Comments on: Who is John Galt?

By: boy

boy — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:50:40 +0000

Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian D’Anconia is not a playboy. Atlas Shrugged is neither science fiction nor alternative history. It is not unless the author wishes it to be. It is closer to science fact with fiction by a certain nature and closer to future history, futurology, future depictions, and future possibilities. It is a classic and is recent. It describes things close to literally and metaphorically of what is occurring before, presently, and will unless… It can include certain types of warnings against suppressors and opressors of righteous and right freedom…It is a book which cleans certain wrongs…The review is novel. Once rereading it, one may note more details and answers… It is a pro-life, pro-mind, pro-creativeness, and pro-innovation book. It may contain loops.

By: Who Was Mystery Man? | The Story Department

Who Was Mystery Man? | The Story Department — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:43:52 +0000

[...] his very last post here was titled “Who Is John Galt?” To appreciate the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged, it didn’t [...]

By: Farewell Mystery Man! | The Story Department

Farewell Mystery Man! | The Story Department — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 07:43:53 +0000

[...] humbled that the very last article Mystery Man published on the web, was here on the Story Department. His very last tweet on 4 March was a link to that [...]

By: Christina

Christina — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:34:53 +0000

Thank you for writing the most interesting Atlas Shrugged review I have encountered. Most are too focused on Rand herself, or the underlying philosophy. By focusing on the writing you showed me why I enjoyed the book so much, which I hadn’t been able to determine on my own.

I think a trilogy would be a good way to film the book. But I think a better media for adaptation would be television. I could see Atlas Shrugged produced as an hour-long drama set in her fictional America of the 1950s. It would have the visual appeal of Mad Men, but with a fixed story arc, like LOST. I think that is the best way to maximize on Rand’s many little and big questions that you so aptly described.

I hope John Aglialoro, the guy with the rights to make this movie, doesn’t waste the effort on landing big stars instead of producing a great show.

By: J,J. Pierce

J,J. Pierce — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:58:52 +0000

Dear Mystery Man:

At most forums, I’d be talking to the wall as far as any ideas about a movie version of ATLAS SHRUGGED is concerned. But while I know you aren’t involved yourself, you may know people who know people… so maybe you could put a bee in their bonnets.

First off, I agree with you about the idea of a trilogy. I can’t see how AS could be done as a single two-hour or even three-hour movie. The obvious parallel is THE LORD OF THE RINGS, which brings up another key point. What the movie needs is a Peter Jackson, a director with enough respect for the novel to insist on doing it right. We’ve had too much mickey-mousing around about using a star like Angelina Jolie or Charlize Theron to “sell” the project – the LOTR movies succeeded through story power, not star power.

Back in 2004, my friend Lisa J. Binkley, who had never even heard of ATLAS SHRUGGED before her sister pushed it on her, posted a very perceptive review:

http://sfreader.com/read_review.asp?book=510&t=Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand

As a science fiction fan, she immediately recognized the novel as an “alternate history.” That was NOT Rand’s intention, but it is the only way to read it today — and the only way to film it. It makes more sense to imagine an alternate history in which there NEVER WERE things like computers and commercial air travel than to imagine a future where these things have entirely disappeared before the story even begins — trying to explain that would be awkward at best, and throw off the entire rhythm of the story. Moreover, people today are familiar with alternate history not only through best-sellers like THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN’S UNION, but at least one movie, FATHERLAND, based on the Robert Harris novel.

Having been an sf reader, scholar and critic for most of my life, I know what I’m talking about. Depend on it.

By: Chuck Geshlider

Chuck Geshlider — Sat, 22 May 2010 17:46:43 +0000

yep… which leads me to note that I believe Mr. Mystery Man missed the mark on his point about the lightning-destroyed oak tree and Willer’s response. It was about America and the moral abyss AR claimed was due to altruism as our accepted decree.

By: Karel Segers

Karel Segers — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:23:38 +0000

And thank you for your comment. It was the 500th comment on this blog! (sorry, no prize for this ;)

Now I want to watch that movie again – Zardoz.

Cheers,

Karel

By: zardoz

zardoz — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:33:28 +0000

thank you for this review. you hit on many of the points which make rand’s fiction so rewarding. you raised some points I never noticed. now I want to read or listen to it again. have you read any of her plays? I love “Ideal”

By: David Blankenau

David Blankenau — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:44:47 +0000

Thank You so much for recognizing great fiction writing!! It is so rare these days to find an honest, objective reviewer who knows what he is talking about. This blows the doors off all those ignorant literati who claim the novel is “ponderous” or “pedantic”, etc. What a breath of fresh air!

By: Jared Rhoads

Jared Rhoads — Thu, 20 May 2010 12:53:36 +0000

Thank you for a fair and honest review. You’re absolutely right that in Atlas Shrugged the stakes are high. But they’re not just transcontinental-railroad-high; they’re fate-of-man-on-earth high.