Charlize Theron Interested in Turning ‘Atlas Shrugged’ into an Epix Mini-Series

Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” is listed on Amazon.com as totalling 1,192 pages, a factor that apparently concerns potential star Charlize Theron as Steven Zeitchik at the Risky Biz Blog has more news on the potential adaptation that may not see the big screen, but instead head toward the small.

Back in April Zeitchik alerted us to the fact the names Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway had joined Angelina Jolie as interested parties in playing the lead role in an adaptation of Rand’s novel. Apparently Theron’s name has risen to the top as she is said to have been meeting with Lionsgate and producers Howard and Karen Baldwin regarding the project “but has been concerned that a feature would lose many of the nuances of the monster-sized novel.”

As a result, the novel is now looking at being turned into a miniseries for Epix, the pay-cable network Lionsgate is forming with MGM and Viacom/Paramount. The plan would be to make the mini one of the network’s linchpins, while a possible theatrical release of a condensed version is said to be under consideration, I severely doubt it would happen.

All this said, it appears Theron’s involvement may still be up in the air despite the fact sources tell Zeitchik “she has been driving the development process” while her reps tell him Theron “is not moving forward with the project.” The actress is said to have made a decision, but simply isn’t telling anyone, which is helpful.

Should things get moving, Theron would be playing Dagny Taggart as the story follows her struggles to manage a transcontinental railroad amid the pressures and restrictions of massive bureaucracy. Her antagonistic reaction to a libertarian group seeking an end to government regulation is later echoed and modified in her encounter with a utopian community, Galt’s Gulch, whose members regard self-determination rather than collective responsibility as the highest ideal.

To read Zeitchik’s history of the project click here.

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