Angelina & Maddox Share Movie Theater Moment

Karen and Howard Baldwin spoke at The Atlas Society’s recent Summer Seminar about plans for their film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged.

The principals in Baldwin Entertainment Group (BEG), producer of the 2004 Oscar-winning “Ray,” appeared in a 90 minute panel session on July 7 with TAS board member John Aglialoro, who holds the screen rights to the Ayn Rand novel and will be co-executive producer with Howard Baldwin, the company’s president and CEO.
Baldwin and Aglialoro confirmed earlier reports that BEG will collaborate with Lionsgate, the studio that produced last year’s Oscar winner, “Crash”; the final contract was signed just days earlier. Lionsgate will provide funding for production and handle distribution.

John Aglialoro, Howard Baldwin, and Karen Baldwin take questions from the audience.

They also confirmed that the goal is for a three-part adaptation, like “Lord of the Rings.” Only that length, Baldwin said, would give sufficient scope to tell Ayn Rand’s long, complex story. The current project is for Part I, which will cover roughly the first third of the novel, with an expected budget of $40 million or more. “We want to make sure it is done well so that the second and third movies can be made.” Among the other studios that expressed interest in the project, he added, Lionsgate stood out because of its enthusiasm for completing the trilogy.

The Baldwins stressed their commitment to making a high-quality adaptation that does justice to the ideas, the story, and the characters of Atlas Shrugged. In particular, they praised the dedication of Aglialoro in sustaining the project and keeping it aligned with Rand’s vision. A long-time Objectivist and fan of the novel, Aglialoro bought the film rights 14 years ago and has surmounted a long series of challenges to bring Atlas to the screen.

In a wide-ranging presentation, and in responses to questions and comments they invited from an enthusiastic audience, the Baldwins shared their thoughts about many aspects of the film. Among the highlights:

Director: The next step in the project is to sign a director, who will take the lead in casting as well as working with the actors, in final script revisions, in editing—all the elements that determine the content and artistic quality of the film. The Baldwins have discussed the project with a number of top directors, and an essential requirement is that the director “embrace the book and the script.” Karen Baldwin, Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs, said the first question they ask in interviews is “When did you last read the book? Tell us what you thought of it.”

Cast: Baldwin Entertainment has been deluged with inquiries from major stars, especially since news of the Lionsgate deal was first reported in April. While they want a director chosen before casting the film, they have had extensive discussions with Angelina Jolie, who has a “keen interest” in playing Dagny Taggart. Jolie has the stellar box-office appeal that would allow the film to be a huge success, not only in the U.S. market but also abroad.

Karen Baldwin also stressed that for Jolie, fidelity to the Dagny character as she is in the novel—particularly her dialogue—is a must. She wants as much of Rand’s dialogue to be used in the film as possible—a goal that the Baldwins have set for all dialogue. (At one meeting to discuss the film, Jolie arrived with a copy of the “Celebrity Rand fan” issue of TAS’s The New Individualist, edited by Robert Bidinotto, whose cover featured herself and Brad Pitt.)

Script: The first draft of the screenplay for Part I has been completed by James V. Hart, a veteran screenwriter whose major credits include “Contact,” “Hook,” and “Tuck Everlasting.” David Kelley, who moderated the panel session, reported that the script ingeniously integrates many aspects and characters from the novel, far more than he expected could be included. Kelley, the founder and senior fellow of The Atlas Society, has worked closely with Hart to insure the screenplay’s philosophical fidelity to the novel (and will be credited onscreen as a co-producer).

The climax of Part I will be the first run of the John Galt Line, with a cliffhanger denouement that sets the stage for Part II. “The John Galt Line is the central plotline in the first part of the novel,” Kelley notes. “It’s a wonderful story of successful achievement, revealing the heroic stature of Hank Rearden and especially Dagny Taggart. But it’s crucial to have the film end on a darker note, foreshadowing the rest of the story.

Love that show Jon&Kate plus 8. Angie in past did not wear loose fit coats, always had a belt around it. Preggy train Choo!choo!choo!

For all of those who think she’s pregnant, I’m with you. Would love them to have twins (a boy and a girl) - just to even the score in the house but I honestly think it’s just one. I doubt they would trying to bring anymore media attention to themselves by pretending there was an impending arrival. They are so hounded by the tabs everywhere they go why on earth would they want to bring more attention? I think Angelina looks GREAT! A natural beauty who needs no makeup to look fantabulous!

maddox is the love of angelina’s life. everyone else comes second. it’s so obvious.

YO PEOPLE,

YOURE NOT THE ONES HAVING THE BABY, SO GET OVER IT. IF ANGIE WANTS YOU TO KNOW THEN YOU WILL KNOW. AS OF NOW WE DO NOT KNOW BECAUSE EITHER 1. SHE IS PREGNANT AND WAITING FOR THE FIRST SEMISTER TO END AND THEN ANNOUNCE IT OR 2.SHES NOT PREGNANT AND JUST LIKES WEARING THESE TYPE OF CLOTHING. aS FOR AS THIS GOES ON….LETS ENJOY THE PICTURES PEOPLE…ISNT THIS GREAT.

Konnitiwa,

My link is more recent. Yours is old news. I noticed that people here love to stay in the past. Stay current. BTW, Jolie said that she would take a year off at the Cannes Film Festival. That was a long time ago too. Try to stay current with the changing times.

One important difference is that those other trilogies broke down easily into self-contained films, each with its own beginning, middle, and climactic ending. Not so the three sections of Atlas: the first two end on cliffhangers and do not stand on their own as complete, satisfying stories.

Given the fact that it would be quite a few months, even a year or more, between the three film releases, that would constitute an enormous financial gamble for the film’s investors. Would there be sufficient remaining interest, after the first film, to generate enough revenues to produce the second and third installments?

Or, if you wished to film all three at once, where would the enormous capital investment come from? As Lionsgate vice chairman Michael Burns told the audience (paraphrasing): “We’ll be glad to make a trilogy if you send me $180 million.”

With a miniseries and a trilogy off the table, the producers engaged Randall Wallace, who scripted the impressive epic film Braveheart, to write a new script.

who the f is her designer? she dresses like a washed up grandmother that is suffer from a eating disorder. It is one thing to always wear skirts b/c it looks good on you but her pins are gross and dont even get me started on those stinky ugly flats. Have a nice day low lives … see ya back in a few days talking about the same thing (still with no life of your own)

http://www.hellomagazine.com/vote/mostattractivewoman/month/index.html

Oh, boy, this sh*t is hilarious. A miscarriage? :lol: They’re trying to tell us they’ve had a miscarriage? Ay yi yi. The things trolls will spew. :lol:

The two look very nice. They’re happy and very normal. It must be Mad’s mommy-and-me time.

hhhmhhmh smell the trollz anger!

BTW, Angelina did mention in the Feb issue of O Magazine that she will be filming Atlas Shrugged. They asked her to name her favorite books and she listed Atlas Shrugged then mentioned that she will be filming the movie. So it appears that she may be happy with the script. So stay tuned for more updates.