Atlas Shrugged.

[BlueShoe]

On Friday, April 15, the traditional income tax day, the film version of Ayn Rand's blockbuster 1000 page 1957 novel is to open in theatres nationwide. It will be presented as a 3 part trilogy, part one Friday. Set in the United States of 2016, it is unabashedly pro capitalism, pro free enterprise, pro individual choice and freedom, and anti big government. The film will surely draw as much controversy as did the original novel does, even to this day. Early reviews from conservatives have been very positive. Expect the big left wing media to savage the film and broadcast and publish the worst possible reviews.
www.ocregister.com/opinion/government-295657-society-rearden.html (http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/government-295657-society-rearden.html)

[riskman]

From Brian Calle ". Does this dystopian society seem familiar? If not, perhaps you have been hiding in some utopian village in the Rocky Mountains the rest of us do not know about."

This sentence alone tells you where this guy is coming from.

[Ocala Mike]

This reviewer gives it one star, and calls it "chrushingly ordinary." Guess I'll wait to ignore it until it comes on the tube.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/sc-mov-0413-atlas-shrugged-20110414,0,7928623.column


Ocala Mike

[redshift1]

Very little interest in this movie not only among critics but more importantly among fans.

Box office Mojo ... no interest among fans

Rotten Tomatoes ... maybe the first movie to score a perfect 0.0

I do like the nifty poster though.

[Tom]

This sentence alone tells you where this guy is coming from.

Yes, from place of great truth and insight.

[lsbets]

Whether this movie is good or not (which none of us know yet), it will be panned from the left and the right. As someone who has actually read Rand, and not just commentary on Rand, one of the things that is obvious is how many people pan her philosophy without ever actually reading it or understanding it for themselves. There are aspects of Rand the left should love - very pro choice, she opposed Vietnam, she felt racism was the worst form of collectivism there is. The National Review has always hated her because she was a very outspoken atheist. There are many on the right probably do not realize that as much as Atlas Shrugged is an attack on collectivism, Rand counts religion among one of the evil forms of collectivism.

One of the prime attacks on the plot of the movie will be labeling it pro big business, and attempting to tie her philosophy in with the current recession. To the educated this line of attack only reveals ignorance. In the book, crony capitalism of the sort that caused the recession is one of the main evils of society. I imagine it will be in the movie too. Rand had nothing but disdain for those who found it easy to achieve through purchasing influence than through actual productive work.

A lot of Objectivists will not be pleased with the movie, but to them Atlas is an iconic work that it would be hard to do justice to.

To most people the themes of the movie will be way to complex for them to understand, and it won't interest them.

You'll see a lot of comments about low box office receipts as a way to somehow deny the influence of Atlas. But keep in mind, there is only one book that has been ranked as more influential. The left hates Rand, and many on the right also hate her. I think its safe to say there will be a lot of crap said about this movie. I'm going to see it Sunday night, I'll let ya know what I think.

[prospector]

i've been john galt since obama was elected..i'll stay that way till he leaves office...no taxes of mine will support him..
you'd be surprised how easy it is to go underground for income when on soc security..
slot cards alone give you free food and points that can be turned into cash..just playing basic poker on video poker machines..simple basic machines
gold can be sold anywhere...horse races earn cash..simple bets for the food points alone..i've learned over the years..the hard way...its not against the law to go home a winner..

[redshift1]

To most people the themes of the movie will be way to complex for them to understand, and it won't interest them.



Which makes the conservative co-opting of Rand strange indeed, who actually reads 1000 page tomes on objectivism..... no doubt non-plussed gazes will abound at least demographically speaking.

[BlueShoe]

It has been a half century since I read the book, and quite honestly, cannot recall too much of it. I was very young and simply did not grasp its implications then, since at that time we were a much more free society. The bad reviews already cited in earlier posts are confirming the last sentence of the OP. Because modern films are so awful, my movie going has been down to about two a year. This will most surely be one of them.

[hcap]

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/221335/march-11-2009/the-word---rand-illusion

[JustRalph]

i've learned over the years..the hard way...its not against the law to go home a winner..


That's a great line...........love it........ :ThmbUp:

[bigmack]

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/221335/march-11-2009/the-word---rand-illusion
Most frightening, knowing all the nonsense you've posted around here you buy into AND finding interest in anything "Colbert."

On a scale of humor, he's on par with Milton Bearle.

[hcap]

Judging by the reviews so far for Atlas, it might have been a good idea for the producers to have
used some of Uncle Milty's one liners.
At least there would have been some INTENDED humor instead of a joke of a film.

[hcap]

The original anti-anchor spokesperson.

...Altruism is evil, selfishness is a virtue, and that anyone who succumbs to weakness or frailty is unworthy of love

s7zwO88nRH8&feature=player_embedded

[lsbets]

Hcap, I would expect you to do better than that. That had to be one of the lamest attempts to discredit Rand I have seen.

[hcap]

Hcap, I would expect you to do better than that. That had to be one of the lamest attempts to discredit Rand I have seen.I think her upbringing in Soviet Russia soured her on mankind. Her words speak for themselves.

[lsbets]

I think her upbringing in Soviet Russia soured her on mankind. Her words speak for themselves.

It definitely soured her on any form of collectivism. By all accounts she was not an easy woman to like and was quick to cast out any who she deemed unworthy of her. But with all the coverage she has gotten lately it is also obvious that the vast majority of those commenting on her (from the right and the left) have never read her works and are commenting based on what they have been told is her philosophy or as in the case of the clip you showed, snippets taken without context to fit a preconceived notion of what she advocated. When the context of her beliefs is applied to the statements shown in your video, she is a much less scary woman than Think Progress would like you to believe. That video does the same thing you accuse Boxcar of doing with the Bible - takes snippets with no context to fit preconceived notions.

[hcap]

The interview seemed straightforward. Direct question and direct answer. Rand is almost as scary as boxcar. I find her coldness about the same. Both think the poor are anchors on society, but box carries it to supernatural heights.

[lsbets]

The interview seemed straightforward. Direct question and direct answer. Rand is almost as scary as boxcar. I find her coldness about the same. Both think the poor are anchors on society, but box carries it to supernatural heights.

The interview was pieced together by Think Progress to show what they wanted. Rand did not consider the poor to be anchors. She considered those who felt they were entitled to the fruits of someone else's labor to be moochers. You view Rand through a lens someone else gave you while having no understanding of her philosophy at all.

[Ocala Mike]

Offered without comment:

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/movies/box_office_atlas_shrugged_collapses_1oWcoz9xOxcmfd aik24uFN


Ocala Mike

[redshift1]

Offered without comment:

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/movies/box_office_atlas_shrugged_collapses_1oWcoz9xOxcmfd aik24uFN


Ocala Mike


Interesting demographic for the movie, issued in limited release the average number of patrons per viewing was higher than you might expect considering the reviews.