# Bradd Pitt & Angelina Jolie to star in "Atlas Shrugged" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873 "2006-05-15T18:29:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 16, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/21 "2006-05-16T01:50:05Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] Dagny? [/QUOTE] Excuuuuuuuuse me… Dominique. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/22 "2006-05-16T02:02:11Z")
I’ll reserve judgement until I hear who might be directing this. It’s certainly not clear from the brief linked article whether a director has even signed on yet. I don’t much care for Rand’s philosophy, but the novel has some interesting set-pieces (and lotsa trains! How can that be bad? 😉 ) and a movie could be quite intriguing. I’ve gotta say, though, that I find it hard to believe that giant turgid doorstop of a book can possibly be distilled into anything that is not a cartoon sketch. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/23 "2006-05-16T02:24:41Z")
Let’s see. Start with two stars who are better known for their good looks than their talent (not that they’re necessarily _untalented_ but that’s not what they’re known for.) Whose combined salaries will absolutely require an international blockbuster type gross receipts. Mix in an 1,100 page turgid and political novel as source material. Add a small but probably inevitable dash of the lead actors’ own political beliefs. And you’ll end up with a movie that’s completely action-oriented, completely unfaithful to the original, full of close-ups of the stars, and with a script simplified to a level that it can be translated into any language on earth. But with lots of explosions and gun battles. This is going to make the bastard offspring of **Pearl Harbor** and Demi Moore’s version of **The Scarlet Letter** look like **Citizen Kane.** ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/24 "2006-05-16T02:29:46Z")
[QUOTE=ddgryphon] Is it just me, or does it seem odd that they would star in a vehicle that is so completely antithical to their belief system? [/QUOTE] What specifically are you talking about? Are Angelina and Brad marxist? I don’t really know anything about their beliefs other then Angelina helps out at the UN. But capitalism has certainly been kind to them both, and if they’ve expresssed interest in Atlas Shrugged, then I’d imagine they must’ve liked the book, since it’s not like either of them has to be involved in a movie project they’re not interested in. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/25 "2006-05-16T02:30:34Z")
[QUOTE=MacSpon] Not that one, though. _2001_ the book and the movie were developed in tandem by Clarke and Kubrick, each taking ideas from the other. [/QUOTE] That is surely true. However, there is no debating that such things as Kubrick’s infamous " million year edit " cannot be translated into a book. A lot of the first third ( or, first Act ), was devoid of sound and it was of course entirely devoid of dialogue- unless you happen to speak Ancient Ape opposed to Modern Simple Ape. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/26 "2006-05-16T03:33:45Z")
[QUOTE=El\_Kabong] I’ll reserve judgement until I hear who might be directing this. [/QUOTE] Chris Columbus. No, wait, no… Tom Shadyac. Oh, I have it! Joel Schumacher will direct. I don’t know anything. I’m just imagining how bad it could be. Can I switch back to Chris Columbus? ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/27 "2006-05-16T04:07:36Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Chris Columbus. No, wait, no… Tom Shadyac. Oh, I have it! Joel Schumacher will direct. I don’t know anything. I’m just imagining how bad it could be. Can I switch back to Chris Columbus? [/QUOTE] I believe the name you’re looking for is Paul W.S. Anderson. Or perhaps Uwe Boll. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/28 "2006-05-16T04:18:34Z")
Oh my god. 3 and a half hours of trains and technical details about steel. And long-ass boring radio speeches (come on, I KNOW I’m not the only one here who flipped ahead after the first 5 pages of that crap)…?? How can that make a movie that anyone would want to see?!? This was one of the crappiest books I have ever read! ---
**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 16, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/29 "2006-05-16T04:25:11Z")
[QUOTE=ddgryphon] Is it just me, or does it seem odd that they would star in a vehicle that is so completely antithical to their belief system? [/QUOTE] I know very little about the politics of either of them, but according to [Variety](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117942127?categoryid=13&cs=1), Jolie is a “Rand Enthusiast”, and Pitt apparently is as well: > [@](#): > > Ayn Rand’s most ambitious novel may finally be brought to the bigscreen after years of false starts. > Lionsgate has picked up worldwide distribution rights to “Atlas Shrugged” from Howard and Karen Baldwin (“Ray”), who will produce with John Aglialoro. > > As for stars, book provides an ideal role for an actress in lead character Dagny Taggart, so it’s not a stretch to assume Rand enthusiast Angelina JolieAngelina Jolie’s name has been brought up. Brad PittBrad Pitt, also a fan, is rumored to be among the names suggested for lead male character John Galt. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/30 "2006-05-16T05:07:54Z")
[QUOTE=brianjedi] I believe the name you’re looking for is Paul W.S. Anderson. Or perhaps Uwe Boll. [/QUOTE] Atlas Shrugged, a Spike Lee Joint. Atlas Shrugged, directed by McG. > [@OpalCat](#): > > And long-ass boring radio speeches (come on, I KNOW I’m not the only one here who flipped ahead after the first 5 pages of that crap)…?? You made it through five pages of that speech? I crapped out after about two. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/31 "2006-05-16T05:47:10Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] You made it through five pages of that speech? I crapped out after about two. [/QUOTE] Well, I skimmed after the first couple of paragraphs, I admit. Then gave up entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/32 "2006-05-16T08:11:45Z")
I don’t see any reason it couldn’t be a good film. I mean outside of the “three types of people, Leaders, Thieves, and Normal People” classification in the book, there is really nothing further all that arguable in it. The rest is just a run down of all the reasons and ways that any communist nation is going to eventually fail–which given the recent rash of younguns going “What’s the big deal with everyone being all against Communism?”, it seems to me like a good chance to illustrate Rand’s mini-examples that she brought over from the USSR for the sake of the new generation. Certainly it could end up as evil shlock, but done right it could be a very good and educational film. Really all that is needed is making her characters be less 50’s style Science Fiction characters and expurging the fillibuster. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/33 "2006-05-16T11:54:15Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] You made it through five pages of that speech? I crapped out after about two. [/QUOTE] I made it all the way through. I wish I had those brain cells back … ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/34 "2006-05-16T12:35:05Z")
[QUOTE=LonesomePolecat] I made it all the way through. I wish I had those brain cells back … [/QUOTE] I don’t know whether to be impressed or appalled… 😉 ---
**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 16, 2006, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/35 "2006-05-16T13:39:27Z")
M. Night Shyamalan could direct. Socialism is actually not that bad ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/36 "2006-05-16T13:53:35Z")
Ang & Brad as Randroids, Tom & Whats-her-face as Scientologists, Mel Gibson as Fundamentalist and Sharon Stone as just plain Mentalist. Remaking _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ is the real blockbuster here. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/37 "2006-05-16T14:21:23Z")
Initial thought- Angelina’s too gorgeous and Brad’s too short for Dagny & Galt. Would Ayn approve? Hell yeah- the lady could be as starstruck as the next fangirl. She had at different times wanted Raquel Welch or Farrah Fawcett as Dagny. Now- I’d prefer either a miniseries or two films for ATLAS, and in the late 70s-early 80s, Ayn did write a screenplay for NBC, in which the Speech is reduced to 20 min. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/38 "2006-05-16T14:40:19Z")
I’ve never read _Atlas Shrugged_, and after reading this thread I’m less inclined to do so than ever. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/39 "2006-05-16T14:50:21Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] Now- I’d prefer either a miniseries or two films for ATLAS, and in the late 70s-early 80s, Ayn did write a screenplay for NBC, in which the Speech is reduced to 20 min. [/QUOTE] Well, Rand herself did drastically shorten Howard Roark’s climactic courtroom speech in \* The Fountainhead \* in her screenplay. Would it really be all that hard to deal with all the speeches in \* Atlas \* ? After all, they are VERY repetitive, going over the same points endlessly, and many of the subplots could easily be cut out. But I still say we’re looking at another \* Battlefield Earth, \* assuming this dog ever actually makes it to the screen. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873/40 "2006-05-16T15:00:08Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] I’ve never read _Atlas Shrugged_, and after reading this thread I’m less inclined to do so than ever. [/QUOTE] Actually, buried underneath all the endless speeches and adolescent philosophizing, there are the bare bones of an interesting story. I find a certain dark fascination in watching the lights slowly going out all over the world, much like Stephen King’s \* The Stand, \* another bad novel I feel a funny sort of affection for, or George Stewart’s \* Earth Abides, \* or Larry Niven’s and Jerry Pournelle’s \* Lucifer’s Hammer. \* But then, I have a taste for apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. But most folks do find the endless speechifyin’ in \* Atlas \* hard to take. Can’t say as I blame them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bradd-pitt-angelina-jolie-to-star-in-atlas-shrugged/356873.md?page=3)