“Atlas Shrugged” Targets Tea Partiers
“Atlas Shrugged,” a novel in which society’s most productive citizens choose to disappear, was published in 1957, and filmmakers have spent nearly every year since trying to adapt it. They finally succeeded, and the first part of what’s planned as a trilogy comes out April 15. (P.J. O’Rourke’s pithy review: “Atlas Shrugged, and so did I.”) If you didn’t know about the movie, it’s likely you’re not a member of the Tea Party. It was probably only a matter of time before Hollywood tried tapping the e-mail lists and social networks of the giant political movement, as distributor Rocky Mountain Pictures and filmmakers including co-producer Harmon Kaslow have for “Atlas Shrugged: Part 1.” Despite years of cinematic interest and high hopes for stars and funding, the film was made for less than $10 million, with Taylor Schilling — who appeared on NBC’s short-lived “Mercy” — playing protagonist Dagny Taggart.
