By Jason Apuzzo. After my one-line review of Atlas Shrugged, Part I I’d intended to stop talking about the film, but events keep making that impossible. Today, a mere week after bragging to The Hollywood Reporter about his great marketing plan, Atlas Shrugged, Part I producer John Aglialoro essentially tells the LA Times that he’s throwing in the towel on making Parts II and III. He’s also backing-off plans to expand Part I to 1000 screens.
Here are the LA Times money quotes, in which Aglialoro blames the demise of his incipient franchise on “critics,” rather than on his film:
“Critics, you won … I’m having deep second thoughts on why I should do Part 2. … Why should I put up all of that money if the critics are coming in like lemmings?” Aglialoro said. “I’ll make my money back and I’ll make a profit, but do I wanna go and do two? Maybe I just wanna see my grandkids and go on strike.”
So the critics who disliked his film are “lemmings.” I’m laughing at this because these “lemmings” would apparently include Kurt Loder of Reason Magazine, and a host of other like-minded critics I could name. But why bother? I’m sure we’re all just part of the vast leftist/Looter conspiracy out to get Mr. Aglialoro and his film.
What’s particularly galling here is that in his LA Times interview, Mr. Aglialoro indicated no plans to release the rights to Atlas Shrugged from the purgatory they currently inhabit while in his hands. As Libertas reported recently in our exclusive review of the Randall Wallace-Angelina Jolie Atlas Shrugged screenplay, so much more could’ve been made of this project – but Aglialoro’s intransigence in holding onto the rights is keeping better versions from being made.
What this currently means, of course, is that Atlas Shrugged, Part I will now join Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part I among other unfinished film franchises – the difference being that Brooks’ was actually intended to be a joke.
[UPDATE 4/28: Now Mr. Aglialoro is telling The Hollywood Reporter that he in fact will make Parts II and III, “even though critics hate the movie and business at movie theaters has fallen off a cliff.” He also continues to claim political persecution on the part of critics. “It was a nihilistic craze,” Aglialoro said. “Not in the history of Hollywood has 16 reviewers said the same low things about a movie. … They’re lemmings,” he said. “What’s their fear of Ayn Rand? They hate this woman. They hate individualism.” Apparently these ‘nihilistic lemmings’ who ‘hate individualism’ would also include Roger L. Simon of Pajamas Media, who referred to the film as a “fiasco.”
What a farce this is. It’s quite obvious that Mr. Aglialoro felt the need to make a public pronouncement as to whether he intends to passively squat on the rights to Atlas Shrugged, now that his first film has tanked. Possibly this was a result of our pressing him on the rights matter here at Libertas, since no one else in the media has brought this up. Who knows? There is a phrase for how Mr. Aglialoro is handling all this, however: amateur hour. Expect that Part II and Part III will not be made, and the rights quietly sold away in months ahead.]
Posted on April 27th, 2011 at 10:49am.
@Jason:
It looks I was right.
My theory was that the opponents of Ayn Rand – and there are many on both Left and Right – produced with intent, a second rate movie designed to be a flop in order that a high quality version with big name stars cannot be produced.
What now?
Ayn Rand’s “We The Living The Movie” was produced in the unlikely setting of WW II fascist Italy. Would it not be ironic if somewhere in the world, say Russia or China, where they don’t give a hoot in hell about copyrights and high roller pirates dominate the political establishment produced a high quality Atlas Shrugged The Movie?
One thing is certain: The Ayn Rand genie is out of the cult bottle and into the mainstream. I don’t know how, or when, but someone somewhere on this planet will find a way to bring this classic book to the big screen in all its power and glory.
Rand came from Russia, so I think it would be perfect for the Russians to do a version of it. The irony of such a project would be delicious.
Indeed!
Ayn Rand has many fans in the Russian Republic and no doubt some of them are super wealthy who became that way by playing hard ball with an authoritarian government.
Yes, I can just imagine watching a Russian version of Atlas Shrugged with English subtitles with the same joy I watched We The Living in Italian with English subtitles.
‘Hey guys, I’ve got an idea: let’s waste millions of dollars, make ourselves look like a bunch of imbeciles, and quite possibly end several careers, all to kill off the possibility of making a successful version of Atlas Shrugs that could earn us a fortune. It’s to kill off Ayn Rand’s ideas, or something. Who’s with me?’
Nope. Not Plausible. Not Buying it. And anyway, a flop adaptation of a property does not exclude the possibility of a later hit adaptation of that same property. Ask Marvel comics, it’s sort or a speciality of theirs.
I agree. There’s no conspiracy here. Simple incompetency explains it all perfectly.
@jic:
Upon reflection, I withdraw my conspiracy claim, since I have no evidence to support my theory.
As Jason says, “Simple incompetency explains it all perfectly.”
I often think when reading of some foolish action by people who one would think know better, “They couldn’t really be that stupid!”
Yes, they can…
Thanks for coming over to my side, Ronbo! 😉
What can I say? When you can find no facts to support your theory, you’re wrong.
I take it you’re not an Objectivist, but you see Atlas Shrugged the book has the potential to be a great hit on the Big Screen on the basis of the characterization, plot, romance and action. One of my college instructors in American literature was of that mindset – he didn’t really care about the philosophy, but enjoyed reading Atlas Shrugged on those same criteria.
In his words, “Atlas Shrugged was a page turner.”
In a personal footnote, I read all of Ayn Rand’s books in high school (1962 to 1966), and the one I liked least was Atlas Shrugged. At the time I thought the plot of a Super Depression in an America ruled by an authoritarian government not very believable…and a rip off of George Orwell’s bleak “1984.”
I’ve changed my mind about that since Obama was elected and wheels started coming off the economy…As many have said, “We are living Atlas Shrugged.”
We are also living “1984” complete with Doublethink.
Ron, I don’t know who you’re responding to. Me? What’s with the “When you can find no facts to support your theory, you’re wrong” stuff?
It’s possible to care about the philosophy but not be an objectivist. The key issue here is that we’re talking about moviemaking, and about communicating to large audiences. The Big Myth is that it’s impossible to do a faithful movie adaptation of Rand’s novel that also reaches large audiences. This below proves how false that notion is:
https://www.libertasfilmmagazine.com/exclusive-libertas-reviews-the-screenplay-for-the-randall-wallace-angelina-jolie-atlas-shrugged/
I’m pretty hopping mad that this is how this project turned out. “Atlas Shrugged” could have made a huge statement if it had been done properly, especially with an election year coming up. Why did the Ayn Rand estate allow this to happen? Will we ever see the rest of the story filmed, or is this all we’re ever going to get?
Thanks for your comment, Serve. It is certainly remarkable how the ball’s been dropped here – I’m tempted to call it a case of cinematic malpractice. But a better version of the film may still get made.
What an ass. Critics are overall left leaning and wholly ignorant (just like the rest of Hollywood) but regardless of who is acting or the subject of the film if a movie is well made and acted overwhelmingly most of them will tell the truth.
Making a movie from Rand’s novel was not going to be an easy task. As Jason says, a better version might get made, but more importantly, Rand’s ideas are gaining ground in the Age of Obama, With life imitating art more closely every day, this movie-even if it fell short-could nonetheless, find a future audience whom can overlook the cinematic flaws, and enjoy the irony.
In the meantime, I will tune in to Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal in “The Fountainhead.”