Atlas Begged: Would Ayn Rand Approve Of Producers Asking For Handouts?

WIth parts I and II of 'Atlas Shrugged' making less a third of its $30 million budget, producers made a Kickstarter to fund Part III.

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Russian-born author and philosopher Ayn Rand (1905 - 1982) stands with her arms folded on a street in New York City, 1957.

Unbowed by the rather modest — less than $8 million — earnings on two films that took $30 million to make, producers of the three-part Atlas Shrugged are ignoring the free-market’s blatant decision to not buy movie tickets and asking for handouts to the tune of $250,000 on Kickstarter to make the third installment.

The Kickstarter notes that, in spite of Ayn Rand’s film aspirations, Hollywood wouldn’t move on Atlas Shrugged either out of “fear of failure or lack of courage.” (Although given the particularly deep shade of red of the movies’ balance sheets, it was probably the former.)

Of course, as the Kickstarter’s very own FAQ section states, many people are wondering: “Isn’t asking for charity antithetical to Ayn Rand’s philosophy?” and “Isn’t this ironic?”

But producers Harmon Kaslow and John Aglialoro answer:

No. Kickstarter represents a “free market” and the very embodiment of what Atlas Shrugged is all about.

The real irony is that detractors continue to use the word “irony” to describe a voluntary value-for-value trade amongst individuals as being in opposition to Rand’s philosophy.

Besides, as BuzzFeed points out, Rand herself was accepting government Social Security and Medicare payments in her old age, so who would she be to judge?