If you feel like we’re living in strange times, you’re not alone. Many cannot escape the feeling that this country has turned a wrong corner into a bad neighborhood. Too many things are looking unfamiliar.
America has seen its ups and downs, but there was always the underlying sense that we would get back to who we were. Talk these days is of “a new world order” where America is no longer the dominant force in the world and many in this country are celebrating it. Near double-digit unemployment is being accepted as the new norm. Liberals in Washington preach sacrifice while they ride around in limousines and dine at fancy restaurants all the while our deficit and debt are skyrocketing to record levels and they insist it’s somehow our fault.
Enter Ayn Rand (‘Ayn’ rhymes with ‘mine,’ by the way). Rand’s classic literary premonition is set in a dystopian society in which the “looters” and “moochers” have overrun Washington, DC. The mood is redistribution of wealth and taxing the rich into oblivion. It’s not fair that one person should own more than one company so the producers are forced to give up companies they’ve labored years to build. They can’t sell them to other producers because they already have their limit of one. Who is left to run these companies but the looters and moochers?
Atlas Shrugged has sold over 7 million copies since its release in 1957; over 500,000 copies sold in 2009 alone. In April of 2009 it was ranked No. 1 on amazon.com’s “Fiction & Literature” category. And no wonder. The words Rand wrote almost 55 years ago are eerily coming true.
What better time for the movie version?
But how does one truly capture Rand’s classic literary masterpiece? Perhaps that’s why there have been so many false starts. Angelina Jolie was, at one point, tapped to play the book’s central character, Dagny Taggart. Producers decided on lesser-known actress Taylor Schilling who does a brilliant job portraying Taggart. Maybe it’s me but Grant Bowler’s performance is exactly what I envisioned for Henry Reardon when I read the book. A more well-known actor may have overshadowed that role. As producer Harmon Kaslow pointed out to me, “The story is bigger than any actor.”
Kaslow produced the movie with John Aglialoro, who owned the rights to the book and partnered with Kaslow to bring the book to life before his rights expired.
The movie is set in 2016, the only flaw I could find in the movie. A timeless movie, like the timeless book on which it’s based, should not be purposely become dated. We’ll worry about that in 2017. As for today, this movie nails it.
I was afraid the selfish nature of the protagonists might be overplayed. It wasn’t. Not only are Schilling and Bowler perfect in their roles but their antagonists are equally up to the task. When you find yourself sitting there despising people on screen you know the actors have hit their marks. In particular, Rebecca Wisocky was stellar as the cold-shouldered, mooching wife of Hank Reardon and Michael Lerner personified the fat cat Washington bureaucrat who has perfected the fine art of legalized theft.
Breaking the movie into three parts was an ingenious decision. It allows them to tell the story without rushing it. What hits select movie theaters on April 15 is just the first part of this epic story.
The outrage is it’s only scheduled to open in 12 cities. The forces of the dark side still collude to kill this story. Don’t let them. Go to atlasshruggedpart1.com and demand it.
I am a notorious Ayn Rand fan, and obviously so since I am the head of the Libertarian Party. I wish that all of her writings were at least put to MP3 format. Atlas Shrugged had so many profound statements they are immeasurable. I also loved her non fiction political writings that should down leftism, Marxism, socialism, and communism in Capitalism The Unknown Ideal.
I agree that America needs no part of the liberals globalism agenda of a central global government, such as the UN. When I was asked why it was a simple answer, in that Thomas Jefferson stated we need checks and balances in leadership. No group should hold absolute power, especially since these would be leaders that we did not elect. These leaders that others from other countries would appoint would not hold to our form of government ideals, since they were not schooled in Thomas Jefferson, and most were propagandized in total Marxism (socialism and communism). Karl Marx was not our founding father! Also, the United Nations may have a “constitution,” but its vague and most things are based on their arbitrary decisions at the time. To add to this, they have no separation of church and state, and this is so proved in that they created a World Council Of Churches to control religious groups from every country from around the world. After what the 700 club aired about Ted Turner speaking at the World Council Of Churches stating “fundamentalist Christianity is now to be considered the enemy” to applause of the whole room it would appear that it’s turned into liberal anti Christian propaganda exactly like that in pre Nazi Germany. Only two people left the forum, a Baptist preacher and an Orthodox Jewish leader. The United Nations does not even have a separation of church and state, to keep the state out of our churches. Their constitution is not “just like ours.” They do not understand the Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson clearly, and are supporting Marxism. So the movie would indeed, under the pretenses that it is about keeping the US out of the United Nations New World Order, be something Ayn Rand would have wanted.
I hope to see the movie soon, as no matter the budget of this film, it’s the content that will undoubtedly make it stand above all of the rest. This woman was filled with Wisdom from the God of the Bible that Rand eventually found before she died!
Carrie Geren Scoggins
Libertarian Party TN
Comment April 20, 2011 @ 11:44 am
Yawn. And people talk about liberals being unrealistically idealistic. If the government is creating a new world order then they’re doing a bad job of it. They can’t even get GM to pay income tax.
Comment April 21, 2011 @ 11:30 am
I do not know why this posting appaers under the title includiing accusations to hatred. I have beej so buullied in the last year by those in the gay community from attemts to frame me for hate speech laws even after the supreme court overturned such laws Hannah separration to church Android state in that the sttate can not censor the church, nor anyone else, since it is the legal right to debate the issue, this precedent set in phelps hearings Android since been upheld. It was my protected class status under repiogion vioolated by informants,And those tthey worked for. It is abuse to a public offiicee felony violations for tthem to harrass me, it is a feloony abuse to a public office to use religion for motivation too try to get something to ona person. Relious discrimination, separation to church Android state Hannah state has to stay out to my churches beliefs Android cannot harass us over what we believe, Android can not mock us over our beliefs Hannah this is more hate crimes committed by them bullying me, soadd hate crimes Android bullying me to separation to church Android state,abuse to a public office many read about to carrie Scoggins ruuined name site postings put up after news paper article about the lawsuits.
Comment December 26, 2011 @ 4:43 pm
Sorry for typos using a new keypad
Comment December 26, 2011 @ 4:44 pm
I want to say this key pad changes words like_as- to andriod,And- or-an- to andriod to Hannah,
Comment December 26, 2011 @ 4:52 pm
Do not buy Android Android if you do not want this kind to pain-in-the-buttocks!
Comment December 26, 2011 @ 4:55 pm
To to carrie Scoggins ruined name postings about what was done so many times victimizing me violating my civil liberties!
Comment December 26, 2011 @ 4:58 pm