Hollywood never stops scanning the bookshops and getting out its library card to try and find new material for movies. And Lionsgate has dusted off a 1957 tome long considered to be practically unfilmable. But then, they said that about Lord Of The Rings until a certain Mr Jackson proved otherwise.
No sign of Pete this time, though – but Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are apparently tempted by roles in a film version of US novelist Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.
Rand’s novel is a bleak tale of American economic collapse, strife and civil war set in a chaotic future. Controversial but also beloved, it has had a long road to the screen. Producer Al Ruddy went to great lengths to try and get it made during the 1970s and early ‘80s, with the likes of Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford said to be interested in snagging parts. But with Rand retaining script approval, nothing ever quite worked. Then came 1982 and Rand’s death, which freed Ruddy up to keep trying. He finally gave up in 1999 after a US TV miniseries fell through.
In 2003, Howard and Karen Baldwin, two producers who are now riding high after the success of Ray, snapped up the rights. Their original plan outlined two films, but Lionsgate won’t stretch to that. And if they do snag Pitt and Jolie, the actors will be taking a hefty pay cut to appear. But they’re hopeful – the current power couple are both big fans of Rand’s work. But can something that depressing be filmed in a post 9/11 world? Lionsgate is about to find out.