An Open Letter to The Producers and Makers of The Atlas Shrugged Movies.
Today, the third installment of your film adaptation will be shown in theaters across the country.
You, I, and many other people on this board are savvy enough to the Marxists' game of fear, uncertainty, doubt, and agitprop to know what comes next: the savaging.
E.g.: as I write this, the http://IMDB.com page for “Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?” displays a section labeled “People who liked this also liked...” which features the documentary “I Am Eleven” - “The lives and thoughts of children from all around the world. It weaves together deeply personal and at times hilarious portraits of what it means to stand on the cusp between childhood and adolescence.”
I was at the Las Vegas premiere.
I saw the movie twice.
While I was there, a thought occurred to me.
The same thought has likely occurred to you as well, but I wanted to make it plain.
It is finished.
Let me repeat this, because it is important, and it is powerful.
It is finished.
With this third installment, the story of Atlas Shrugged has been told– a story which Hollywood and our Ruling Class Marxists did not want to be told, especially on film.
Despite their best efforts to stand in your way, you have built your John Galt Line... to the benefit of us all.
And likewise, their reaction to this last film will be the reaction of Atlas Shrugged's looters to Rearden Metal: its value is irrelevant because it poses a social danger to them.
So, when the savaging begins, and it will begin, please accept it as a badge of honor: anything that our Marxist Ruling Class feels that they must destroy must have some value.
I am confident that, as with the novel itself, as time passes, this value will be recognized.
Your trilogy will remain a part of the Atlas Shrugged legacy for years to come.
It has been my distinct pleasure, honor, and privilege to be a member of these boards since they first went on line, before the making of Atlas Shrugged Part One.
In that time I have learned that there are Midas Mulligans who are willing to finance The Gulch, and that there are Producers of every stripe who see enough value in it to offer their best effort in fair trade.
Thank you for the investment you have made.
I feel humbled that in some small way, it was an investment in me.
Rick Poach
“Eudaimonia”
You, I, and many other people on this board are savvy enough to the Marxists' game of fear, uncertainty, doubt, and agitprop to know what comes next: the savaging.
E.g.: as I write this, the http://IMDB.com page for “Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?” displays a section labeled “People who liked this also liked...” which features the documentary “I Am Eleven” - “The lives and thoughts of children from all around the world. It weaves together deeply personal and at times hilarious portraits of what it means to stand on the cusp between childhood and adolescence.”
I was at the Las Vegas premiere.
I saw the movie twice.
While I was there, a thought occurred to me.
The same thought has likely occurred to you as well, but I wanted to make it plain.
It is finished.
Let me repeat this, because it is important, and it is powerful.
It is finished.
With this third installment, the story of Atlas Shrugged has been told– a story which Hollywood and our Ruling Class Marxists did not want to be told, especially on film.
Despite their best efforts to stand in your way, you have built your John Galt Line... to the benefit of us all.
And likewise, their reaction to this last film will be the reaction of Atlas Shrugged's looters to Rearden Metal: its value is irrelevant because it poses a social danger to them.
So, when the savaging begins, and it will begin, please accept it as a badge of honor: anything that our Marxist Ruling Class feels that they must destroy must have some value.
I am confident that, as with the novel itself, as time passes, this value will be recognized.
Your trilogy will remain a part of the Atlas Shrugged legacy for years to come.
It has been my distinct pleasure, honor, and privilege to be a member of these boards since they first went on line, before the making of Atlas Shrugged Part One.
In that time I have learned that there are Midas Mulligans who are willing to finance The Gulch, and that there are Producers of every stripe who see enough value in it to offer their best effort in fair trade.
Thank you for the investment you have made.
I feel humbled that in some small way, it was an investment in me.
Rick Poach
“Eudaimonia”
As I sit here reflecting, your comments have brought a tear to my eye. I wish to express gratitude to you for your loyalty to Rand, to her work and to your support of this film trilogy after 22 years of effort. What we do and what we think is noble and, in time, will change the world for the better.
Thank you.
John Aglialoro
A hero worthy of the novels.
I take my hat off to you and Mr. Kaslow.
I cannot express my gratitude adequately for what you have done. I wish you both the greatest success and happiness life can bring!
I so look forward to viewing the fruits of your labor this evening. I'm sure I will not be disappointed.
Best wishes,
O.A.
This week has been amazing! I started a new job with a young man who served two tours in Iraq. He had never heard of AS, but we had a great discussion, and I lent him copies of the first two parts. At about 9:30 last night, he texted me with "Who is John Galt?" I immediately responded with Dagny in mind: "We are John Galt!"
If I leave just one legacy, it will be my youngest son, who has the potential to be a true Renaissance Man. You can catch a glimpse of him, with my grandson & I at about 23:08 of the "I am John Galt" video upload on AS1.
I'm looking forward to a 20+ episode miniseries, that will allow you to expand on the characters and message of Atlas Shrugged. My most sincere thanks to you for what you've done for us.
I feel the quality of the films have been excellent considering their budget. The producers have been true to the meaning and spirit of the book for which I am grateful. The acting has been very good and the different actors playing the characters has had a good effect of not replacing our own imagined visions of the people we have read about.
The problem is the message, bitter medicine to the leaches, looters and cronies. If you eliminate all the people that the message of Atlas Shrugged makes uncomfortable, how big of an audience is left? The hope is that the young, that aren't any of those things yet will be exposed to the message, read the book and join in the movement that will save the US, the best chance individual freedom has ever had.
I expect to sit with my wife of 51 years, with my son, the owner of Fountainhead Irrigation, Inc. and maybe another couple dozen souls to see the concluding chapter. It is a great thing that has been done but any effects may come slowly. When I first read the book almost 50 years ago, I thought it had to change the world and was dismayed that it didn't. It still may but I think it is going to be very painful.
In any event, I wish all the best to all who were involved in this epic adventure. It's been a joy to contribute my small piece of the franchise as I've bought memorabilia, tickets and copies of the movies. I can't wait to add ASIII to the rest of my collection.
This film is very well done. The condensed John Gault speech did not disappoint. I am so glad that this trilogy was completed and await the DVD of Part III. Thank you again.
Please see my comments and expression of gratitude to you and John below.
Best wishes and thank you for all you have accomplished.
O.A.
A toast, "To those who know what is coming, to those who stand on the premise of true Freedom, to those who have added the most meaning to our lives, to Ayn Rand for writing what we already knew but didn't put together...to the value of true friendship...respect and honor to those who walk in her path and know that A=A and Who John Galt is and why he is our hero. To The Gulch for having a forum that we can congregate to discuss those things that absolutely drive us crazy in the real world. To Capitalism !!!"
I have been thinking - while reading these posts / articles in The Gulch -- we are essentially preaching to the choir here -- in this forum, we find a safe place to share our respect / differences / observations regarding Rand, Objectivism, current events, etc... However, I think that we can act and write in ways that can be beneficial in bringing Rand's message to millions of people, just as her writing / lectures have done.
Consider the posts on IMDB (regarding the AS films), as well as any of your mainstream media (liberal / progressive) sites: HuffPo, DailyKos, Democracy Now!, FB: The Coffee Party Movement, Amazon [in the context of Rand's books], YouTube commentaries on Rand, etc. Many of the posts denigrate Rand (ad hominem), distort the Objectivist philosophy (fraud) and express outright hatred toward individualism. I propose the following: that we, as individuals, "find a home" so-to-speak, on these sundry media outlets -- and debate, correct and otherwise inform those people that are spreading misinformation regarding Rand / Objectivism. I do not believe that we will convince many of the vitriolic and childish posters to change their thoughts or see things from a different perspective. However, for every individual that posts, there are many more that simply read the exchanges and form their own opinions. There are now over a hundred active members here in The Gulch. If we were to voluntarily (obviously) "sign up" to moderate / respond to the negativity and ignorance posted on these sites, I think we could further affect an awakening among the general population. I want to keep The Gulch alive and flourishing long after the release of the AS films.
Does this idea have merit? Is there some means -- here in The Gulch -- for us to create a Sub-Forum where we can maintain a "sign up list" that would match individual Gulchers to specific sites for moderation? We could share our thoughts and observations on what works and how to improve our outreach. As for me, I will be commenting on YouTube critiques of Rand / Objectivism / AS. I also will chime on on the Facebook - Coffee Party Movement page and the IMDB commentaries.
Thanks for your attention and consideration.
Patrick D. Grengs II / West Richland, WA
All this is part of the larger problem with schooling today: it teaches too much interdependence and not enough independence.
Think of it is a merge of home ec, auto shop, maybe ag class, and some kind of internship out in the real world. A mandatory class for graduation, no exceptions. No academic types in charge either. I would go for successful people to teach it.
The idea would be to give people some idea of how every day things work and handle normal stuff on their own.
I hate the idea of being dependent on others for day to day things and minor problems. I grew up around it.
Did that make my life any easier...of course not.
I first read "Atlas Shrugged" when I was 11.
That was when I figured out that to be true to my nature, I had to accept that (to the extent life allows) I am John Galt.
I've already purchased tickets to see it back-to-back tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.
Like most of the rest of this group, I've been anxiously waiting 18 months for this day to come. I think my wife is as glad as I am that this weekend is finally here; I've probably driven her crazy talking about it.
I can't wait for 2:25 tomorrow afternoon to get here.
I too would like to express my gratitude to all who have had a part in producing and promoting this effort. To those of you who live the life, spread the word and those who have contributed in other ways, I salute you. It is not always easy, for their are many enemies of reason and Liberty, but you should hold your head up and be proud!
"To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?" The Bard.
One day soon, I hope to see the day when we shall end them and once again live the life of Liberty that was our natural right, formed, fought for and promised by our founders.
Never give up the fight for right!
Best Regards,
O.A.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 30 minute segment on Youtube.
BTW I am off to Sabah this week - ref my post under For Sale - despite recent advisories not to travel there due to kidnappings. (on the coast, we're up on Mt Kinabalu) Back here mid-October.
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