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Posts Tagged ‘“Atlas Shrugged”’

Jane Shaffmaster

Casting ‘Atlas Shrugged’: Professionalism Before Politics

by Jane Shaffmaster

I was head of the film and broadcast department for a talent agency in the Detroit Metro area. As a casting agent my job was to get the character breakdowns, hold auditions and cast roles for film, TV and radio. My staff and I cast Zebrahead, Hoffa, Renaissance Man to name a few and many award winning commercials. I left the casting biz to coach voice-over artists and produce their CD’s, along with doing free-lance talent coordination for ad-agencies, where I negotiate celebrity talent.

 

I recently read Apocalypse Near? Liberal Actresses Line Up to Star in ‘Atlas Shrugged’  by Pam Meister and wanted to offer the perspective of someone who has experience in casting. The post told of Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie having an interest in the role of Dagny Taggert. It was offered up, and several commenter’s mentioned that they feared Julia Roberts might change the script to reflect her liberal viewpoint. I don’t really think that should be a concern because many times certain actors are mentioned only to create buzz for a project, or to get their name out there, or both. I believe such is the case with Julia Roberts in this story. (more…)

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Posted Apr 8th 2009 at 2:37 pm in Daily Gut, Politics | 26 Comments

Pam Meister

Apocalypse Near? Liberal Actresses Line Up to Star in ‘Atlas Shrugged’

by Pam Meister

First off, let me ask the question: in today’s PC, non-sexualized world, am I allowed to use the word “actress?” I guess I’ll chance it.

My friend Kitty sent me this link to an article about the ongoing saga of turning the 1,100 page book “Atlas Shrugged,” by Ayn Rand, into a feature film:

Rand’s popular but polarizing book — it’s derided by many literary critics but has a huge public following — tells the story of Dagny Taggart, a railroad executive trying to keep her corporation competitive in the face of what she perceives as a lack of innovation and individual responsibility. (more…)

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Posted Apr 3rd 2009 at 10:44 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 250 Comments

Mike Baron

Why ‘Atlas Shrugged’ Matters

by Mike Baron

When I mentioned to friends I was reading Atlas Shrugged their response was uniform: “Oh that. I read it in college but now I have moved on to adult subjects.”  These were liberal friends, you understand, and I couldn’t help but wonder why they would want to discourage me from reading a literary classic that is selling better now than at any time in its history.  In fact, it has recently moved up to become Amazon’s 37th best-selling novel.  Last week it was 44.  By the time you read this it will have moved higher.

The reason becomes immediately apparent upon reading.  It might have been written yesterday.  Rand’s description of a socialist state taken over by “looters,” people who cannot create or produce but who seize power under the rubric of “fairness” is so spot-on accurate of today’s administration it’s scary.  At over one thousand pages long, Atlas Shrugged is not a weekend read and made me question whether my fun-loving liberal friends actually read it, or read the Cliff’s Notes version which is also selling at unprecedented levels. (more…)

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Posted Mar 26th 2009 at 12:19 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 6 Comments