Granted, the caption is awkward, but doesn't say, "The photo depicts Samantha Mathis as Dagny Taggart." It's fantastic news that the article originated from slate.com, but I'm trying to divine your point here.

To reiterate mine, although it may be blasphemous to suggest a better screenplay than O'Toole's might be achieved, there's time for another to give it a try.

The photo caption says "Samantha Mathis plays Dagny Taggart..." and it's a picture of Taylor Schilling. Not a good start.
BTW this article was originally published at Slate.com