The Atlas Shrugged Saga (Various, 2011-2014)

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Cameras roll on trainwreck in the making

The long-brewing feature version of author Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" has begun shooting in Los Angeles as a $5 million indie produced by John Aglialoro and Harmon Kaslow.

Cameras began rolling over the weekend on a five-week shoot for "Atlas Shrugged Part One" with Paul Johansson directing from Brian Patrick O'Toole's script. Aglialoro would have lost the feature rights if the film wasn't in production by Saturday.

A spokesman for Aglialoro -- the CEO of exercise equipment producer Cybex -- said there will be at least one more "Atlas Shrugged" shot after the current film's completed. Rand's massive novel is divided into three parts, each consisting of 10 chapters.

[...]

Johansson ("One Tree Hill") portrays Galt.

[Cosmic Bus]

Atlas Shrugged (Part 1!), surprisingly, not part of daily Onion update.

[domino harvey]

Oh God, it's like one of those Christian Evangelical movies where the director was forced to cast friends of the producer as a condition of funding. And Michael Lerner

[Oedipax]

Oh God, it's like one of those Christian Evangelical movies where the director was forced to cast friends of the producer as a condition of funding. And Michael Lerner

And the guy from the diner scene in Mulholland Dr. (he also mistakes Steve Buscemi's video store request for 8½ as 9½ Weeks in Ghost World). Hard to forget those eyebrows.

[flyonthewall2983]

So funny you should mention him, I just recognized him in Speed of all things.

[Roger Ryan]

Oh God, it's like one of those Christian Evangelical movies where the director was forced to cast friends of the producer as a condition of funding. And Michael Lerner

And the guy from the diner scene in Mulholland Dr. (he also mistakes Steve Buscemi's video store request for 8½ as 9½ Weeks in Ghost World). Hard to forget those eyebrows.

Patrick Fischler was superb as the nightclub comedian in MAD MEN, too. The rest of the lead performances in ATLAS SHRUGGED all strike me as colorless as far as what the trailer shows.

[mfunk9786]

His performance in the Mulholland Dr diner scene should have gotten him a supporting actor Oscar - not kidding. Every bit of the performance is perfectly crafted, right down to the nervous I-might-pass-out tingly flop sweat.

[domino harvey]

So those crazy people actually made Atlas Shrugged: Part 2. And they cast Samantha Mathis and DB Sweeney instead of whoever wasn't those people in the first one. Mathis is talented, but can she be as bad as this?

[colinr0380]

Well, as that scene shows sometimes objections over whether something is the right thing to do get overruled when someone demands that you must risk all for a pile of cash! Or maybe Mathis volunteered her services to the project?

[HistoryProf]

So those crazy people actually made Atlas Shrugged: Part 2. And they cast Samantha Mathis and DB Sweeney instead of whoever wasn't those people in the first one. Mathis is talented, but can she be as bad as this?

does she get tag teamed by the old guy and the black dude after the youtube clip cuts off? That has to be a porn right? no one would actually pretend something that bad is a serious film would they?

[domino harvey]

So those crazy people actually made Atlas Shrugged: Part 2. And they cast Samantha Mathis and DB Sweeney instead of whoever wasn't those people in the first one. Mathis is talented, but can she be as bad as this?

Trailer

[Forrest Taft]

Where is Barmy when we need him the most?

[domino harvey]

Amazing: They're making the third film (partially funded via un-Randian Kickstarter) and they've recast all the parts again

[Perkins Cobb]

I kind of want to see these just as a compendium of familiar mid-level TV character actors. Also, John Putch: son of Jean Stapleton, Star Trek alien, and frequent Cougar Town director, so I'll be looking for auteurist connective tissue between the second film and the Cul-de-sac Crew.

[mfunk9786]

Anyway, anyone here actually Atlas Shrugged? The first two movies?

*crickets chirping*

Nope? Well, I forgot they existed myself but check out this "groovy" poster.

Gosh, Taylor Schilling is so excellent in Orange is the New Black, it's easy to forget (and I'm sure she's thankful for that) that she was... [I don't even like typing this dreadful character name] Dagny Taggert in Atlas Shrugged: Part 1.

[Movie-Brat]

Never 4get

Oh. My bad. Though I'm surprised somebody went through the trouble of making a thread about what's essentially a set "easy to forget they exist" movies.

[zedz]

That film looks like it was shot by whoever supervised the Don't Look Now BluRay transfer.

[ShellOilJunior]

Watching these three films might be more painful than reading all of Galt's speech in the novel.

[Numero Trois]

Ron Paul will cameo in the next one. No word if his racist newsletters will also.

[domino harvey]

I am ashamed to confess that even though I saw the Fountainhead many years ago and was thus versed enough to catch references to it (plus I had a period there where I hate-watched pro-Rand news magazine segments on YouTube-- don't ask), it only just occurred to me recently that this hilarious Kids in the Hall sketch is a brilliant and in hindsight obvious riff on the Fountainhead

[domino harvey]

The AV Club loves Part III on Opposite Day