Here’s perhaps the most unusual collection of sequel news we’ll run this month. Let’s start with Atlas Shrugged: Part 2, which producers say will shoot this year and be ready for release in October, the better to take advantage of a charged pre-election political climate.
The first movie was made fast, with an unproven director (Paul Johansson of One Tree Hill, who also played John Galt) handling an adaptation of Ayn Rand‘s gigantic tome about American industry, economics and self-reliance. It did well for a moment in limited release, but was critically savaged and rejected in some respects even by Ayn Rand aficionados.
Producer John Aglialoro says that the second part of a planned three-film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged is going to happen, however. Thing is, it will have a different director in Duncan Scott (who produced an adaptation of Rand’s novel We The Living in 1986) and an all-new cast which will be announced within the next week. So… they thought the first movie sucked, too? [THR]
We’ll have further news when that cast is announced; for now, hit the break for info on much more routine developments that possibly impact the Avatar sequels, the currently-shooting Riddick sequel, and Ghostbusters 3. Read More »
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This is simply beautiful. The first part of the movie adaptation of Ayn Rand‘s ‘love it or hate it’ novel Atlas Shrugged hit a few theaters early this year, and is now on DVD, the better to be the backbone of home drinking games. (Do a shot every time someone mentions metal or trains.)
But the DVDs are being recalled, because of something that was printed in the marketing copy on the package. Here’s the offending sentence: “AYN RAND’s timeless novel of courage and self-sacrifice comes to life…”
For those unfamiliar with Ayn Rand’s objectivist ideology, the explanation is after the break. Read More »
Posted on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 by Angie Han
After Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 tanked both critically and commercially, producer John Aglialoro said publicly that he was having second thoughts about making the sequels. Film critics and moviegoers breathed a sigh of relief, and all but the most die-hard Ayn Rand fans moved on with their lives.
Now, however, Aglialoro seems to be feeling a renewed sense of optimism. According to producer Harmon Kaslow, Aglialoro is back at work on Part 2 of the trilogy, due out in time for next year’s election season. Read more after the jump.
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Think back to the biggest development disasters of 2010. High on the list without a doubt, and perhaps topping the list, was Atlas Shrugged. In development for years, by 2009 the Ayn Rand novel was riding a newfound wave of popularity thanks to the economic collapse of late 2008, and also to a sense of post-Obama malaise within the conservative right. There was a point where it seemed like the book might spawn a mini-series, perhaps even with Charlize Theron playing central character Dagny Taggart.
That didn’t happen. By late spring of last year, producer John Aglialoro, who bought the rights in 1992, had to make the film or lose the option. By May, he planned to shoot in June, even though at that point there was no cast in place. Stephen Polk was hired to direct a four-film series based on the book. Two weeks before shooting, he was sacked and replaced with Paul Johansson, who also stars as the pivotal character John Galt. The movie quietly started shooting.
And now, after the break, there is a trailer for Atlas Shrugged Part I. Read More »
There’s another odd wrinkle to the story about producer John Aglialoro hastily getting an Atlas Shrugged film into production in order to retain rights to the novel. When we reported on the film a few weeks back, Stephen Polk was set to direct. But yesterday, when we got info about the film actually going into production over the weekend, there was a new director: actor Paul Johansson, who is also starring. So what happened to Polk? No surprise that he was sacked, and you should be even less surprised to read that he’s rather pissed. Read More »
Can a film be pushed into production through sheer force of will? Over the decades there have been multiple attempts to film Ayn Rand‘s novel Atlas Shrugged. In the last decade the movie has almost been made a couple of times, but plans have always fallen through.
Now producer John Aglialoro, who bought the book rights for $1m in 1992, will make the film one way or the other. He plans to shoot on June 11. The only problem: he’s got no cast. Read More »
When the economic crisis went into full swing, bookshops started to notice an odd trend: people who hadn’t read much more than a Grisham or Clancey novel in the last decade were suddenly rabid Ayn Rand fans. Atlas Shrugged, with its message of capitalism unfettered by government control, blasted back onto bestseller charts in the last year, making the long-gestating film adaptation seem a lot more likely. Now Charlize Theron is seriously interested, says the Risky Biz Blog, and because she and the producers are concerned that simply making a feature film wouldn’t do justice to the novel’s epic length (1100+ pages) it may instead become a miniseries for Epix, the new pay-cable network that Lionsgate is setting up with MGM and Viacom. Read More »
