47 replies to this topic

[Dex]

The trailer looks good.

I always thought "The Fountainhead" better represents what is happening/happened in the USA.

http://en.wikipedia....ad#Plot_summary

Ellsworth M. Toohey, author of a popular architecture column in the Banner, is an outspoken socialist who is covertly rising to power by shaping public opinion through his column and his circle of influential associates. Toohey sets out to destroy Roark through a smear campaign he spearheads. As the first step, Toohey convinces a weak-minded businessman named Hopton Stoddard to hire Roark as the designer for a temple dedicated to the human spirit. Given full freedom to design it as he sees fit, Roark incorporates into it a naked statue of Dominique, which creates a public outcry. Toohey manipulates Stoddard into suing Roark for general incompetence and fraud. At the trial, every prominent architect in New York (including Keating but not including Guy Francon, who refuses to testify as he did not believe that they were "acting as gentlemen") testifies that Roark's style is unorthodox and illegitimate. Dominique defends Roark, but Stoddard wins the case and Roark loses his business again.

[diogenes227]

The trailer looks good.

I always thought "The Fountainhead" better represents what is happening/happened in the USA.

http://en.wikipedia....ad#Plot_summary

Ellsworth M. Toohey, author of a popular architecture column in the Banner, is an outspoken socialist who is covertly rising to power by shaping public opinion through his column and his circle of influential associates. Toohey sets out to destroy Roark through a smear campaign he spearheads. As the first step, Toohey convinces a weak-minded businessman named Hopton Stoddard to hire Roark as the designer for a temple dedicated to the human spirit. Given full freedom to design it as he sees fit, Roark incorporates into it a naked statue of Dominique, which creates a public outcry. Toohey manipulates Stoddard into suing Roark for general incompetence and fraud. At the trial, every prominent architect in New York (including Keating but not including Guy Francon, who refuses to testify as he did not believe that they were "acting as gentlemen") testifies that Roark's style is unorthodox and illegitimate. Dominique defends Roark, but Stoddard wins the case and Roark loses his business again.

I always thought "The Godfather" better represented what is happening/happened in the USA myself.

[Rogerdodger]

The best word to describe Atlas Shrugged Part 1 is … surprising. It’s surprisingly well-paced, surprisingly intelligent, surprisingly well-acted, and surprisingly entertaining. Perhaps most surprising of all, it has me thinking about re-reading the novel again. I would highly recommend it to friends and their families.

Also, according to Box Office Mojo, the limited release seems to be paying dividends. The film had the third highest per-screen average on Friday night of the films at the box office. The trick will be to move it up from 300 screens to somewhere over 1000, if possible. With a budget of only $10 million, it won’t take long for the film to recoup its costs.

Review: http://hotair.com/ar...atlas-shrugged/

[Rogerdodger]

It is becoming more and more difficult to separate fact from the fiction in Atlas.
Some of this stuff even Ayn Rand couldn't have imagined:

GE PROFITS JUMP 77%
TAX FREE?

GE has a team of 975 gilded tax-avoidance professionals.
U.S. corporate rates are chasing profits offshore, and the only jobs created are for tax lawyers.
While Jeff Immelt has been compared to some unsavory crony capitalists in the book (see Orren Boyle), when it comes to taxes, it seems like he must do business in Galt's gulch.

Since the advent of capitalism, businessmen have been denounced for the corrupt actions of a few political profiteers. To help understand that there is a distinction, consider two characters in Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel “Atlas Shrugged.” In the book, Rand describes two opposite kinds of businessmen – those she calls the “producers” and those she calls the “looters.”
The producers, such as Hank Rearden, inventor of a new metal stronger and cheaper than steel, work tirelessly to create products that improve human life. The looters are basically pseudobusinessmen, like the incompetent steel executive Orren Boyle, who get unearned riches by getting special favors from politicians. Their business isn’t business, but political pull.
It is the producers who make life possible: who keep grocery shelves stocked; who discover new lifesaving drugs; who make computers faster, buildings taller, and airplanes safer.
The looters, on the other hand, leech off the wealth created by producers.
The novel rejects the widespread notion that both the producer Reardens and the looter Boyles are fundamentally united by a desire for profit. Only the Reardens, she argues, deserve to be called profit-seekers, because they earn rewards through productive effort; the Boyles are antieffort parasites seeking unearned loot.
But it’s not only unearned wealth the looters want. In “Atlas Shrugged,” Boyle uses his influence to throttle Rearden with progressively harsher government controls and regulations, because he can’t survive except by hindering the competition.
Producers, however, don’t need special favors, only freedom: the freedom to produce, to trade voluntarily, and, if they succeed, to keep the profits. As a country becomes less free, it creates and unleashes more and more Boyles, who succeed at the expense of the Reardens.

http://drsanity.blog...ions-crony.html

Edited by Rogerdodger, 21 April 2011 - 09:21 AM.

[Trendy]

I haven't read Atlas but I have listened to Rand's book "Capitalism - The Unknown Ideal". It was only 14 hours of listening while gardening, walking, driving, etc. Its a collection of her essays on many subjects and was very good. It even has 3 essays by Greenspan of which one is the necessity of a gold standard.

[OEXCHAOS]

I don't know if I actually said this, but SEE THE MOVIE. It was quite good and I found myself deeply moved and eager to see the next two--and I know how it ends. Cinematography was very good, too. Mark

[Rogerdodger]

May not be a part 2.
I think it made the Looters and Moochers uneasy.

Eddie Willers looked away. He had never liked the sight...
It disturbed him, in a manner he could not explain or define.
The feeling seemed to blend in with his sense of uneasiness;...


NYT wouldn't even review it.
Overall, the weekend's take was a scant $879,000 -- a whopping 48 percent drop despite adding 166 locations. Which certainly suggest they're running out of audience quick.

'Atlas Shrugged' collapses at box office...

"Has anyone else been wondering why The Times- which never lets a new movie go unreviewed (even when no critics' screenings have been arranged)- has decided to break precedent with this one? My understanding is that the film's producers actually did hold a press screening but decided not to issue an invite to this paper. If so, the failure to publish a review here is a matter of pure pique and comes across as a disservice to the paper's readers. I have no personal connection to the film and nothing good to say on its behalf. My argument is that every film that opens commercially in NYC deserves to be critiqued by its paper of record. The decision not to do so is even more deplorable than that taken by the distributing company to withhold an invitation to its opening for reasons of editorial politics, operating policy or anything else. Who knows? The Times critics might have actually liked the thing... ''

Edited by Rogerdodger, 26 April 2011 - 10:50 PM.

[OEXCHAOS]

I'm saddened. I know I was "pre sold" but I really did like it.

[Rogerdodger]

In the novel, certain businesses made friends with the politicians and got special deals.
Those who were not "friends" were vilified.
Today GE makes record profits and pays no taxes as politicians throw larger and larger tax loopholes to such "GREEN" companies who in turn reward the politicians with "support" including free, unrelenting positive publicity through GE owned media outlets such as NBC and MSNBC.

Meanwhile BIG OIL, (which is the lifeblood of our economy) is vilified and pays huge taxes and now politicians want to yank any remaining tax benefits to them just as we suffer from record oil prices due to the lack of production capabilities due to government interference.

The US bans domestic drilling while George Soros' foregin drilling investments soar!

Yes. We are living the book.

EXXON earns nearly $11B in profit...

Paid nearly $10 billion in 2010 taxes...

Profits 'a little more than 2 cents per gallon'...

SHELL makes $8.78B...

GE sees best profit outlook in decade...

It is becoming more and more difficult to separate fact from the fiction in Atlas.
Some of this stuff even Ayn Rand couldn't have imagined:

GE PROFITS JUMP 77%
TAX FREE?

GE has a team of 975 gilded tax-avoidance professionals.
U.S. corporate rates are chasing profits offshore, and the only jobs created are for tax lawyers.
While Jeff Immelt has been compared to some unsavory crony capitalists in the book (see Orren Boyle), when it comes to taxes, it seems like he must do business in Galt's gulch.


http://drsanity.blog...ions-crony.html

Edited by Rogerdodger, 28 April 2011 - 12:36 PM.

[Rogerdodger]

Yes! We are still living "Atlas Shrugged"!
The IAM and SPEEA unions in Everett Washington, just like Rail Union in Atlas are doing all they can, along with their political friends, to stop a private company from productivity. So Boeing moved to Galt's Gulch.

Boeing finds Galt's Gulch in Charleston

Boeing 787 Charleston Decision Still Irks Unions - GLG News

The NLRB has filed a complaint, supported by the Administration.
Boeing could not have done this with the risk of strike action every few years if the entire 787 operation were housed in Everett – moving was the next best option. If the IAM and SPEEA unions aim to keep future airplane work, they’ll have to go much farther than agree to a no-strike deal for a decade.
It is clear Boeing is prepared to make big decisions away from Washington State – that alone should be enough impetus for the unionised labour force to reconsider their actions when contract renewals are discussed.
All striking will do is reinforce Boeing’s belief that the future of its airplane building operations can be set up anywhere if it feels that its employees care more about their self interests rather than that of their employer and the airlines who depend on business continuity.


“If successful, the NLRB complaint would allow unions to hold a virtual ‘veto’ over business decisions,”
“Left to their own devices, the NLRB would routinely punish right-to-work states that value and promote their pro-business climates.”
Atlas is shrugging, and so should be all Americans.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 03 May 2011 - 11:08 AM.