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UPDATED: ATLAS SHRUGS OFF VADIM PERELMAN?
http://chud.com/articles/articles/15214/1/UPDATED-ATLAS-SHRUGS-OFF-VADIM-PERELMAN/Page1.html
Russ Fischer
Russ Fischer is the CHUD utility player. Part editor, part fixer, part monkey butler. Still in Atlanta after a wholly unexpected run of 6 years and counting. He's not so secretly waiting for Jeremy Davies to come through on his intention to unite the efforts of Werner Herzog and Lars von Trier.

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By Russ Fischer
Published on 06/19/2008
 
Angelina Jolie says he isn't the helmer, never was.

ATLAS SHRUGS OFF VADIM PERELMAN?
At this point there's little that Angelina Jolie can say about Atlas Shrugged that will change my mind about the book or the movie; it's a ridiculous novel with the potential to become one of the most epic disasters to hit the screen. Which means, of course, that I can't wait to see it. So when Jolie tells MTV that it's a 'once in a lifetime film' I agree whole-heartedly.

And for a while I really couldn't wait, because Vadim Perelman was supposedly set to direct. It was in the trades and everything! Those guys are always on the ball. But in the same MTV piece featuring the quote above, there's also this:

Jolie told MTV News that Vadim Pearlman [sic], who was thought to be lined up to direct, was never and is not now officially attached to the project.

I have no idea why MTV buried that lead, though I'm sure it has to do with the number of people who click on an article with Jolie's name in the header as opposed to Perelman's. It's a wild statement, though, since Perelman has said a lot about working with Lionsgate on the picture. April interviews available on Box Office Mojo and Coming Soon feature the director talking about the film. Who's telling the truth? I just called the previously announced production company (Baldwin Entertainment Group) but their number is disconnected.

UPDATE: Cinematical says they've spoken with Perelman and he is indeed off the project. Kim Voynar at the site says "I can say with as much certainty as one can possibly have about a situation like this that the decision to step down was on Perelman's side."