# "Atlas Shrugged" - The Movie: Coming Soon! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036 "2003-05-13T20:07:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/21 "2003-05-14T02:19:29Z")
**Rexdart** first I hated you for spouting off about music you’d never heard, ie modern King Crimson, but now I lkie you, and if I were a. female or b. gay I’d want to cling tightly to you. (in a figurately rhetorical sence of course) And to prove you’re right, just read the post by **betenoir**. Ayn Rand = Marquis de Sade lol ---
**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:** [May 14, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/22 "2003-05-14T02:27:30Z")
Rex: I’m sure you’re right, but it sounded a lot better as 10 DVDs. I think Ayn would agree that my version was more literary.🙂 And BTW, there was at least one A.R. does LoTR in that long thread you talked about. I’m still working on mine, and will add it if I ever finish. _“Frodo Baggins laughed.”_ That’s as far as I’ve gotten so far. Oh yeah, and _“My ring destroyed my way.”_ ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/23 "2003-05-14T06:18:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\*For whatever it’s worth, it’s a LONG trip from buying the rights to making a movie. \*\* Very true. In this case, I think, the biggest hurdle will be to find enough enough male actors who can communicate the entire philosophy of objectivism simply by the position of their chin. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/24 "2003-05-14T10:52:14Z")
Your challenge for today is this: find any novel of ideas that has ever been successfully filmed by Hollywood or anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![catnoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@catnoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catnoe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/25 "2003-05-14T11:57:14Z")
Casting will be interesting, I was of the impression that the main characters were in their mid thirties to early forties, Hank Reardon being the older of the group. And who could possibly play Francisco??? I would love to see **Atlas Shrugged** as a movie but at the same time I’m terrified of the the butcher job that is likely to be done. I read this book about once a year, and though I admire the ideas Rand puts forth I don’t think they are as possible to put into action in the real world as they are in the book. Hubby tried to read the books and hated them, said they were emotionless, I think of **AS** and \*\* The Fountainhead\*\* as two of the most romantic books (and romance stories) ever written. ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/26 "2003-05-14T12:44:21Z")
They better hurry up and film it and get it released, before arch-conservatism becomes not quite so fashionable among TV- and movie-watching Americans. I can imagine the faces of the right wing pundits, while trumpeting the destructive conduct of the caricatured socialists and liberals and politically correct busybodies in _Atlas Shrugged_, lighting up like those of little kids at Christmas. “Such valuable lessons this new movie has to teach us!” we will hear. ---
**Author:** ![Goodbeem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/958977/32.png) [@Goodbeem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goodbeem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/27 "2003-05-14T15:57:37Z")
Philip Seymour Hoffman as James Taggart And Johnny Depp or Daniel Day Lewis would also make a good Fransisco (although Antonio Banderas would be fine). ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/28 "2003-05-14T17:29:36Z")
I can’t wait to not see this movie! ---
**Author:** ![Spurious\_George](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Spurious\_George](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spurious_George)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/29 "2003-05-14T17:31:17Z")
**RexDart** , your Hollywood lefty-bash is not really relevant. The rights have been acquired by Crusader Entertainment. It’s a private production company owned by Philip Anschutz, the reclusive billionaire who also owns Regal theatres and Qwest Communications. Anschutz is a Christian and quite right wing in his politics. He’s not really part of “Hollywood” as you stereotype it. The company also recently acquired the rights to CS Lewis’ Narnia series. I’m not quite sure how Randism fits with Christianity, but the film, if it ever gets made, will be made by righties and not lefties. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/30 "2003-05-14T17:34:00Z")
Francisco has to be definitely Latin, definitely handsome beyond belief, and he HAS to have blue eyes. So get out the contacts, guys, if you have brown eyes. It’s OK to have brown hair, but A.R. heroes NEVER have brown eyes. Green is ok (Galt), but you just can’t stare thru someone’s very being\* with brown eyes. And I’m guessing that Galt, like Roarke, doesn’t have to be conventionally handsome, but he has to be “masculine”. Dagny has to be really thin, but with most actresses these days, that should not be an issue. \*I was going to write “soul”, but just couldn’t do it. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/31 "2003-05-14T17:38:15Z")
George: Rand was a raving atheist. She hated religion about as much as communism. But she often uses religious imagery or symbolism to cue a “sense of awe” in the reader. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/32 "2003-05-14T18:05:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by catnoe \* > **I think of AS and \*\* The Fountainhead** as two of the most romantic books (and romance stories) ever written. \*\* Sure does seem like a girl book so far, but I am pressing bravely on. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/33 "2003-05-14T18:05:49Z")
It should be done in animation, since the book is so cartoonish anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Goodbeem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/958977/32.png) [@Goodbeem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goodbeem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/34 "2003-05-14T18:14:09Z")
Has to be slightly older, so Harrison Ford? Michael Douglas? ---
**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:** [May 14, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/35 "2003-05-14T18:32:34Z")
GB: Yes, either one would be a good choice. If Keifer played Galt, he’d have to loose just a bit of weight. As is, his face isn’t “angular” enough. ---
**Author:** ![Goodbeem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/958977/32.png) [@Goodbeem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goodbeem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/36 "2003-05-14T20:25:23Z")
true, Keifer needs to get rid of his babyface. Now, another interesting supporting act is Dagnar Rannerskjold (sp?). We need: blond, beard, nordic and and almost just as handsom as Galt. Brad Pitt, whose hair is always acting superbly, is an option, although he might be too young. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Goodbeem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/958977/32.png) [@Goodbeem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goodbeem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/37 "2003-05-14T20:29:09Z")
The man is called **Ragnar Danneskjold** ---
**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:** [May 14, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/38 "2003-05-14T22:43:03Z")
Ragnar has to be impossibly “beautiful” for a man. Don’t ask me on that one. Getting an awthentic Scandinavian would be good. His character would probably get editted out of a movie, though. How about Eddie? Tom Hanks might be good, but it’s probably too small a role for him. Galt doesn’t need to be real “handsome”, just masculine. In fact it might be more effective if he’s not a stand out, especially in the early part of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/39 "2003-05-15T00:04:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by catnoe \* > \*\* > > Hubby tried to read the books and hated them, said they were emotionless, I think of **AS** and \*\* The Fountainhead\*\* as two of the most romantic books (and romance stories) ever written. \*\* _shudder_ I found them actually quite hateful and misogynist. To each his own, though. 😉 Oh, and wasn’t Dagny a blonde? I think most will remember my **Guin** reads _Atlas Shrugged_ thread. ---
**Author:** ![Goodbeem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/958977/32.png) [@Goodbeem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goodbeem)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/40 "2003-05-15T01:10:51Z")
> [@](#): > > _John Mace_\*\* > How about Eddie? Tom Hanks might be good, but it’s probably too small a role for him.\*\* Tom **is** Eddie ! Phil Collins might be a good second choice. **Guin** I don’t remember AR (“She who must not be named”) giving details about Dagny’s hair colour. I just always pictured her as a slightly better looking and better preserved version of the Mistress herself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036.md?page=3)