science fiction.

Imo launching AS as science fiction at the box office is primarily a marketing gimmick.

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Atlas Shrugged is not primarily political. It's a story about the role of reason in human life, and any political messages fall out from this. Read it and see for yourself.

I have read it, but imo a lot of the book's drive is fueled by Rand's loathing of communism and any other forms of 'statist collectivism'.

The book isn't primarily sci-fi, but a movie that treated it that way might succeed. We'll see.

Imo there are too few sci-fi elements in the story to convincingly market the film as science fiction. But as you said, we'll see.

I think that part 2 will flop even more than part 1, but as always, will stand corrected if confronted with evidence proving the contrary.

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And there's a new thingy from Reason:

A morsel of the money speech is in there.

And frankly, who (even if they have read the novel) really wants to watch Part 2 of a film adaptation whose Part 1 has flopped?

This biggest problem I see is that people who haven't seen part 1 (of any series) are going to hesitate to go see part 2, even if it's really good. The only example I can think of is The Road Warrior, which I saw (and liked) well before I saw Mad Max, which wasn't as good.

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Atlas Shrugged is not primarily political. It's a story about the role of reason in human life, and any political messages fall out from this. Read it and see for yourself.

I have read it, but imo a lot of the book's drive is fueled by Rand's loathing of communism and any other forms of 'statist collectivism'.

The book isn't primarily sci-fi, but a movie that treated it that way might succeed. We'll see.

Imo there are too few sci-fi elements in the story to convincingly market the film as science fiction. But as you said, we'll see.

I think that part 2 will flop even more than part 1, but as always, will stand corrected if confronted with evidence proving the contrary.

Not sci-fi except a little with "Project X." Flying saucers did not land.

"Atlas Shrugged" is too big and sprawling to be captured by one theme or "plot-theme," even one formulated by Ayn Rand. I think she said it was about the role of the mind in human existence. I'd say that plus: "and human social existence." What she mostly did was write about the men of the mind going on strike--that's what she hung it on. I'd bet but do not know she thought of the plot-theme as a plot-theme well into or even after the writing. That's because to think about the novel that way would have taken it off the "strike" track as more and more primary possibilities occurred to her. Regardless, she started with a strike and ended with a strike and it was strike, strike, strike all the way through.

Keeping the men of the mind in focus as men of the mind probably worked too, however. There was a reason they went on strike--their minds were being traduced from functioning in a productive existence in a productive society by bad people with bad ideas in charge of the country, so screw it!

--Brant

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