# "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:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**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 15, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/41 "2003-05-15T01:24:43Z")
IIRC, Dagny is blonde. But hey, what actress has **not** changed her hair color in some film or another? ---
**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, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/42 "2003-05-15T01:42:41Z")
[Settled](http://www.panix.com/~pnh/earchive_2001_12.html) > [@](#): > > Dagny Taggart: Frances McDormand. If you need a strong female character who’s a blonde, Frances McDormand is it. (If you need a brunette, you have Frances McDormand dye her hair.) Also, she’s really good at keeping a straight face. Meaning… I’ve been picturing Dagny with the wrong hair color all these years. My vote goes to Frances. ---
**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 15, 2003, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/43 "2003-05-15T01:47:08Z")
“I’ve been picturing Dagny with the wrong hair color all these years.” Goodbeam: Just think how **fresh** it’ll be when you read A.S. next time! I’m sure the book will take on a whole new meaning for you.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![catnoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@catnoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catnoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/44 "2003-05-15T03:42:43Z")
Douglas and Ford are too old to be Reardon, approximately 45 years old not 55 or 60+. Tom Hanks as Eddie, yes. Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Dagney’s brother, yes. (Sorry can’t remember his name and too lazy to look it up.) Frances McDormand as Dagney, no, love her but she is not sleek enough. (and I always imagined her as a red-head/brunette.) Francisco is tough, he’s the one I fell in love with and can really not picture anyone playing him, not even Antonio (besides he’s too old now, 10 years ago, maybe, not now. I’ll think on it some more tomorrow, maybe I’ll come up with a few more of the ‘cast’. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/45 "2003-05-15T03:55:08Z")
Ok, but the thing is, you’re only going to talk stars into doing it if they are conservatives. So who’s out there that’s a conservative that could fit the role? Hank Reardon - Bruce Willis Fransisco - Brad Pitt Eddie - Tom Hanks Still trying to figure out what to do with Harrison Ford, Fred Thompson and John Malkovitch. ---
**Author:** ![catnoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@catnoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catnoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/46 "2003-05-15T04:06:22Z")
I’m not a conservative. I’m more conservative than I was 20 years ago but have you met my family? My brother and I are the curiosities of my family for our liberal views, by the way, he’s the one I got the book from when I was 12 or 13. Willis - too old, not tall enough. Pitt - need a latino Hanks - yes! Fred Thompson - Wyatt of the Wyatt Oil Fields. Crap, brain fritzed(sp) out again. ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/47 "2003-05-15T04:08:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spurious George \* > \*\* > 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. \*\* It doesn’t fit very well. Christianity is a little too slavish and altruistic for the Rand philosophy, objectivism. John Galt specifically targets it as something people believe even though they know it’s false just because they feel like believing something. But if you cut the speech out almost entirely, there isn’t much left in _Atlas Shrugged_ that necessarily runs counter to Christianity, since there are some Christians I know who mostly agree with Rand aside from that point. ---
**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 15, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/48 "2003-05-15T04:58:14Z")
Sam: Don’t underestimate the power of $$. Plenty of stars cross political boundaries. Think _Arlington Road_. Hell, look at Ed Asner in MTM, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/49 "2003-05-15T06:00:54Z")
They don’t mind playing conservative characters, but would they want to star in a movie that calls liberals evil? That most liberals hate with a passion? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/50 "2003-05-15T06:08:04Z")
$$$$ ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/51 "2003-05-15T07:01:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spurious George \* > **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.** Oh, great. I can see it now: “Francesco swept Dagny into his arms and made wild, passionate, unrestrained love to her. Then, suddenly, the two of them were filled with guilt and shame because they **weren’t married!** They immediately bowed down on their knees and repented of their horrible sins, begging for the forgiveness of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who ordered them to do 100 hours of community service handing out Jack Chick tracts in Taggart Transcontinental’s many railroad stations.” [repeat with Hank Rearden and John Galt] ---
**Author:** ![Baranlaith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@Baranlaith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baranlaith)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/52 "2003-05-17T23:31:09Z")
Dagny Taggart: Ashley Judd or Jodie Foster Hank Rearden : Russell Crowe John Galt: an unknown new-comer Francisco d’Anconia: Antonio Banderas Jim Taggart: Alan Rickman Ragnar Danneskjold: Viggo Mortenson Robert Stadler: Christopher Walken Lillian Rearden: Emily Watson ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/53 "2003-05-18T01:07:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Mace \* > \*\*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. \*\* You know, it is funny, but in both _The Fountainhead_ and _Atlas Shrugged_ Rand planned for (and wrote for) there to be a sympathetic priest type character. In both books she changed her mind at the last minute. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/54 "2003-05-18T01:19:50Z")
Like the others said, the book is just to damn long to be made into a movie. It simply must be done in a mini-series format. I hope that when making the movie they work with the [Ayn Rand Institute](http://www.aynrand.org/) to at least get abridged versions of the speeches made. Although it seems silly at first, a complete reading of the Galt speech would be a really cool extra on a DVD. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Mace \* > \*\*I know the sentiments runs about 20 to 1 against Rand on this board, but I liked all her books. If someone can make a decent movie, I say great. It’s probably better suited for a TV mini-series though. Unless Peter Jackson does it in 3 movies each 3 hrs long… > > John Galt: Keifer Sutherland (coming off _24_) > > Francisco: Antonio Banderas or Andy Gacia > > Dagny: Jodie Foster > > I’m sure plenty on this board would see the casting to be better off as: Vin Diesel, Cheech Marin, and Anna Nichol Smith. \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Goodbeem \* > \*\*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). \*\* Wow, those are some great casting ideas! I would like to add that Harrison Ford would make the best Hank Reardon that I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036/55 "2003-05-18T01:53:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RexDart \* > \*\*Surely somewhere in that monstrosity of a thread, in one of the tens of thousands of posts, _somebody_ must have done that. \*\* Actually, **I** did, on the very first page. Had I any idea that thread would get a billion or so hits, I would have written more than one paragraph. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlas-shrugged-the-movie-coming-soon/175036.md?page=2)