Posted on 04/27/2011 8:11:46 PM PDT by raccoonradio
The critics are "revitalizing me with their outrageousness," John Aglialoro, who spent $10 million of his own money on the film, tells THR.
The man who says he spent $10 million of his own money to bring Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 to the big screen vowed Wednesday to go through with his plans to make the next two installments, even though critics hate the movie and business at movie theaters has fallen off a cliff.
In fact, said John Aglialoro, the co-producer and financier, it's the monolithic view from critics that say the movie stinks that is motivating him to make Parts 2 and 3, he told The Hollywood Reporter.
And he defended his film Wednesday by accusing professional film reviewers of political bias. How else, he asks, to explain their distaste for a film that is liked by the audience? At Rottentomatoes.com, 7,400 people gave it an average 85% score.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, though, gave the movie zero stars, and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it one. A dozen others were equally dismissive.
"It was a nihilistic craze," Aglialoro said. "Not in the history of Hollywood has 16 reviewers said the same low things about a movie.
"They're lemmings," he said. "What's their fear of Ayn Rand? They hate this woman. They hate individualism.
"I'm going to get a picture of Ebert and Travers and the rest of them so I can wake up in the morning and they'll be right there. They're revitalizing me with their outrageousness."
Aglialoro said he had to scale down his ambition for the film to be in 1,000 theaters this weekend, so it will likely be closer to 400. During its opening weekend, the movie took in $5,640 per screen but then only $1,890 in its second. Through Wednesday, the film had grossed $3.3 million since opening April 15.
Aglialoro acknowledged that spending almost no money on marketing and relying almost entirely on the Internet and talk radio -- a strategy he boasted of a week ago -- was ineffective in the long run.
"You really need to spend millions to get the message on TV screens," he said. "If I want Part 2 to open on 1,500 screens, I need to decide if I want to spend $10 million on TV commercials."
He also is considering partnering with a major studio for the next two installments, as he may do for international distribution on Part 1.
He said he's sticking to his plan to release Part 2 on April 15, 2012, and Part 3 on April 15, 2013, though gathering the same talent and crew might be a problem.
"The critics killed it so badly that agents may tell their clients they shouldn't be associated with this thing," he said. "I've got to give it to the critics. They won this battle, but they will not win the war. The message has been told in Part 1, and it will be told in Parts 2 and 3."
I read an article here that Hollywood money people are secretly wondering how this movie is doing as well as it is. They are surprised that there is a decent market for this type of material and it IS a money maker. I don’t believe this spin that the movie sucks and it is making no money.
If liberally biased critics like Roger Ebert hated it, then it’s definitely a must see! ;)
YES! that’’s what I’m talking about!!!
Glad the guy is forging ahead. (With netflix and home DVD sales, I think Part I will turn a fair profit in the end.)
>”I’m going to get a picture of Ebert and Travers and the rest of them so I can wake up in the morning and they’ll be right there. They’re revitalizing me with their outrageousness.” <
Love it! (Well, don’t get a picture of Ebert)
I told people on Facebook “usually I’m not profane, but f-— Roger Ebert!” (only I didn’t bleep it!)
What could compare to "Fast And Furious V"?
Yeah, the movie has such terrible box office returns that they’re expanding from a few hundred theaters to over 1000 theaters.
It is. Most of my clients are in the Hollywood industry here in L.A. and have understood it after a series of lunches. Distribution has always been the key. Look at Fireproof.
I agree. If it would come to my area, I'd see it.
I hate to say it, but the movie does suck.
He needs to get it up for sale on DVD/Blu-Ray just as soon as it’s pulled out of the theaters. There are a lot of people who just won’t go out to see movies anymore. I won’t. I’d rather stay home and watch it in my home theater where I don’t have to deal with paying $15 for a coke and popcorn and don’t have to have some idiot behind me talking on a cellphone during the movie.
Why do you say that?
I enjoyed it though and luckily it was only about 6 miles from my house (I went to first showing of first day). Some drove hundreds of miles to see it.
It may not go to 1,000 theatres right away after all but the producer did say that maybe there will be some money poured into TV ads and maybe it can snowball into bigger distribution. If anything I would hope that a worst case scenario would be that part 2 and 3 could be made-for-TV and then all 3 would be on DVD (I know I’m buying the DVDs when they come out).
I liked the movie.
Palin fans: ORGANIZE your group activies (2011 and 2012) with the first and second movies.
>>the movie does suck
“Welcome To Free Republic”. Perhaps new visitors to us who have frequented Daily Kos, Huffington Post, etc...?
I hear ya. That’s why IF and WHEN I do go out to watch a movie, I prefer it to be 4 weeks AFTER the first showing when there’s only a handful of people inside. But the $10 “handful” of popcorn is a rip-off.
It isn’t “spin” that ‘Atlas’ is making no money.
It opened in a few theaters and made some money. It opened in more theaters the next weekend and box office dropped. A lot.
I have nothing against the film or the producers — I’m not commenting on its quality at all, because I haven’t seen it — but box office take is the closest thing to objective verifiable fact you get in the movie business. ‘Atlas Shrugs’ goes in the red column. Sorry.
I go to the movies regularly and never have had someone talking on a cellphone anywhere near me.
I try to avoid the multiplex theaters and go to a family-owned restored historic theater that was built in the 1920's.
He charges $3, and the atmosphere is Art-deco. It's a fun evening out. After a movie leaves the multi-plex, he shows it, and he gets family type movies.
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