Friday, September 28, 2012

ATLAS SHRUGGED II (Movie) - Who is John Galt?

Q&A with Harmon Kaslow, producer of Atlas Shrugged Movie


by Mike Miller

[Editors Note:  Atlas Shrugged II (the movie) will be showing at a theatre near you on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012.  Demand that it be featured, near you, if it already isn't, and invite your family and friends to join you that FIRST night showing!]

The highly acclaimed Fox film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s New York Time’s bestselling novel, Atlas Shrugged, will be made available on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 8. The messages are vitally important in regard to the 2012 election as individualism, encroachment on the free-market, socialism and anarchy are explored in this timely and influential film.

The movie is set in 2016 as the United States is on the brink of economic disrepair, eerily paralleling the current U.S. economic crisis. Young executive, Dagny Taggart, runs one of the largest remaining railroads. To save the railroad from financial ruin, Dagny seeks out entrepreneurial industrialist Henry Rearden, whose super-strength metal holds the promise of the future.

As government interference cripples economic growth, the country’s most competent and productive workers systematically disappear, expanding the realm of government influence and control. Dagny fights back against the growing influence of socialism.

Below you will find a short Q&A with Harmon Kaslow, producer of the film:

Q: Can you provide some opening comments about Atlas Shrugged: Part 1?

A: We are extremely proud of Part 1. We put together an amazing team and had an incredible experience adapting the novel. We learned a lot through the process and are very excited about proceeding with Part 2.

Q: Did the production time impose any constraints on the film? Were there any things you wished you could have done but weren’t able to?

A: John Aglialoro’s journey from acquiring the rights in 1992 to financing the production in 2010 is a fascinating story that is consistent with the novel’s themes of individualism. This is one of America’s greatest novels, yet no one but John had the courage to finance its production. So we had to proceed as an independent production and use our limited financial resources wisely. We also had a ticking clock that forced us to start production prior to June 15, 2010 or risk losing the rights.

All the while, we had in our hearts a desire to adapt faithfully the book into a movie that would be entertaining and true to Ayn Rand’s message. Given these variables, my focus was on getting all of the moving parts that go into producing a motion picture in place so that the production team had what they needed to remain as faithful to Ayn’s vision as possible under the circumstances. John and the rest of the team were supportive and up to the challenge.

We’re never going to be able to please everyone but one thing we know for sure: we did what everyone said was absolutely impossible – MADE ATLAS SHRUGGED INTO A MOVIE. Opinions vary but again, we are extremely proud of Part 1 and have every intention of making a great Part 2.

Q: Was the film tailored at all to tap into recent political events?

A: We wanted to adapt faithfully the book. So when you see things relating to what’s happening today, those are events that we thought could occur. What’s interesting is that many of the events we thought might happen … are happening. You have to go back and remember what the world was like in April/May 2010 when we were writing the screenplay.

While there were conflicts in the Middle East, the implosion we’re experiencing now was not happening. The book is prophetic, and if you understand its message and add a bit of creativity and thought, Brian O’Toole and John Aglialoro, the screenwriters, did an excellent job in setting the foundation and context of where and when the events in our adaptation were taking place and gave us an authentic view of what the near future might look like.

We dated the film September 2, 2016 and many of the things we projected might happen are happening now. A lot of these things are coming to fruition a lot sooner than any of us expected, which shows that Atlas Shrugged remains an incredibly relevant piece of literature.

Q: Do you think the message is crucial given our current political and policy environment?

A: When it comes to the politics of Atlas Shrugged, the message really hits a wide group of people who believe that self reliance is the key to happiness and true liberty. This is about a movement back to the role of reason in human life, and the role of government and the citizen. I believe the movie does a great job of illustrating the power of the individual.

Q: Do you believe that Rand was actually prescient or just possessed a preternatural understanding of human behavior?

A: Ayn Rand was not born in America. Apparently, she had some life-changing experiences in Russia before coming to America which inevitably impacted and shaped her view of this great country and all that it offered. She had experienced, first hand, a different form of government, which most likely affected her view of the role of the government and the individual. She seemed to have a very sound understanding of America’s greatness.

It seems like immigrants see the opportunities we tend to take for granted and she saw that opportunity was being quashed by the government and was courageous enough to tell us a story that would inspire us to not stand idle and let it happen. What’s important to John and me is that the movie inspires people to read the book.

Q: How do you respond to critics of some of the Rand’s more salacious beliefs — her atheism, the extra-marital affairs, the “greed” — all of which appear to have been represented in the film?

A: We feel no way about Ayn Rand being an anything. We are very proud to have the opportunity to bring Ayn Rand’s magnum opus to the silver screen. It’s an incredible honor that we take very seriously, and we hope to do her justice. When John and I embarked on producing Part 1 staying true to book was of primary importance.

So, there was never any reason to explore Ayn Rand’s personal position on the issues you mention above. More importantly, I think people of faith will find that the film, like the story, emphasizes cardinal virtues such as self-reliance, integrity, honesty, strength of character, liberty and justice.

Q: What has been your response to the Atlas Shrugged reviews?

A: We believe the successes and failures of Part 1 are entirely on us. We are extremely proud of the work we did on Part 1. We had an amazing team, and it was truly an incredible experience. We’re never going to be able to please everyone but one thing we know for sure… we did what everyone said was absolutely impossible – MADE ATLAS SHRUGGED INTO A MOVIE. Opinions vary but again, we are extremely proud of Part 1 and have every intention of making a great Part 2.

Q: With the upcoming elections in 2012, do you believe the film can provide any guidance for Americans?

A: Absolutely, Ayn Rand’s core message really revolves around respecting the rights of the individual – that’s where I think voters will find a real connection between the book and their political beliefs.

Q: Ayn Rand’s thoughts, as conveyed in Atlas Shrugged, have caused debate and discussion around the world and next to the Bible it’s one of the most widely sold books. Why do you think it’s so important for the book to become a movie and for people to see it?

A: These films are our best hope for bringing Ayn’s view to a culture that has never needed it more. Since 1957, Atlas Shrugged has inspired those who are intent on rationally living their lives for their own sake and, in the process, bettering the world around them. Since today’s generation gets most of their messaging from visual and sensory presentation rather than from the written word, this generation is ripe to experience the morality of individual responsibility and achievement through the medium of film.

Q: What would satisfy you most in terms of reception for the DVD/Blu-Ray release of the film?

A: People get their friends to watch the movie and then they buy the book and their lives are changed for the better.

Q: Will there be an Atlas Shrugged Part 2?

A: Without question. We know there’s been a lot of speculation as to whether or not we’d continue – all of it due to our own mixed messages – but I can tell you now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, we are fully committed on every front to getting part 2 done. It’s all systems go, and there’s no turning back.

[Editors Note: Atlas Shrugged II (the movie) will be showing at a theatre near you on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. Demand that it be featured, near you, if it already isn't, and invite your family and friends to join you that FIRST night showing!]

Atlas Shrugged Movie




Sunday, September 9, 2012

A Word to the Wise is Sufficient...
 
http://www.wnd.com/2012/09/only-reason-you-need-to-vote-out-obama/

BETWEEN THE LINES

Only reason you need to vote out Obama

Exclusive: Joseph Farah explains why re-election would 'result in fall of USA'

Over the last four years, I have catalogued hundreds of reasons Barack Obama is a disaster for this country.

I mean it quite literally when I say that another four years of Obama will result in the fall of the USA as we have known it since it became a true, functioning nation with a working government 223 years ago.

But there is one reason we will never have true representative government, again, if he is re-elected. In fact, should he “win” re-election in November, we may learn we were too late to avert his revolution against it.

That reason he must be defeated is “LEGALIZED” voter fraud.

What do I mean by “legalized” voter fraud?

It comes in many forms – voter intimidation, organized ACORN-style registration efforts, “dead” voters, etc. But the grand lollapalooza, the irreversible destruction of representative government of the kind this nation has striven for since its founding, will come when voter identification laws are eradicated systematically, as the Obama administration has been doing throughout its first term.

Think about this.

You are required to show identification to do lots of things in the United States. To name a few:
  • travel by air;
  • get a driver’s license;
  • register your child for school;
  • register your child for organized sports;
  • open a bank account;
  • even some buying of necessities with a credit card;
But the Obama administration claims it is racist and a matter of intentional voter suppression to require identification to vote.

I want you to ask yourself if that makes sense.

Why do you suppose the Obama administration – and, in fact, the entire Democratic Party establishment – wants to delegitimize and ban simple voter identification laws?

There is only one logical, plausible reason. You know it. And I know it. The reason is to fix future elections – to rig them, to stuff the ballots with illegitimate votes by non-citizens by non-eligible participants.

That’s why this election will either be the last legitimate election or the one in which we learn we were too late to save representative government in America from people determined to trash it forever.

Last week, the Democrats held their national convention in Charlotte, N.C. Not only did the Democrats require photo identification to get into the Bank of America Stadium where the event was held, police officials required it just to get near the arena.

Requiring photo ID makes sense, of course, for security reasons. Nobody holding an event wants party crashers. But what about national security? Should we not, as a nation, be concerned that the sacred choice of our elected officials who are in charge of national security be chosen by legally eligible voters? Or should we just let ballots be cast by anyone who shows up with no concern for who they are and how many times they vote?

Can you believe there is even a debate about this in America? The fact that we are having it illustrates just how many so-called Americans have lost their ability to think clearly.

But what should we expect from Obama, who himself refuses to release personal information as basic as school records, papers he has written, health history, passport and travel documents, etc. And let’s not forget about that birth certificate. He refused for three years to release it to prove he himself was constitutionally eligible for office. When he finally offered up what he claimed was his legitimate long-form document, it was found by the only law-enforcement investigation that examined it to be fraudulent.

Like I said, there are hundreds of reasons this election is the most important in American history. But the one imperative is to ensure America’s future as a legitimate, constitutional representative republic.