The free market has rendered a verdict on the film adaptation of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.
Adam Smith's Invisible Hand has officially extended its middle finger towards the film.
And the producers, in true thin skinned uber-mensch Galtian form, have found a scapegoat.
Film critics.
From TalkingPointsMemo
So, all you Atlas Shrugged fans now can blame film critics for never learning who John Galt really is.
The alternative would be to blame the film makers. That would be like blaming John Galt himself. And that just wouldn't do, would it?
Atlas Shrugged grossed almost $2 million on its opening weekend, very respectable for just under 300 screens.
Then the movie expanded to over 400 screens the following weekend and the box office numbers contracted like the housing market in Las Vegas, bringing in just over $800,000
Oops.
It's too soon to tell whether or not Atlas Shrugged, Part Only will become a home video success. It is a widely forgotten fact that the first Austin Powers movie was also a box office flop, and the success of that movie in rental and home video sales is what gave the green light to its sequels. However, the makers of Austin Powers didn't blame everyone but themselves for the initially tepid box office numbers. More to the point, Austin Powers was entertaining.
Blaming critics for the failure of a movie today is as anachronistic as the trains that appear in Atlas Shrugged. There was a time when film critics wielded this kind of power, but that time has come and gone. As far as I am concerned, George Lucas personally put the toe tag on a film critics power to make or break a movie when he released the undeniably critic proof Star Wars. The critics panned that movie with great vengeance and furious anger, and... Lucas Shrugged.
I challenge any one who saw this movie to cite one memorable line, or catch phrase, from the film that will allow for its success on home video.
I'm not talking about "Who Is John Galt?", either. I mean something like "There is no spoon." from The Matrix or "The Force is with you." from Star Wars or "I think you're going to need a bigger boat" from Jaws.
I predict that without a catch phrase, there will be no home video success. And without home video success, there will be no sequel.
Adam Smith's Invisible Hand has officially extended its middle finger towards the film.
And the producers, in true thin skinned uber-mensch Galtian form, have found a scapegoat.
Film critics.
From TalkingPointsMemo
John Aglialoro, the producer, distributor, and financier of the first Atlas Shrugged movie, says he's reconsidering his plans, thanks to scathing reviews from movie critics (and TPM). "Critics, you won," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I'm having deep second thoughts on why I should do Part 2."
So, all you Atlas Shrugged fans now can blame film critics for never learning who John Galt really is.
The alternative would be to blame the film makers. That would be like blaming John Galt himself. And that just wouldn't do, would it?
Atlas Shrugged grossed almost $2 million on its opening weekend, very respectable for just under 300 screens.
Then the movie expanded to over 400 screens the following weekend and the box office numbers contracted like the housing market in Las Vegas, bringing in just over $800,000
Oops.
It's too soon to tell whether or not Atlas Shrugged, Part Only will become a home video success. It is a widely forgotten fact that the first Austin Powers movie was also a box office flop, and the success of that movie in rental and home video sales is what gave the green light to its sequels. However, the makers of Austin Powers didn't blame everyone but themselves for the initially tepid box office numbers. More to the point, Austin Powers was entertaining.
Blaming critics for the failure of a movie today is as anachronistic as the trains that appear in Atlas Shrugged. There was a time when film critics wielded this kind of power, but that time has come and gone. As far as I am concerned, George Lucas personally put the toe tag on a film critics power to make or break a movie when he released the undeniably critic proof Star Wars. The critics panned that movie with great vengeance and furious anger, and... Lucas Shrugged.
I challenge any one who saw this movie to cite one memorable line, or catch phrase, from the film that will allow for its success on home video.
I'm not talking about "Who Is John Galt?", either. I mean something like "There is no spoon." from The Matrix or "The Force is with you." from Star Wars or "I think you're going to need a bigger boat" from Jaws.
I predict that without a catch phrase, there will be no home video success. And without home video success, there will be no sequel.
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