‘Atlas Shrugged’ Opens in Theaters Tonight

Film adaptation seeks to stay true to Ayn Rand’s vision

NEW ORLEANS, La. – ‘Atlas Shrugged’, Ayn Rand’s 1957 magnum opus about a dystopian society where the government assumes increasing control over society, was released today as the first installment of a planned film trilogy.

Harmon Kaslow, executive producer of the film, states, “We’re lucky that the relevance of the book to what’s going on today has steadily increased over time.” Kaslow is referring to an audience who believe that the Obama Administration has emphasized government intervention as the solution to economic problems.

The film’s producer, entrepreneur and chairman of UM Holdings Inc., John Aglioloro, completed the film with an austere budget of $10 million. Shot in just 26 days and completed several months later, the film’s creation from start to finish took under a year.

According to Kaslow, the second installment of the film is set to go into production in June, with a release date in April 2012.

The film can be seen in New Orleans at the Theaters at Canal Place, and The Pelican Post review is now available.

Robert Ross is a researcher and social media strategist with the Pelican Institute for Public Policy. He can be contacted at rross@pelicanpolicy.org, and you can follow him on twitter.