[Atlasphere] Lionsgate?s Michael Burns discusses Atlas Shrugged movie

[O-Land News Junkie]

Here are some excerpts from a Box Office Mojo interview with Michael Burns – Vice Chairman at Lionsgate.

Box Office Mojo:

But

Atlas Shrugged

is your personal favorite Ayn Rand novel?

Michael Burns:

It is. It’s one of my favorite books—with some of the richest, most colorful characters of any book. I read it when I was in the ninth grade and it just stuck with me. I can still vividly remember specific scenes in the book. I can’t wait to see what [director Vadim Perelman] does with them.

Box Office Mojo:

What makes Dagny a great character?

Michael Burns:

She is strong and smart but [she’s] also flawed; she’s really stubborn, almost dogmatic at times, and, if you remember the book, she goes down hard. She really does everything she possibly can to save the railroad. She’s got a brother who’s a buffoon that’s allegedly her boss, a sort of checkered life with lovers and an interesting dynamic with people who work for her and with her. She fights to the bitter end when the great minds of the world go on strike before she capitulates. That’s a really interesting character.

Box Office Mojo:

Do you see her as the main character?

Michael Burns:

Certainly, in the first two acts of the movie, Dagny Taggart will be the lead and, in the end, that’s who the audience is rooting for, so, if there were one lead, I think it would be Dagny. But there are other fantastic characters, [playboy] Francisco [d’Anconia] who basically fleeces all these people that he thinks have been taking advantage of society—obviously [industrialist] Henry Rearden, or Hank Rearden—and this great character, the pirate Ragnar [Danneskjold] and John Galt, who’s sort of a tangential character in many ways, but certainly a central character.

Read the full interview for more on Burns’ thoughts on the Atlas Shrugged movie.

http://www.theatlasphere.com/metablog/752.php