# Am I Gonna Be Able To Sit Through "Atlas Shrugged", The Film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 25, 2011, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562 "2011-02-25T08:02:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/21 "2011-02-25T20:34:55Z")
I like unusual/offbeat/weird movies, and even I am scared of what Hollywood is going to produce on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/22 "2011-02-25T20:39:10Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Really. I mean, one would imagine that if you detested it, there would not be much hope a faithful adaptation would be any better, save that the cinematography and the acting performances were so excellent that they got to you in spite of the plot. OTOH one may WANT to look at this adaptation to see if his problem was just with the prose style. But if you just hated it, why risk compounding the misery? I felt the same way about _Waiting for Godot_ when I read it. Hated it with all the heat of a thousand suns. Then I saw it performed, and actually enjoyed the experience. The actors were able to bring out some of the humor that just didn’t work for me in written form… ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/23 "2011-02-25T20:40:19Z")
> [@Mariemarie](#): > > I went through a brief, silly Ayn Rand phase during my youth. I went through a brief, silly Gabriel Marquez phase in my youth. I haven’t bothered to see the film version of _Love In the Time Of Cholera_. I feel a little guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/24 "2011-02-25T20:48:20Z")
> [@Mariemarie](#): > > I went through a brief, silly Ayn Rand phase during my youth. I went through a brief, silly Ayn Rand phase in my youth, and _Atlas Shrugged_ cured me of it once and for all. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > As for why it was so repetitive, Rand answered that question herself: (paraphrasing) “In my previous books, people kept missing the point. So I had to hammer it home as strongly as possible. And they still keep missing it.” I think Ms. Rand was mistaken that people missed her point. I think most people with an IQ greater than eighty got the point of her book. They just found it sophomoric, poorly supported, and pedantic. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/25 "2011-02-25T20:53:34Z")
When I was 19, I met a girl at a party who raved about “The Fountainhead.” I read it so I could impress her next time I saw her, except I never did. I fell in love with Ayn Rand instead. I’ve been over Ayn for a while now. Based on the trailer, I am not interested in seeing the movie. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/26 "2011-02-25T21:22:36Z")
Considering that url to the trailer crashed my browser, I’m just going to make assumptions based on what I know about Ayn Rand and movie-making. Basically, this: > [@Scumpup](#): > > If all Rand’s superfluous description is stripped away, along with the needless repetition of her talking points, Atlas Shrugged contains a novella-length story that could be entertaining; whether you agree with her philosophical/political points or not. A watchable 90-minute movie could be made from that novella. Since Ayn Rand isn’t around to harp on everyone on the set, or to insist that all ten jillion words of Galt’s speech go uncurtailed, it’s possible that some folks can Hollywood this into a compelling story of courage and steadfastness in the face of The Man. > [@](#): > > Multiple full-length movies tells me, right away, that the cinematic version will be as bloated, repetitious, and boring as the book. Or this. Someone else will have to tell me, as I have no intention of seeing it. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/27 "2011-02-25T22:01:48Z")
Right. I couldn’t get Rand’s prose style, but I thought if they’re making it into a film, maybe the film will be much better understood. Kinda like Hamlet or Macbeth done as films. Q ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/28 "2011-02-25T22:03:12Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I went through a brief, silly Ayn Rand phase in my youth, and _Atlas Shrugged_ cured me of it once and for all. > > I think Ms. Rand was mistaken that people missed her point. I think most people with an IQ greater than eighty got the point of her book. They just found it sophomoric, poorly supported, and pedantic. > > Stranger Well, my IQ is in the dubble figgerz, so maybe that’s why I had such a tough time with it. 🙂 Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/29 "2011-02-25T22:03:42Z")
The only reason the movie filmed when it did was because the guy with the rights to the movie (who has had those rights for 20 years) was going to lose them on June 15, 2010 if production hadn’t already started. He managed to make the deadline with a whopping 2 days to spare. The director wasn’t even hired on until 9 days before production began and filming took 5 whole weeks. This is going to be an incredible film, in its own way. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/30 "2011-02-25T22:16:33Z")
Personally, I’ll wait for the Rifftrax to come out. The only Rand I ever read was Anthem (school required) and I couldn’t stand that. I blew through it in a night and got back to reading Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/31 "2011-02-25T23:24:03Z")
Ah well…I suppose I’m the only 'doper who actually enjoyed reading Atlas Shrugged (I like The Fountainhead better). I have no idea about the film, but basically if you hated the book so much then I have serious doubts a film is going to make it more palatable. You will probably get more enjoyment of the thread bashing Rand and the book than watching the film. 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/32 "2011-02-26T00:16:42Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Ah well…I suppose I’m the only 'doper who actually enjoyed reading Atlas Shrugged (I like The Fountainhead better). I have no idea about the film, but basically if you hated the book so much then I have serious doubts a film is going to make it more palatable. You will probably get more enjoyment of the thread bashing Rand and the book than watching the film. 😛 > > -XT I get more enjoyment out of literature that doesn’t suck. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/33 "2011-02-26T00:19:51Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Ah well…I suppose I’m the only 'doper who actually enjoyed reading Atlas Shrugged (I like The Fountainhead better). … Nope. I loved them, both, too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/34 "2011-02-26T00:49:06Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Ah well…I suppose I’m the only 'doper who actually enjoyed reading Atlas Shrugged (I like The Fountainhead better). Me, too. The trailer to the movie looks OK. Certainly 1000x better than _The Fountainhead_ movie. That was awful! I find it rather humorous how many poster here feel the need to proudly proclaim their disdain for her books. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/35 "2011-02-26T00:51:48Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Ah well…I suppose I’m the only 'doper who actually enjoyed reading Atlas Shrugged (I like The Fountainhead better). I have no idea about the film, but basically if you hated the book so much then I have serious doubts a film is going to make it more palatable. You will probably get more enjoyment of the thread bashing Rand and the book than watching the film. 😛 > > -XT You’re not the only Doper who enjoyed \*Atlas Shrugged \*(there’s me, and I think \*\*Friar Ted \*\* likes it as well). I imagine the \*AS \*film will be a lot like the \*Watchmen \*film: if you liked the book, you’ll be happy at the faithful adaptation that the film does of the book. If you didn’t like the book, you won’t like the movie. I have no idea how good the movie is going to be. The trailer was kind of meh (I liked the Watchmen/AS mashup better) but the scene they released looked pretty decent and faithful to the source material. I had a vision of how I would have liked it to look (much more dieselpunky/Art Deco style and not set in modern times) but I’m willing to give it a shot. That’s the thing with Rand: you can’t mess with the material. The haters won’t like it regardless, but the fans won’t put up with having the fundamentals of the book messed with. Whether this is good or bad depends on your opinion of the source material. 🙂 I don’t think most fans would mind, for example, having Galt’s speech cut down to a few relevant quotes for the sake of brevity. But they wouldn’t put up with cutting it completely. FWIW, I mostly liked \*The Fountainhead \*as a book. I hated the movie. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/36 "2011-02-26T00:57:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Me, too. The trailer to the movie looks OK. Certainly 1000x better than _The Fountainhead_ movie. That was awful! > > I find it rather humorous how many poster here feel the need to proudly proclaim their disdain for her books. I find it humorous that we have book/literature threads littering these boards, and the only time mentioning that you don’t like a book counts as “proudly proclaiming it” is in Rand threads. OK, next up with something humorous that they’ve found in this thread! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/37 "2011-02-26T01:08:51Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I find it humorous that we have book/literature threads littering these boards, and the only time mentioning that you don’t like a book counts as “proudly proclaiming it” is in Rand threads. It’s not the only time, which is why I didn’t say it was. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/38 "2011-02-26T01:14:39Z")
Errrrm, I suppose that’s directed at me, right? 🙂 That’s okay, but “proudly proclaiming it”? I think I was more expressing my inability to follow her style, and from reading these posts, I see that others don’t/didn’t have that problem. Good for them, not so good for me. There are a lot of books I have trouble following, folks, but I’m not “proud” of it. I see it as a shortcoming. One of my many faults, not virtues. But if you found it “humorous”, then by all means laugh, because if you _do_, then maybe the thread wasn’t a _complete_ failure.😉 Quasi ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/39 "2011-02-26T01:18:39Z")
No, I wasn’t thinking of you. But I don’t want to derail your thread, so consider my comment withdrawn. I’ll save it for GD, where it’s more appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562/40 "2011-02-26T01:20:24Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I find it rather humorous how many poster here feel the need to proudly proclaim their disdain for her books. 😕 Is it any more humorous than your feeling the need to proudly proclaim your enjoyment of her books? I know many Rand fans are a tad defensive about the fact that so many Rand non-fans find her books to be complete and utter dreck. But in a thread that’s specifically about whether a forthcoming movie version of one of Rand’s books will be any good, it does seem relevant for posters to mention whether they think the book itself is any good or not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-gonna-be-able-to-sit-through-atlas-shrugged-the-film/572562.md?page=3)