New Atlas Shrugged Movie News! Plus: Who Wants to Have Sex With Ayn Rand? - Penn Point

[CosmoShidan]

Atlas has got to be one of the worst sci-fi novels I've ever read! I'd go with Revolt in 2100 o A Scanner Darkly any day!

[elzoog]

What's up with the going back and forth between a front camera view and a right camera view?

[heapner]

Cowardly how penn hides that he's a member of the church of satan. If you notice he puts up the devils horns with his right hand when he says he would go see the passion of the christ. Ayn rand had bigger balls than you and your whole organization.

[flug747]

It amazes me endlessly that Penn made a series about "Bullshit", yet is a fan of Ayn Rand. And not just her atheism or her smoking. Just goes to show what happens when you get famous and rich. You get yourself an ideology defending your right to not pay any taxes to a society that helped you get rich in the first place.

Obviously happens to cool long haired atheist LV magician dudes, as well.

[ToxinalX]

@flug747 He doesn't like her... I don't see why. He just keeps talking a lot of ... bullshit, in this clip. I generally like Penn however.

[flug747]

@ToxinalX

When it comes to money and taxes and society he talks a lot of bullshit. He's no different there from the conservative nuts he so eloquently embarrasses in his series.

[ToxinalX]

@flug747 I'm a soft core Classical Liberal myself. I like a lot of what he says.

He's not nuts. That just goes to show how little you know about different kinds of people and other ideologies than the social programming that you're currently upholding yourself.

[flug747]

@ToxinalX

Hey, soft core classical liberal, I did not say he's nuts. I said when it comes to money he's no different from the conservative nuts.

And I guess by "classical liberal" you mean libertarian. Because I, myself, full disclosure, am a liberal. In Europe you might say a social democrat. And - because of many other sensible things Penn has to say - I think it's a shame that he embraces the financial ideology of the oligarchy.

[ToxinalX]

@flug747 You have your min made up, so I don't really feel like chating with you since I'm really tired from work already.

[alfonso2501]

I love what you have to say, you're just too obnoxious for me.

[rheniumlake]

Penn, I'd like to know what your reaction is to the unsuccessful release of the movie. Why do you think it did so poorly and why did the movie end up as an indie film when it is one of the most famous books of this passed century? According to John Stossel the movie was too Conservative for the Liberal media to accept, do you agree?

[EclecticSceptic]

Stupid fucking Ayn Rand and poisonous bloody objectivism.

[OmnisOrtus]

Objectivism & Libertarianism :D

[lifevt94hellotoworld]

great video. I LOLed

[mdranias]

ayn rand=penn in drag

[robotzorro]

Penn, Penn, Penn. I try s hard to like you. But then you say things like, "Ayn Rand was a complete whack job. But I believe in a lot of the things she says."

So you believe in the philosophy of a total whack job. Who thinks serial killers represent the ideal human.

It's just so sad.

[jdgrab1]

@DanteMcSparda You need to learn to read. You completely missed the point. Read something other than Rand. Please!

[TheMrSeagull]

Wow, lots of hate toward Rand here, and a great amount if it based of ignorance. Especially postalmeter, puting Rand and Mark in any sort of simulatiry clearly shows how little you know of Objectivism.

Rand wanted complete free "Laissez-faire" capitalism, but not anarchy. The gonverment's roles were clearly lined out to protect the citizen from violence, direct or indirect(fraud, theft, etc.) through police (domestic) military (foreign) and the courts to settle disputes.

[Bellantoni]

@TheMrSeagull Who's Mark?

[TheMrSeagull]

@Bellantoni Mark Twain, sorry about the confusion, that discussion was quite awhile ago and the entire discussion has been buried by other comments.

[shelbeh94]

Remember that thing you parents said about "if you don't have anything nice to say. . .". I am guessing most of you wern't there the day they taught manners at school. Calling Ms. Rand names and down playing her achievements is nasty and rude, she is dead and cannot explain her oppinions to you. It is not your job to be the idea police.

[postalmeter]

If I had a choice between having to fuck Ayn Rand or get shot, I'd say "make it a clean kill."

Ayn Rand was a reverse-Marxist, i.e. she agreed with Marx that a free market leads to Social Darwinism, but she believed that that's how it SHOULD be.

In reality, that's what Penn calls "BULLSHIT!" A free market REDUCES social stratification and promotes EQUALITY; it's STATISM that allows elites to get an unfair advantage.

That's what the Lincoln government was all about: industrial oligarchy.

[Solverwiz]

Hey Penn did a review of the movie!

It's on youtube.

[jdgrab1]

Penn may be physically enormous but he is intellectually diminutive. He should stick to his parlor tricks. Does it not seem telling that the majority of creativity in art, literature, music, film and humor comes from the left? It seems to me that libertarians are just right-wingers that want to get high and have kinky sex. Nothing wrong with either of those, but why do they feel such a need to justify their desires? "Never trust anyone who thinks Ayn Rand is a great writer."-Chris Hedges

[TheMrSeagull]

@jdgrab1

Obviously you never read Rand, she taught that art/literature/music/etc. was an important part of a free society.

Plus, you woulden't call objectivists libertarians, Rand did not approve of the Libertarian movement, as it was too rooted in Anarchy, and thus, collectivism.

[jdgrab1]

@TheMrSeagull Wow! Talk about completely missing the point. I've read her and she's a very weak writer. No nuance, no humor, no subtlety and absolutely flat, predictable characters. Please read other, better authors and try to develop some type of discernment. Start with Mark Twain. I dare you.

[TheMrSeagull]

@jdgrab1 I'm not surprised that you feel that, because I came to a different conclusion after reading Rand's work, that I must be an uneducated dolt. I don't read Rand's work to be captivated by fantasy, or to laugh. I enjoyed her work because it offers a reason-based glimpse into a theoretical result of her philosophy. Going on the conclusion you came to tells me that -you- completely missed the point of -her- work.

Twain was entertaining, but hardly inspiring to me.

[jdgrab1]

@TheMrSeagull There's no accounting for taste I suppose. If you sincerely believe that she is a more significant and skilled writer than a Mark Twain and you're being honest about having read his work, I'm not quite sure if we will agree on anything. Although, if possible, could you explain what you mean by "it offers a reason based glimpse into a theoretical result of her philosophy?" Also, what other writers is she superior to in your estimation? Dickens, Orwell, Conrad, Hemingway, Turgenev?

[TheMrSeagull]

@jdgrab1 I never meant to imply that Rand was a superior writer to all others. I don't turn to Rand for romanticism in literature, nor do I dislike such novels. Rand's work, mostly non-fictional, are written to explain her philosophy of Objectivism in both a literal sense(The Virtue of Selfishness) and a hypothetical sense (Atlas Shrugged). The former detailing the philosophy, the latter exemplifying a "before and after" of her philosophy in practice.

[jdgrab1]

@TheMrSeagull A reasonable reply. I still stand by my earlier assertion that Randians seem to me to be right wingers that want to get high and get laid. In other words, they hold to the "no government whatsoever" mantra but not the bogus moralistic posturing. I respect them for the latter but they're way off on the former. I believe when the Rand philosophy is closely examined it proves to be dangerously naive and socially destructive. Ayn herself couldn't adhere to her own dogmatic principles.

[TheMrSeagull]

@jdgrab1 A common misconception, Rand has never advocated "no government whatsoever"

She saw the government fulfilling a critical role; protecting people from violence. Domestic violence -the police. Foreign violence - the military, and the courts; to settle disputes amoungst the citizens. These term "violence" is used in the form of both physical (abuse, assault, murder, Etc.) and in-direct (Theft, fraud, blackmail, etc.) As for Rand following her own princaiples, what do you mean specifically?

[help4343]

@TheMrSeagull

My didn't you find Twain inspiring. When Huckleberry decide not to turn in Jim didn't it inspire you to trust your own sense of right and wrong over society's?

[TheMrSeagull]

@help4343

It didn't take an example of slavery to inspire me to mistrust the judgment of society. It's society that deems individuals of the same gender are forbidden to participates in the state-provided rewards of marriage. It’s society that that dictates that individuals are forbidden in consuming products that it has deem harmful, such as marijuana, nicotine, saturated fat, and salt.

I’ll never accept that a majority rule has the right to violate the Rights of the individual.

[flug747]

@TheMrSeagull

It's society that builds the roads you drive on. It's society that preserves the safety standards for the car, house or water you use. What you mean is not "society", it's just the rules of some conservative few - whom you help by supporting so called "libertarian" parties. It's these types that deem same-sex marriage or marijuana immoral. And you're still allowed to eat saturated fat or salt. Oh, by the way: It was society, majority rule, that ended slavery.

[TheMrSeagull]

@flug747

The roads are not a good example of the virtues of government. Despite the large amount of funds dedicated to the roads, they still do a terrible job at maintaining them. I’d be much more willing to pay for private roads, but I have no choice, and I’m forced to pay for public roads either way. You seem to suffer from the same problem many people of both sides of the spectrum have – You’ll fight for the freedoms you care for, but don’t give a damn about others.

[IoEstasCedonta]

Actually... IMDB says that there's no one yet cast as Danneskjöld... hmm...

Still time, Penn! Might be that Johansson is saving you for the sequels...

[IoEstasCedonta]

Or maybe Danneskjöld?

[IoEstasCedonta]

Penn would be an incredible Francisco D'Anconia...

[TurquoiseCowboy]

You'd fuck Ayn Rand??! That's NASTY. I wouldn't TOUCH that greedy, selfish, heartless cunt, let alone fuck her. She'd probably make you pay her after fucking her. She was, after all, a money-hungry capitalist bitch

[szililolabu]

@TurquoiseCowboy You ever read one of her books?

[TurquoiseCowboy]

@szililolabu Oh yeah I loved Atlas Shrugged. I actually like Ayn Rand, I was just trolling. I like to do that sometimes. I'm an atheist and sometimes I'll make comments that advocate radical religious views just for the hell of it. It's fun to stir up controversy on youtube. And for the record I still wouldn't fuck Ayn Rand lol. I admire her philosophies but she was just gross haha.

[starbobpizza]

Food for thought for Randians: What should be done to people who lack market value in Rands utopia? Imagine an old woman who is crippled and can produce no economic output in exchange for services. In a world where everyone is selfish - what would become of her?

Another example: A man finds a mistress and kicks his wife and kids out on the street with no means to sustain themselves. Has he committed any moral wrongdoing in the eyes of Rands' moral system?

[TheMrSeagull]

@starbobpizza Obviously your opinion was based off of a surface view of Rand's philosophy. Rand never wanted an end to charity, just an end to compulsion to charity through the government or the church. Private charity will be more than able to help those who can't help themselves, and those who give to charity of their own free will and desire are encouraged to do so. She hated the notion that you needed to "sacrifice" yourself for others.

[RatkoUSA]

Everyone knows crazy women are the best fucks

[KeithMcElwain]

Atlas Shrugged is KING : )

[jamesdond1]

What a waste of time.... Life is too short to ever see another one of this guys video!

[AtlasShruggery]

So it turns out that Teabagger icon, Ayn Rand, collected Social Security benefits under an assumed name in order to try to hide her identity. This after denouncing Social Security for decades. Rand was a total freakin poseur.

[freesk8]

@AtlasShruggery Well, MLK jr plagiarized his masters thesis, and had affairs. T. Jefferson had slaves. Gandhi was a lousy father. But we all find cool things in their philosophy. Rand was imperfect, but what you have just said is a sort of ad hominem argument. It is invalid because pointing out that the author has flaws does not disprove any of his or her ideas. By your statement above, you should discount MLK jr, Jefferson and Gandhi as poseurs. Try again, silly boy.

[NefariousBanana]

Atlas Shrugged on Rotten Tomatoes: 7%. That's lower than Transformers 2, 2012, Pearl Harbor, and Batman and Robin. Epic Fail.

[RolandStGermain]

@NefariousBanana Did you see the viewers' ratings? The reason that the critics hated it is because it is a direct attack against them. They are non-producers who make their living by criticizing what others produce. Rand is a controversial figure and as such will be criticized strongly by people who disagree with her works.

[AtlasShruggery]

@RolandStGermain

LOL. It's all a huge collectivist conspiracy, right? It should have been called Atlas Yawned. Ticket sales have crashed. The Randtards are tapped out.

[freesk8]

@AtlasShruggery "Randtards?" Wow, that was pretty politically incorrect. Are you comparing them to downs syndrome adults, or Special Olymians? Tut, tut, my friend. And my guess is that Rand fans are on average WAY smarter than the average movie-goer.

This is a niche-market film. And they have enough interest to make parts 2 and 3. They will open on 4/15/12 and 4/15/13. I'll be going!

[BenkaiDebussy]

@RolandStGermain Haha, what? Critics produce criticism that other people read/watch. It's no different from producing any other written/video material. Do you also think that professional basketball and baseball players shouldn't be payed? They're not producing anything! (at least by your standards)

Anyone who makes anything that other people are willing to buy is a producer.

[freesk8]

@NefariousBanana The critics hate it, but the viewers and audience love it. I'd say it is the critics who don't know what they are talking about. I think they are out of touch with their own audience.

[NoMoreBlatherDotCom]

Libertarians like Penn support loose or open borders, something that would:

- greatly increase social spending (they won't make ending the welfare state a precondition to loose borders)...

- give even more power to the far-left & the Dems...

- give even more power inside the U.S. to the Mex. gov't...

- even further increase the wealth gap in the U.S...

- and much, much more...

Don't trust libertarians: *by definition* they only care what's best for themselves, not what's best for the U.S.

[richd305]

@NoMoreBlatherDotCom If this description of libertarians is not intentional misinformation, you must be getting your information from a source which is either intentionally misleading you, or...wait a minute...did you mean liberals?

[BenkaiDebussy]

@NoMoreBlatherDotCom This comment is interesting. The vast majority of the time, conservatives who are strongly against social spending are also libertarians. You're completely correct that libertarians are self-centered.

I'm a little confused as to why you'd think reducing social spending would decrease the wealth gap. The top 1% control 40% of our nation's wealth, so you'd have to increase GDP growth tremendously to decrease the gap without redistributing the wealth of rich individuals.

[freesk8]

@NoMoreBlatherDotCom Mexican immigrants tend to be social conservatives. They are Catholics, who oppose abortion and homosexuality. That boosts the right as much as the Dems.

Who cares about the wealth gap? I care about the absolute level of the poor and the freedom of the market. You are using a lefty, class warfare argument.

Silly conservative.

Most of the Mexicans who come here get jobs or start businesses. I think they are more American and desirable than the urban poor we now have.

[pronoblem]

Thanks for the Half Japanese and song poem effort. Other than that, you are one giant turd.

[kevlarunderware]

this is coming from a guy that couldn't get laid in a woman's prison with a handfull of pardons

[xrayrobots]

Also I bet you he has never even read the book all the way through...just has been a cow and followed other opinions to form his and not had one of his own!

[xrayrobots]

Penn is the kind of person who hates his country and is working to bring down America with all the others in Calif.

[bastardchildofmary]

Hmm, Great idea about gibsons film!! think I'll try it!! and, if by chance there is a hell and I'm wrong, maybe I'l get the penthouse!!

[beachbobc]

Movie would be a powerful educational experience. I'd pay certain people to see it.

Penn is an unusually coarse human being, or maybe I'm just getting old...

[uberjim83]

A blast to fuck? Only if you think banging hookers is a blast. I'm not saying she was a hooker in real life, but to have sex for FREE would go completely against her beliefs.

[keaz]

Why do I find Penn so annoying... every time I hear him, every time he is on TV or youtube or whatever I just have to give it up....he is so obnoxious and I not know why....

[Zubirrex]

Jesus Christ, why would anyone want to make a move of the bullshit philosophy of a sociopath?

[JulianConrad666]

@Zubirrex John Galt, the adult virgin who stalks Dagny Taggart because he's sexually obsessed with her, sounds like an "unsub" character from "Criminal Minds."

[thebestsumoeva]

@Zubirrex For the same reason so many people like Michael Moore.

[DanielKelleyOBE]

@Zubirrex Penn acknowledges that his heroine Rand worshipped a serial killer. But then he goes on to talk about how great her idea(l)s were. They weren't, they were idiotic, her followers (including Penn) are seriously delusional.

[squibbler]

"He [Hank Rearden] saw the article, 'The Octopus,' by Bertram Scudder, which was not an expression of ideas, but a bucket of slime emptied in public—an article that did not contain a single fact, not even an invented one, but poured a stream of sneers and adjectives in which nothing was clear except the filthy malice of

denouncing without considering proof necessary." - From Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

[squibbler]

Read Atlas Shrugged. Watch this video. This guy comes straight out of the book. You'll get an idea why Rand wrote the book. QED.

P.S. As comedy, this sucks. Take lessons from Don Rickles.

[DiamondDEK]

Is this dumbass related to Conan? He's not funny at all plus he reminds me of trailer trash...

[lepreconstellmestuff]

cant wait for this movie :D

[fro7k]

Thought Penn was one of the good guys. Atlas Shrugged deserves better treatment than this. And Ayn Rand was very specific on the "serial killer" (who actually committed homocide once, so not a serial killer) thing, it's not how it sounds if one bothers to read the source, "Journals of Ayn Rand". (Also helps to keep in mind she was a mere teenager when she wrote it). She wasn't glamourising the killer, she was isolating certain attributes she thought she saw in this one guy in the news.

[mikeymignogna]

This is not funny, and very unprofessional.

[AlanCom1]

Love Penn! Good one! Esp about Mel Gibson... lol!

[smujismuj]

Penn reminds me of many bullies I've met throughout my life.

They think they win debates because they shout louder & they are physically intimidating, not because they're necessarily thoughtful or reasonable in their point of view.

I often agree with Penn's opinions, but I don't see him as shedding any new or interesting perspectives.

His habit of picking the most ridiculous representatives of whatever belief or behavior he is belittling, is one of the principle tactics of bullying.

[tridentmovies]

@smujismuj

Your diatribe reminds me of ad hominem. Not addressing any points someone is making but instead focusing on something totally unrelated (such as the way someone presents himself) in order to flame him.

The sad thing is, you actually thinks it isn't obvious what you're doing.

But just to counter one little point: in monologues Penn Jillette is loud. In debates, Penn is always a sweetheart with a much lower volume who tends to be OVERLY respectful of his opponents. So bullshit on you.

[jason0015]

Where is Penn shooting this?  It looks like he is standing in a giant hamster-wheel.

[dominiquehoward]

Ayn Rand did not think that William Hickman was an 'ideal man'. She considered him a monster. But he had character traits that interested her because she wanted to write about those traits. A quote: "There is a lot that is purposeless, senselessly horrible about him. But that does not interest me. I want to remembert his actions and chatacteristics that will be useful for the boy in my story." There are several pages in 'The Journals of Ayn Rand' where she talks in great detail about Hickman.

[onceuponavlog]

the guy in this video is a total idiot.

[kingofqwerty]

I'm so surprised Ayn Rand thinks the serial killer is the "ideal man". The psychopath embodies her moral/ethical thinking so well. Can anyone say "batshit insane wingnut"?

[SuperFantasticFox]

I'm putting Passion on my download list as we speak.

[chaserehn]

Pen should totally play Jim Taggart.

[mkloppel]

Really Penn? Your argument against Rands philosophy is that you think she is crazy and because she wanted to write a play based on an idealized serial killer (wow big deal)? Up until now I hadn't thought you were that shallow and I hope you can prove me wrong (yeah answer a youtube post...I see that happening). I shouldn't have expected anything less from a libertarian; Drugs, abortion and low taxes! Yeah thats all we need to fix our problems! Philosophy is only for us "randian" kook bags.

[Vanslashington]

@mkloppel

Penn never tried to argue against her philosophy, and he even said he was a fan of Atlas Shrugged. Saying she was absolutely crazy was just one of his opinions of her, not a judgment of her or her philosophy overall.

And you want Penn to respond to a Youtube comment, on a video posted three months ago, which gets a long comment anywhere from a few days to a few minutes apart? And you're going to judge HIM for not responding to it?

Then you imply that you're a philosopher?

Not likely.

[mkloppel]

@Vanslashington "Ayn rand was a fucking whack job" (but I agree with a lot of what she said) 0:58 I guess I'm just asking, what did she say that he disagrees with? Whats so bad about me asking?

I re-watched the video and I obviously, stupidly, missed that Penn stated that those assertions were attributed to a friend of his whom he disagrees with.

Also, I don't expect him to respond, I was being sarcastic. You are totally correct.

I am no philosopher I just take the subject seriously.

[mkloppel]

@Vanslashington I also agree, her character and deeds are no indication of the value or validity of the philosophy she develop (with a lot of help).

It's tiring to hear these arguments and I must be getting sloppy.

[shonstar]

haha wow, crazy, I love it!

I just disagree that she was a wackjob. And what is with this serial killer thing? I must have missed that.

[DejectedPanda]

Atlas Shrugged sucked. I think Robert Heinlen did a much better job getting the libertarian point of view across. It's still ridiculous, but he went about it in an entertaining way.

[mkloppel]

@DejectedPanda LOL, hienlen.Yeah Starship Troopers with its collective/fascist "utopia" was SO ideal VS a book where the individual is held as the primary and asserts men live and die on their own choice of existence,the rational or the irrational.You may as well have compared "Thomas the train brave engine" to a science book describing how we prove atomic particles exist.But something tells me philosophy has no part in your life except when you need to decide whether abortion is right or wrong.

[SmokeRingsPipeDreams]

It's a known fact that crazy girls make the best lovers. The'll rock your world and then destroy it. :)

[pSychOAtDawn]

@SmokeRingsPipeDreams Like Dominique Francon?

[SmokeRingsPipeDreams]

@pSychOAtDawn No, .... just every crazy one I've ever sleept with. (I have terrible taste in women) LOL

[portishead024]

Wow, I never knew what a pig Penn was until I watched this video. Seems like all celebrities with the last name Penn just can't espouse an intelligent thing from their mouths.

[portishead024]

Wow, I never knew what a pig Penn was until I watched this video.

[nero8289]

Where did Ayn Rand ever say that a serial killer was a ideal man?

[OolTube02]

I think getting intimate with Ayn Rand would have been like smooching an ashtray. No thank you. I can imagine getting down and dirty with women whose political orientation I despise but I draw the line at smokers.

[qtronRobespierre]

What a sick fuck in every way possible.

[kmeisenbach1]

Penn, How about responding to Rand's arguments--her arguments for key

Objectivist tenets, notably: reason is man's only means of

knowledge, reason is man's means of survival, the choice to think

or not is the locus of man's free will, rational thought cannot be

coerced, man's life as a rational being is the standard of morality,

rationality is man's primary virtue, individual rights are moral

principles of social interaction following from the preceding. (from HBL email)

[kmeisenbach1]

Penn,  How about responding to Rand's arguments--her arguments for key

Objectivist tenets, notably: reason is man's only means of

knowledge, reason is man's means of survival, the choice to think

or not is the locus of man's free will, rational thought cannot be

coerced, man's life as a rational being is the standard of morality,

rationality is man's primary virtue, individual rights are moral

principles of social interaction following from the preceding. (cut/paste from HBL email)

[DejectedPanda]

@kmeisenbach1 I think he agrees with most of that actually. He just thinks she was a wack job.

[Keither9]

Al Franken says he met with nine and he doesn't know some were imposter's?

Great books of the western world anyone?

[carveawoodeneye]

lost respect 4 u mr. penn!!

[tkloppel]

Should have titled this video "libertarians just don't get it."

[MPernelle770]

ah-lee-uh-LOH-roe (the "g" is silent in Italian)

[Trollercauster]

an iPad? You homosex.

[zandyman96]

@GaltSpeaking You are so right. Thanks for the news but this is so so stupid. I didn't think that penn was so stupid.

[GaltSpeaking]

screw you Penn I lost all respect for you in the first 2 minutes of this video. Cratered your whole career as far as I'm concerned. You're gross and evil.

[freesk8]

Atlas Shrugged is a great book.

I really hope this movie does it justice!

[BenkaiDebussy]

@freesk8 It's a great book if you're a self-centered high-schoooler.

[freesk8]

@BenkaiDebussy OK, so I see you can smear the book. But do you have any substantive criticism of it? Can you tell me what is in the book that you don't like and why? Can you tell me why the philosophy in the book is wrong? Have you even read the book? Somehow, I doubt it.

In '91, the Library of Congress funded a study that concluded that Atlas Shrugged was the second most influential book ever written, right after the Bible. Sounds like lots of people disagree with you.

[BenkaiDebussy]

@freesk8 Objectivists, etc have a very simplistic view of society, ignoring the huge number of inherent market failures that exist.

Objectivist/libertarian philosophy relies on the assumption that talent leads directly to wealth, and wealthy individuals are also the most talented/ambitious. This isn't true. And it's easy to prove it isn't true:

The majority of wealthy individuals were born to wealthy parents. This is a fact, and it completely debunks the myth that any meritocracy exists.

[drfeelgordo]

@BenkaiDebussy That is so wrong. How do you define wealth? Many of Rands protaganist are not wealthy in her novels. They enjoy there work and the gratuity of personal accomplishment. Read her books again and please do not recite your junion college professors talking points.

[BenkaiDebussy]

@drfeelgordo Most of the "movers and shakers" of the world are, and have always been, born to families with no financial concerns. Many people spend most of their time just working to get by; they don't have time to be influential scientists or artists. This is undeniable.

It is immoral to not support giving everyone, including the unemployed/poor, the same opportunities. And there is no plausible way to do so without robust social welfare and education funded by those who are more fortunate.

[szililolabu]

@BenkaiDebussy

Yes we have a very simple view. And an unyieldingly optimistic one!

Sometimes basic truths are simple. Would you agree?

[zadaaam]

Atlas was a long book, but sure it could be condensed into a single movie. The plot is designed for one book. Fleshing out each part into its own movie might end up kind of dull, considering the real climax doesn't come until the very end.

[0932486509]

@zadaaam The whole point of this novel is not "blow it up" explosions and action, but philosophy. This short attention span problem you point out is a big part of the problem. This is why you see many people acting before thinking these days. Thinking is hard work, but if you abdicate that responsibility, then you pay a big price. Sort of a big theme in Atlas Shrugged...????

[sydferret]

ahh, the rand illusion.  sigh.

[ConalCochran]

Penn, you MUST play Judge Holden in the upcoming film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian"!!!

[lordpoppycock]

If you got the wacko impression from the Brandens books you might read James Valliant's book, The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics. He exposes them as total frauds.

[UncleIrv]

@lordpoppycock

No, the "wacko" impression comes from Ayn's own journals, in which she expresses admiration for a killer named William Hickman who brutally raped and murdered a young girl.

You see, it's high time that fan's of Atlas Shrugged come to terms with the fact that, notwithstanding the quality of this truly great book, Rand herself was a TOTAL WACKO.

This is sad but true, and denial of this fact will only bring harm to politicians and public figures who embrace Rand unqualitatively.

[watermelonygoodness]

@lordpoppycock Everyone who criticizes Ayn Rand is not a fraud. That is such a blanket statement. There are many people who criticize her and the philosophies she espouses. I don't care how many books James Valliant has written, he could not possibly address every single person who does not agree with Ayn Rand and "expose" every single one as a fraud.

[ProIndividual]

@watermelonygoodness He said "If you got the wacko impression from the Brandens books you might read James Valliant's book, The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics. He exposes them as total frauds."

He's saying Valliant exposes Branden's books, not every critic. Read it again. She was nuts, but basically about 95% correct. Ugly, sociopathic (in a nonviolent way), but right. Crazy people and genius are more interrelated than we like to admit.

[watermelonygoodness]

@ProIndividual She wasn't even close to 95% right. Her philosophy is based almost entirely on false dichotomies. She talks a big game about freedom but doesn't really advocate it. She advocates freedom as long as its within the framework of capitalism, which isn't true freedom. True freedom would enable me to opt out of any given system but capitalism does not offer that freedom to anyone. It is an illusion of freedom. If she were to draw her premises to their natural conclusions, she...

[watermelonygoodness]

@ProIndividual ...would have been an anarchist. But it seems to me she was not interested in following her line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, but rather drawing a conclusion first (that she wants to live in a free market capitalist society) and then looking for any line of reasoning to back it up.

[pronoblem]

@watermelonygoodness you sum it up quite well. If anyone really does celebrate her is is the Neoliberals like we get in office now here in the USA. Real freedom is economic freedom. Liberation is globalization. There is no opt out. To live outside the plan is to be an enemy of it. The other false dichotomy... it goes along with freedom in way, but individuality.... Her philosophy relies on conformity no matter how dressed up it seems to be in opposite.

[BenkaiDebussy]

@watermelonygoodness Exactly. Libertarian/conservative think tanks by default support deregulation, minimal social spending, etc., and their research always reflects this. They choose a particular viewpoint they want to defend/attack and then search for any data supporting their conclusion. And not only do they do this, but they VERY frequently use extremely misleading statistics. One common tactic is to make a graph's y axis cover a small domain, making random walking look like a big trend.

[arithine]

watch?v=QeDufQqAh-s

any one know if this is the movie penns talking about?

[michaelwtapp]

I wish HBO would make a mini series around Atlas Shrugged.

[MumboJumboDaily]

Oh dear lord, Penn, please never talk about yourself jacking off again. Ever. Bad idea. A mental image the audience does not need in their mind.

[analoq]

@MumboJumboDaily I, for one, do not concur. The mental image of Penn 'jacking off', especially to Passion of the Christ, is one I do in fact need in my mind.

[ProtoRyu]

lol to jacking on jesus

[flowerpt]

Hey, the silly little 'I shall look down upon my minions and make them nauseous' camera was gone for most of the video. Much better!

[sethmusic]

"atlas shrugged" will be the next book i buy.....i'm reading "over sea, under stone" right now, and let me tell you.....it sucks ass! teen fiction was so much better when i was a teen, lol.

[Moviewhiz1]

The writer for Shrugged, Brian Patrick O'Toole, is a good friend of mine.

[Thorbie]

I'm a bit surprised Penn didn't talk about how Ayn Rand slept with tons of her younger objectivist followers when talking about sex with her. Lol.