After years in development with names like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt attached, a screen adaptation of Atlas Shrugged has finally gotten started, with pretty much nobody you've ever heard of involved. Rights holder John Aglialoro would have lost them if production hadn't started by Saturday, according to Variety, so the production has moved forward regardless of whether or not they're ready. Not to judge prematurely, but given how quickly casting happened for a production of one of the English language's best-selling novels, I'm not sure they're ready at all.
Paul Johansson, known for playing Dan Scott on One Tree Hill, will be playing the central role of John Galt and making his directing debut after helming a few episodes of the TV show. Dagny Taggart, the lead female role that at one point was going to Angelina Jolie, will be played by Taylor Schilling of the recently cancelled medical drama Mercy. Rounding things out is Ugly Betty's Grant Bowler as Hank Reardon. The production is budgeted at $5 million, which at least means they're not blowing a ton of money on an inexperienced director and actors. And yet, they're still planning to make at least one more movie based on the novel-- it's over 1,000 pages long, after all-- so there's still plenty of time and plenty of money to be wasted after all.
