News from the Summer Seminar: The "Atlas Shrugged" film!

Karen and Howard Baldwin spoke at The Atlas Society's recent Summer Seminar about plans for their film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged.

The principals in Baldwin Entertainment Group (BEG), producer of the 2004 Oscar-winning "Ray," appeared in a 90 minute panel session on July 7 with TAS board member John Aglialoro, who holds the screen rights to the Ayn Rand novel and will be co-executive producer with Howard Baldwin, the company’s president and CEO.
Baldwin and Aglialoro confirmed earlier reports that BEG will collaborate with Lionsgate, the studio that produced last year’s Oscar winner, "Crash”; the final contract was signed just days earlier. Lionsgate will provide funding for production and handle distribution.

 
John Aglialoro, Howard Baldwin, and Karen Baldwin take questions from the audience.
 
They also confirmed that the goal is for a three-part adaptation, like "Lord of the Rings." Only that length, Baldwin said, would give sufficient scope to tell Ayn Rand's long, complex story. The current project is for Part I, which will cover roughly the first third of the novel, with an expected budget of $40 million or more. “We want to make sure it is done well so that the second and third movies can be made.” Among the other studios that expressed interest in the project, he added, Lionsgate stood out because of its enthusiasm for completing the trilogy.

With Lionsgate on board, the project is on “a very aggressive path toward production,” with filming to begin as early as April 2007. While there is still a chance of completing the film in time for a release later that year, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the novel, a 2008 release is more likely.

The Baldwins stressed their commitment to making a high-quality adaptation that does justice to the ideas, the story, and the characters of Atlas Shrugged. In particular, they praised the dedication of Aglialoro in sustaining the project and keeping it aligned with Rand’s vision. A long-time Objectivist and fan of the novel, Aglialoro bought the film rights 14 years ago and has surmounted a long series of challenges to bring Atlas to the screen.

In a wide-ranging presentation, and in responses to questions and comments they invited from an enthusiastic audience, the Baldwins shared their thoughts about many aspects of the film. Among the highlights:

Director: The next step in the project is to sign a director, who will take the lead in casting as well as working with the actors, in final script revisions, in editing—all the elements that determine the content and artistic quality of the film. The Baldwins have discussed the project with a number of top directors, and an essential requirement is that the director “embrace the book and the script.” Karen Baldwin, Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs, said the first question they ask in interviews is “When did you last read the book? Tell us what you thought of it.”

Cast: Baldwin Entertainment has been deluged with inquiries from major stars, especially since news of the Lionsgate deal was first reported in April. While they want a director chosen before casting the film, they have had extensive discussions with Angelina Jolie, who has a “keen interest” in playing Dagny Taggart. Jolie has the stellar box-office appeal that would allow the film to be a huge success, not only in the U.S. market but also abroad.

Karen Baldwin also stressed that for Jolie, fidelity to the Dagny character as she is in the novel—particularly her dialogue—is a must. She wants as much of Rand's dialogue to be used in the film as possible—a goal that the Baldwins have set for all dialogue. (At one meeting to discuss the film, Jolie arrived with a copy of the "Celebrity Rand fan" issue of TAS’s The New Individualist, edited by Robert Bidinotto, whose cover featured herself and Brad Pitt.)

Script: The first draft of the screenplay for Part I has been completed by James V. Hart, a veteran screenwriter whose major credits include "Contact," "Hook," and "Tuck Everlasting." David Kelley, who moderated the panel session, reported that the script ingeniously integrates many aspects and characters from the novel, far more than he expected could be included. Kelley, the founder and senior fellow of The Atlas Society, has worked closely with Hart to insure the screenplay's philosophical fidelity to the novel (and will be credited onscreen as a co-producer).

The climax of Part I will be the first run of the John Galt Line, with a cliffhanger denouement that sets the stage for Part II. “The John Galt Line is the central plotline in the first part of the novel,” Kelley notes. “It’s a wonderful story of successful achievement, revealing the heroic stature of Hank Rearden and especially Dagny Taggart. But it’s crucial to have the film end on a darker note, foreshadowing the rest of the story. Rand’s central theme, after all, is that the world is not safe for producers until they challenge the morality of altruism and the politics of parasitism.”

Production : Much of the filming will take place in Europe or the American Southwest, with only "second unit" establishing shots done in iconic venues such as New York City. Filming for more than one of the three parts may occur at the same time. Like the novel, the movie will feature trains, but the setting, again like the novel, will be in an indefinite future —“the day after tomorrow,” as Karen Baldwin put it, “timeless but with a heightened sense of reality. So much of what Ayn predicted is really happening all around us.”