IT'S HAPPENING: Atlas Shrugged Television Series
At the start of the year, Atlas Shrugged Producer John Aglialoro hinted at the potential for an Atlas Shrugged mini-series ( http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts... ). Last week, John made a trip to Hollywood and met with... some very interested MAJOR players.
How does a full blown television series sound!?
Yep. It's really happening. We can't say too much just yet, but suffice it to say, John's meetings in Hollywood were VERY productive and the groups we're talking to are incredibly enthusiastic and ready to move mountains to make it happen. We should hopefully have something official to announce within the next few weeks so stay tuned.
As the project progresses, we're going to be reaching out to you for your opinion from time to time.
This would be one of those times.
Keep in mind, certain people who are not active in the Gulch, but very interested in your opinion, will be reading your comments on this post.
Got it? Good. Here we go...
Should the Atlas Shrugged television series be a period piece set in the 1950s or should it take place, as Ayn Rand alluded to, "the day after tomorrow?"
P.S. Because it worked so well for us with the trilogy, of course we have every intention of changing the entire cast every episode. No. No, we won't.
How does a full blown television series sound!?
Yep. It's really happening. We can't say too much just yet, but suffice it to say, John's meetings in Hollywood were VERY productive and the groups we're talking to are incredibly enthusiastic and ready to move mountains to make it happen. We should hopefully have something official to announce within the next few weeks so stay tuned.
As the project progresses, we're going to be reaching out to you for your opinion from time to time.
This would be one of those times.
Keep in mind, certain people who are not active in the Gulch, but very interested in your opinion, will be reading your comments on this post.
Got it? Good. Here we go...
Should the Atlas Shrugged television series be a period piece set in the 1950s or should it take place, as Ayn Rand alluded to, "the day after tomorrow?"
P.S. Because it worked so well for us with the trilogy, of course we have every intention of changing the entire cast every episode. No. No, we won't.
As for the struggle of the train setting the future, I did think movie 1 did an amazing job of compensating for that, so I would just go with the same basic premise. After all, as society erodes (which is an integral part of the books anyway, so not something that will really require many hoops to be jumped through), technology does erode with it. Air traffic becoming unviable again isn't that far away, especially with the threat of terrorism in the air these days. People deciding to go by land is actually happening right now. Why take the risk of a depressed pilot deciding to crash into a mountain, killing all of his passengers because they were unlucky enough to tag along while he committed suicide? (Still can't believe that actually happened!) Why risk any of the other things going on up there, or the absurd and inept measures being taken by governments to prevent terrorism by removing every single ounce of personal freedom involved in travelling? It's just plain easier to drive or take the train. If trains were "just as fast", who would choose to fly?
Go steampunk if you must, by all means, but whatever you do, keep it relevant! Please, I'm begging here: do something to wake these zombies up!
The result is a timelessness where the story can be told without having to worry about pinning it to specific things happening today.
This is what I think should be done with an AS television show. References to specific things that are actually happening in the world will kill it dead. Rand knew better than to do that. Art communicates values. Let the viewers make the connections between what's happening on the show and the things happening in the world.
But on the other hand so much has happened since Rand wrote the book that an up- to-date environment could use actual events that have or are happening today. It very well would open many peoples eyes and minds to the problems the government and Liberal agenda is causing within society today. Either way the story needs to be told using the media most used and watched today. Considering that over 20 million copies and counting of the book “Atlas Shrugged” have been sold and read.
I was very glad that the 3 part movie was produced and aired. Television would reach a much larger and diverse group of people.
Perhaps it would wake up many millions more and change could be made in our society today.
No one will see this message, being buried so deep, but another opportunity will be produce an individual showing of each dissertation of Rand's book: "Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal" This would be an opportunity to support, reenforce and instruct viewers of the very wealth management and human pursuit that provided them the level of existence they enjoy.
of course there would have to be some updates.
There are cell phones now, but,as the country is
deteriorating, they can be shown not to work more
often that not; just before she calls Ellis Wyatt,
Dagny could try her cell phone, mutter "D***
cell towers!" and run to the nearest pay phone.
The cigarette smoking should be soft-pedaled.
Dagny's and Rearden's having an affair would
not be considered so shocking nowadays; but
there could be something about fundamentalists'
having rammed through an anti-divorce law in
Rearden's state; also, Lillian could engineer
someone's planting cameras in the hotel room,
and when Dr. Floyd Ferris comes to blackmail
Rearden, he could show him that he has more
than hotel registries to back him up; he could
say something about photographs or film, and
show Rearden something, and the audience
could know what it is by Rearden's looking sick.
Etc.
"All great democracies have committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason? The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.
"The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, nearly 239 years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff.
--- Can you see this, or are you just blind or stupid?"
I suspect the die has been cast (no pun intended).
I also asked the questions similar to the ones in reply to your post, below... What's The Goal?
I just wish more folks here would read and reply with their opinions on that OTHER post, just above...
But maybe THAT says something, too.
Open the series 20+ years in our future with characters unrelated to A.S. For example, construct a scenario, in the first episode, where a few primary characters, maybe a TV news crew, become isolated by a major, lingering ice storm after filming protesters burn the business of a rural gunsmith. The crew winds up in a primitive cabin powered by a gas generator.
Cell phone service is unreliable and communication limited. After settling in, they find there only entertainment is an old DVD player hooked up to an older television. On a shelf, they discover their video choices are very limited. Curious, one of them selects something called "The Strike".
The TV comes to life when a notable old actor (a 'heavyweight' actor, a la Clint Eastwood or Robert Duvall) starts to introduce the film. From there, the story of "Atlas Shrugged" begins, under it's working title, within its own period/alternative universe.
Atlas Shrugged is the primary story portrayed, and the 'real life' story of the crew is occasionally framed by their interactions and bits of current events gleaned from their vehicle radio. The series can then develop over time as the crew absorbs and reacts to an epic that captivates them. Once A.S. is told, the 'real life' narrative could continue to illustrate Objectivist concepts and sense of life.
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