ATLAS WILL YET SHRUG

I can't remember ever saying this, but I hope this movie dies. I would hate to see Angelina Jolie become the face of these Objectivist assholes. (By the way, you've really been on a roll lately)

No good can possibly come of this.

Objectivism = long, drawn out explanation of why it's okay to be a good-for-nothing-asshole. /Inexcusable.

They need to hire RUSH to score this movie..

I'm Old Greg!!!

Wow, more ignorant Leftist drivel dripping out of the mouth of Devin like so many cheez-doodles. Dude, you hate America and yourself, we get it, enough. Go to fucking therapy or take a ride to East L.A. at night and walk around a bit.

How is knowing that Atlas Shrugged is complete shit "hating America", AnimalStructure?

Q: What makes Ann Rand a good author and Hillary Clinton a great politician? A: A VAGINA.

Much of Rand's philosophy has been subverted and misunderstood, and people often make the mistake of projecting the imperfections and flaws of her character (she was a cast-iron bitch who flagrantly cheated on her husband) onto her philosophy. I think there is a sound basis for many of her ideas, but I also think that she was one of the prime offenders in subverting those ideas when she attempted to put them into practice in her own life. It is a philosophy that views the individual as a sovereign entity, without attachment or obligation to any other individual. This is a tough pill for some people to swallow and, I think, where a lot of the misunderstanding comes into play. This is often interpreted as meaning, "I only look out for me, so fuck everybody else." Which I don't think it does. Objectivism doesn't necessarily rule out altruism, it merely takes the position that altruism shouldn't be born of coercion. If you want to donate money to a charity, or volunteer your time at a homeless shelter, go right ahead. You just shouldn't have to be forced to either by government law, religious doctrine, or social obligation. It should remain your choice. And if you want to be an asshole and never help or do anything for anyone, that's your choice as well. We all have the right to be selfish assholes if we so choose. Granted, Objectivism certainly works well as a philosophy to excuse assholism (as demonstrated by its creator), but it doesn't require you to be one.

No, Ayn Rand is not misunderstood. She actually is horrible.

How many people have died as a result of objectivism? None. How many people have died as a result of Marxism? Millions. Which political philosophy is evil?

The only real question remaining about this movie is: Will Alan Greenspan have a cameo?

sounds like the perfect project for angelina jolie

How many people have died as a result of Capitalism?

You know Devin, i find it amazing how you always talk about ambiguity in films in your reviews and how Daniel Plainview isn't just a simple god hating atheist and that good movies aren't about black and white characters and how comic books suck because they perpetuate this trend of reducible complexity. Then you turn around and call Ayn Rand evil because you don't agree with the cult that has grown around her. REALLY? I mean its one thing to say NAMBLA is evil, but really? How is it when the idiots on fox news marginalize and demean liberals or progressives they're lowering the standard for everyone and then you pretend to take the higher ground while indulging in the same rhetoric its somehow acceptable? How much of a difference is it if you're saying "little eichmanns" or evil? Shouldn't such wording be reserved for something that deserves to be called evil? You might as well be one of those uninformed college kids who criticize capitalism while they're living lives of relative ease in their dreads and kaffiyehs. I'm not a member of any one ideology but I do agree with some of the Rand-ian precepts. Warren Buffett gives his billions away after a lifetime of making money. I doubt he did it for the collective good, he did it because he gained satisfaction from it. The "collective good" is why families in EVIL countries are put in jail because one member went to fight for the other side. "Collective good" is how hippies justify American soldier's deaths in Darfur (if we go there) as opposed to their meaningless deaths in a meaningless war in Iraq. "collective good" is how hippies persuaded Zambia to refuse crops during a drought because they were genetically modified. You know, unlike organic crops which were surely found all over the fertile crescent 10,000 years ago, much like the poodle and the persian cat. Also, I wasn't aware that Objectivists had engaged in mass surveillance of high level government officials and destroyed people's lives through murder and kidnapping. You're using evil the way scientologists use it to justify their actions against people who don't agree with them. I WISH more people were good for nothing self centered assholes. Then they wouldn't be so concerned about pushing their beliefs on the rest of us. Fuck you and your elitist affectations. Loved your TWBB rebuttal. #14: Less than those who died because a group of people believed that everyone was responsible for everyone and to not do so was EVIL. Call it communism, marxism, collectivism, religion, hippie-ism; helping people should be a freedom and a virtue, not a responsibility and certainly not a law.

I had written a four hundred word rant about Ayn Rand that was completely misinformed, idiotic drivel to post here, but then I realized people who argue about Ayn Rand and philosophy on a movie news website are complete douchebags.

Practicing Objectivists: George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson. Practicing Humanists: Karl Marx, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez. But you know, it's the thought that really counts, right?

it is pretty funny seeing how vociferously people attack objectivism. Someone of strength and intelligence who disagreed would point out the weak parts of the philosophy. Those who are weak and insecure shout insults from across the room and call you a facist if you hint that people should take some responsibility for their own lives. I think anyone who aspires to comment on thinking in this country needs to at least read Rand's novels. And yes that 56 page speech was painful even for those of us who enjoyed the book.

They should just go and adapt BioShock instead, its shorter for one.

A man chooses; a slave obeys!

Ayn Rand sucks communist cock in Hell.

Bioshock, would be much, much better. Not that I am an objectivist, or hate Ayn Rand. Hell i like the idea, its just not practical in the real world. and can cause more harm than good. Now will you kindly please adapt Bioshock, into a feature film. Or Will you kindly please adapt it into a trilogy and touch on the whole Atlus Shrugged thesis.

For someone who hated altruism so much, Ayn Rand provided a very altruistic service. She provided a sort of philosophy for people too stupid to understand real philosophy.

I think the best hope for this movie is as a kind of "Starship Troopers" piss-take. Verhoeven's movie took Heinlein's fascist ideas and made them into ripe movie comedy. Only trouble is, Ayn Rand doesn't have the kind of action that made Troopers fun. This film will need to be very funny to compensate. As funny as the concept that George Washington was an "Objectivist".

You stay classy, Devin.

To the Rand-haters out there, I think Rand gets an undeserved bad reputation. In essence, Rand's point is that: 1. You should pursue the things and people you are passionate about. 2. Reality isn't just going to bend to your wishes, so your method of getting those things is by using your mind to figure out reality. The rest is just details of the above. Her novels are actually really inspiring. Enjoy. PS God, I have no idea how they're going to adapt Atlas. It's one BIG novel.

Whatever your feelings about Rand's philosophy, you can't escape the fact that Atlas Shrugged is a horrible novel from a literary/storytelling sense. Its just badly written, and the reason it survives today is more because of the people who admire Rand's philosophy rather than her literary talents. A good movie it will not make. A film version of Bioshock would be a better approach to the material.

A philosophy for sociopaths - awesome. They needed one. Will it work for Pedophiles too?

Devin is a short, fat and balding hobbit who has turned every girlfriend he's ever had into a lesbian. He doesn't look or sound like he's from Brooklyn. Hanging out in Williamsburg with all the other hipsters does not let you give big ups to B.K. You are a chubby little poser, Devin. You will spend the rest of your life writing about other people's movies. Nick sucks too. And Phil is a fucking retarded sidekick.

Hey guys, if you can't handle a little knee-jerk bleeding-heart liberalism every now and then, maybe CHUD isn't the movie news site for you.

Why in heaven's name is this talentless wench still credited with the "creation" of objectivism, when all she did was collecting her acquaintances' concepts and writing them down (in a horrible and antitalented way)? They should ask Trey Parker to adapt it, by the way... I'd like to hear the snort and laughter of his response recorded.

I still want to see the Fountainhead covered in a regular Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode with Shake building like wild!

"Devin is a short, fat and balding hobbit who has turned every girlfriend he's ever had into a lesbian" I call bullshit on that because there is not a sane woman alive that would ever start a relationship with Devin. No matter how much he wants to be Seth Rogans characters in movies, it will never, ever happen, because in real life, fat asses like himself get treated like they should.

Bottom line: Don't criticize Ayn Rand or people will call you fat and try to make you feel bad.