If America is to survive qua America as envisioned in 1776, Socialism must die. This would be another mortal wound, a tremendous step in that direction.

We already know the story tho
Maybe they could concentrate on rebuilding after the crash, which is where as left off

Whatever you do, the left will attack it before it gets out the gate, and those who most need its lessons will be most blind to it. That said, make, and make it well, for those on the fence.

And if anyone is looking for a cool future project, why not adapt the lessons of Rand into a script for a faked reality show, aim it at popular culture and sneak it in under the radar. Don't connect it with known names or money till its over.

My two cents:

The Atlas Shrugged television series should take place "the day after tomorrow". Fans of the novel already have the novel. We have already experienced that world.

Setting the filmization in the near future would underscore the fact that today is just like yesterday. This would increase its political relevance, make a greater impact on public consciousness, and, don't laugh, perhaps even save the world from its own folly.

The cast should of course be kept the same throughout. The constant cast changes were barely tolerable in a trilogy. In a miniseries they would be absurd.

The ending with Project X was not compelling but a means of disengaging from the saga. Cable only channels will transition easily to online and Netflix, Hulu, Vimu, etc. are already the best platforms for mini-series. What I wouldn't want to see is a "modern" Gone With the Wind as a modern love story taking place during a time of violent change. As you suggest the Civil War is a more dramatic backdrop to tell the story although it is in the past. Why isn't this applicable to AS?

Today as well!

I have a very liberal acquaintance who fairly bristles at Ayn Rand's name, thus ending any discussion of her work, let alone talk about why her philosophy is either right or wrong, good or bad.

That's rather sad, actually...

Ayn Rand was as much of a lightning rod for left-wing hatred in her day as Sean Hannity is in the present day. There are always going to be the knee-jerk leftists that demonize anybody that expresses agreement with or interest in AR's ideas.

This is wonderful news. Thank you for posting it.

I think that it is important, perhaps crucial, that the series take place in the 1950's. Look at the popularity of Agent Carter and Bletchy Circle, and the 'modern' part of Outlander as examples of how modern audiences want to wallow in the experience of the 1950's. We are safe in those eras...and we can feel superior to the average person: we do not have the debilitating racial and sexual prejudices of that day. The certainties of this past era ground the action of the plot to lead the audience along the path of saying, "Wait. That law is stupid; it will lead to bad things. Why...we future people would know better than to make that law...just a sec...you mean, We Did Make That Law?"

I think that is what we want: to crack the shell of liberal ideology. And I think that can be done better in the safety of the past than in the uncertainty of the present or near future.

I do like Martinus' suggestion of a time travel element (like Outlander or Slider). Let us take a moment to muse on this potential outline: A brilliant physicist in our modern (or slightly future) world invents a power source. The problem is that this source would destabilize US and world economies - so it is suppressed (a la Anthem). The physicist escapes by portaling into another timeline, which is back in the 1950's AS world of totalitarian socialism. There, he overturns the government and creates a new freedom. (If there is impetus in the series, he and a cadre of folks could return to our world-line and start to work here as well, to return freedom to our world.)

Jan

If I am recalling correctly, Ayn Rand was about 30% done with the screenplay for an AS miniseries before she died. Maybe someone could continue her work and complete a script. Only then could the number of screen hours required to tell the story be determined. Once the production costs are known, then put it out on the Internet, and on TV ads, that subscriptions for the production of an Atlas Shrugged minseries are for sale. Then see if there are enough subscribers to go forward.

Good comments. Ayn Rand said that Atlas Shrugged is a philosophy presented in the form of a novel. But in the writing of AS, she integrated it into the telling of a compelling story so that it didn't read as a dry tome.

Considering the direction that television is headed, the traditional network or cable television channels would not necessarily be the best carriers. Online television will probably kill those platforms over the next few years. So that's a problem: with a few people watching a lot of different channels, instead of a lot of people watching a few different channels, how can any show gain a wide audience?

Gone With the Wind has to be set during the Civil War because it was about the Civil War.

Either scenario would be fine with me. My only problem with the entire idea is that television so often bastardizes the original idea until it has no resemblance to the original story line and if the ratings aren't off the chart high from day one it may be cancelled at any moment just when I am really interested. That has happened to so many series that I loved. One week they just aren't there anymore.
Make it a Mini-Series. Take it very seriously. Make it in such a way that those whom have never read the book will still be able to follow the story. Honour Ayn Rand's masterpiece.

I like THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. .. This could be a huge winner and very popular series that would appeal to a wide audience. Congratulations on your success do far. Very exciting. I loved the movies but there were so many stories left out due to lack of time.

Agree: Grant Bowler, Armin Shimmerman, and Rebecca Wysocky were all excellent in their roles.

Taylor Schilling and Graham Beckel not so much, as they didn't fit the image in my mind's eye for those characters.

Don't make it in any particular time period. Don't even make it live action with camera's and actors. Make it entirely CGI in the vein of Toy Story or The Incredibles. With all of the mass media outlets available for people to watch in this age, another live-action TV series would be lost in the crowd. But a CGI animated miniseries would be (as far as I know) a first for the industry. And even if it isn't the first, one produced for adults dealing with philosophical issues would be unique.

I mention The Incredibles because its "look" was one that borrowed from the culture of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. If something similar can be done with the AS mini-series, it seems like many problems with production could be overcome.

I would say modern day setting. A 50's setting would be very costly for sets and costumes etc. Rather have whatever money is available spent on telling the story properly.

As it has been said, AS is now non fiction: actually the zero point energy work has come a long way; depends on where one looks. Check the work of Bedini, Bearden, Lindemann, Craddock, http://cheniere.org etc. in following through on the work of T Henry Moray and many others. Tesla had part of it but many others have a better grasp of first principles and applications.
In any case, only near future will grab a current audience since many younger ones will have no clue what the world was like in the 50s, 60s and before. There are so many current examples of how we got to this pass, it will help people connect the dots; there are tons of supporting recent /current historical facts.
The key too, is casting. Obviously AS1, 3 had the best Dagneys. 1 , 2 had the best Antonio.... etc. Persevere.

My vote goes to "Day After Tomorrow".

I'll personally thank the advertisers.

LOL! Love your humor re the cast-off casts, but love the series concept more. Just don't let it descend into a soap opera hung loosely on a Randian backstory!

I am all for it!

Hope they keep in mind the important people to sway. Such an endeavor should not be aimed squarely at the people of the Gulch. It will also take ENORMOUS criticism from the media and the left. It should setup scenes specifically demonizing those that want to take everyone's money and use it as the please (not truly as they say). This key hidden feature of socialism is the biggest threat our society faces. The inefficiency and totalitarian nature of government should feature prominently...I hate to say it, but the value of "greed" (and the simple fact that it is completely natural and inherent in us all) is too obscure for many to grasp.

I recommend you keep the message that "greed" is inherent and natural and that it must therefore be leveraged (through capitalism where it will create wealth), not fought (through socialism, where it will destroy wealth through waste, misdirection and corruption) for later in the series following the hook being set that government corruption follows socialism. Then government corruption, waste and inefficiency destroy wealth, and Ayn is proven right. Only in the rebuilding, or value creation in the Gulch during the shrug can the value of capitalism be apparent to many.

Another point I'd make is that unlike the Industrial Revolution, today most value creation takes some degree of infrastructure and teamwork. There are examples of individual success, but more often than not the brilliant person is lost to those that know how to build, finance and market the product. The "Brownian Motion" that brings these people together is capitalism. Formulaic socialist investment fails every time.

Great News, I would love to see a series from John.

Take place in current times.

Definitely day after tomorrow. I think this way the show would not only appeal to just the objectivist community but also appeal to more mainstream audiences who are not familiar with rands work. A period piece would work but they can be more difficult to pull off. Take the show mad men for instance, it's a period piece but managed to find a modern relevance buried in it. Despite this effective precedent a modern day after tomorrow feel would reach a broader audience. In a world where we as a people we are looking ahead to elections, an infrastructure in shambles, and a president looking to run an economy where working Americans are expected to fund the looters and be happy about it, a modern setting would drive the point home better. I was so thrilled when the films came out and was proud to see them all in theaters. To see it on tv would be a powerful statement in today's world. It's a story that needs to be read, heard, and seen. Who is john galt?

I think the TV series should be in the form of a documentary.
After all, AS is no longer fiction it is all too frighteningly real.