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Who is Dagny Taggart?

Posted by sdesapio 11 years, 3 months ago to Entertainment
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Beautiful, tenacious, and fearless, Dagny Taggart has inspired women and men alike for over 50 years.

As Atlas Shrugged Part 3 heads to production, some major decisions still lay ahead. For the past several months, we've read all over the web everything from "Taylor was PERFECT!" to "Samantha IS Dagny!" to "You should have case [INSERT NAME HERE]!"

Now it's time for you to tell us directly. Who is Dagny Taggart?

Taylor from Part 1? Samantha from Part 2? If you had to pick someone else, who would it be? Beyond her ability to embody the character of Dagny Taggart, what else should be considered when casting Dagny? Should she already be an advocate of Ayn Rand's ideas? Should she have at least read Atlas?


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  • Posted by jspringr 11 years, 3 months ago
    Taylor Shilling definitely. I fell in love with her.
    Her and Grant Bowler as Hank Rearden. I loved the whole original cast. Whoever you choose I am so happy that you are committed to producing part 3.
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  • Posted by FoxHill 11 years, 3 months ago
    Someone mentioned Tim DeKay as a good choice for John Galt--I completely agree.
    As for Dagny--Taylor is much better than Samantha. Samantha (Dagny 2) looked tired and weak throughout the 2nd movie. Jessica Chastain would be terrific.
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  • Posted by JackGreene1 11 years, 3 months ago
    The actress should have read (all of) Atlas Shrugged to convey the spirit of the character. I don't know how someone could read a few script lines and "get" it. Ideally, the actress would admire the character she's portraying. These are not the only requisites, but certainly reasonable ones...
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  • Posted by bep_w 11 years, 3 months ago
    Taylor from Part 1. She was perfect! She was elegantly subtle and captured the assurance and beauty of Dagny. Dagny is almost all subtext. Her emotions are in her eyes and only occasionally are expressed. Taylor achieved this, handsomely and effortlessly! In fact, the entire cast from part one was MUCH better. Part 2 felt like a made for TV movie, thin and teetering on the edge of hokey, while Part 1 felt like a respectable independent film and it was the level of acting that made the difference.
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  • Posted by corruptedbuffer 11 years, 3 months ago
    I really liked Taylor as Dagny in Part 1 (when I read Atlas, the person I had in my mind was very much like Taylor). I thought Samantha was absolutely horrible in Part 2; her acting was terrible. In fact, I'm not sure you could have found anyone worse. Just my opinion of course.
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  • Posted by terry879 11 years, 3 months ago
    I liked Taylor as Dagny. One of the sad consequences of AS not being filmed sooner is that we missed a chance to see Sigourney Weaver as Dagny. Weaver is too old now to play Dagny, but I always thought she would have been spectacular in the role.
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  • Posted by Morris_IV 11 years, 3 months ago
    Definitely bring back Taylor. I was so aggravated by the cast changes for part 2 that I waited till it came out on DVD before watching the movie. And I was very glad that I did! No offense to the cast of part 2, but there is an expectation of personalities and portrayals that I had come to enjoy, and I found the transition extremely jarring. Continuity of character is important; it's similar to branding a product. It creates recognition and trust. Furthermore the younger people I interact with say that they identify with the cast of part 1 more easily.
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  • Posted by calvaro 11 years, 3 months ago
    If I could pick anyone, I would choose Charlize Theron. Incredible actress, beautiful, has played strong women and complicated women. Go get her!
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  • Posted by skidance 11 years, 3 months ago
    Definitely Taylor Schilling, although just a touch of Mathis' empathy would be a plus. We don't want matronly here. Dynamism and focus are essential. However, Schilling should be immersed in the novel.
    Can you see Mathis joining Galt's rescue team?
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  • Posted by brownhouse 11 years, 3 months ago
    Hilarie Burton from White Collar
    Dagny is almost too iconic to cast. She is someone so singularly significant to each reader, how can you visually discribe her? Maybe Lauren Holly in Sabrina. They all fall short. She needs to be naturally beautiful, not 'made up', intelligent, strong and at peace with herself.
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  • Posted by Robert_Wade 11 years, 3 months ago
    Both casts did well, but I felt that the cast from Part I was noticeably better...particularly Taylor Schilling. So, given the choice, I'd rather see Taylor in the role of Dagny.
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  • Posted by jpellone 11 years, 3 months ago
    I think Taylor did an outstanding job in her role in part 1. I was a little disappointed that she didn't star in part two. If Taylor can't or won't do part three because of her ideology then so be it. How about Sarah Palin for part three!!!
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  • Posted by nealgb 11 years, 3 months ago
    Samantha Mathis was awesome. Her body language, facial expressions and passion played into Dagny Taggarts strength, passion and poise.
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