Upon its release last year, the overwhelming consensus was that Atlas Shrugged: Part One resulted in a disaster of epic proportions, an assumption proven both critically and by its meager $4.6 million box office take. Too bad no one told the film’s producers, as they’ve already started work on the second part of the trilogy based on Ayn Rand’s controversial 1957 novel.
The LA Times reported that businessman John Aglialoro and producer Harmon Kaslow have raised the necessary funding for the sequel, and plans for principal photography in Los Angeles and Colorado is already scheduled for April. While they declined to disclose the final budget, earlier statements from Kaslow place their desired amount somewhere between $10 million and $15 million, a more conservative number compared to the original.
Aglialoro bought the rights to Rand’s ode to capitalism in 1992, and then financed the production and distribution of the first segment for $20 million. Directed by Paul Johansson (One Tree Hill) and starring a cast of unknowns, the film opened on April 15 only to head straight to DVD after a dismally short theatrical run.
I’d finish this piece with fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice, shame on us, but from the looks of things, hardly anyone was fooled the first time around. A release is intended for October 2012.
Do you think an Atlas Shrugged sequel a huge mistake? Did the first one get a bad rap?