Taylor

Taylor Schilling from Part I is the perfect Dagney.

Ann coulter

ME for heaven's sake, know her lines by heart. More importantly, know the spirit. But alas, too old unless you have tremendous makeup person....which I'm sure you do. Other than that, Anne Hathaway would be outstanding, Jolie so-so, Meryl Streep perfect (but same issue of age as I have (weep)), how 'bout Carey Milligan,Reese Witherspoon, Kirsten Dunst, Jennifer Lawrence. Of course there's always me.....the ones who've played so far aren't fiery enough, there's no sense of true inner strength that's palpable. Dagny was NOT passive, and she was indeed impatient & take charge. With ability to have wry amusement that comes through. Loved Pt2 but long way to go folks. Did anyone hear Ayn Rand speak? See her? The passion exuded through every pore. Keep it real, keep it ALIVE.

I remember reading somewhere that Angelina Jolie had her heart set on playing Dagny Taggart someday. Her normal salary would break the budget for Part 3, but if she wants to do it so much, she might accept less. She would be great as Dagny.

1. I'm surprised that you put the selection of Dagny (Part 3) to the community. To me, this is a creative issue that should involve only your team.

2. In my opinion, Part II was an overall better movie.

3. The sets were better in Part 2.

4. Samantha has a much wider range of acting skills and was clearly better. Taylor (I think) could not have pulled off the more complex Dagny of Part 2.

5. Grant Bowler is clearly a better actor (in this role) than is Jason Beghe. Although I like Jason in this because of his more assertive 'attitude', Grant is able to show a much greater range of the nuances of Hank's inner conflict.

6. Esai Morales is clearly a better d'Anconia than is the actor from Part 1.

7. I think Kim Rhodes is great as a more 'confrontational' Lillian, but I also enjoyed Rebecca Wisocky.

8. I think Mathew Marsden does a better job at whining, than does Patrick Fabian.

9. The tone/tenor of Part 2 was of sadness, (which is one reason why I think Samantha is more effective) - but is this the same tone/tenor that you want for Part 3?

All of that said, I think the biggest issue is consistency from one film to another. I noticed that a lot of viewers were taken aback by the change in cast - for me, I know that watching Part 1 and then Part 2 back-to-back is difficult because of the change in cast and the change in sets. For this reason alone, I think it's important to retain the cast (and sets) from Part 2!

I should tell you that I've read only a third of the novel (many years ago), so what I'm saying here is based solely on my viewing of the films (without benefit of the novel).

Thanks for hearing my thoughts/suggestions. I sincerely hope you succeed with Part 3.

Taylor, of course.
I have read AS countless times, since back in high school, and was thrilled when a movie was finally made. I always imagined someone like Patricia Neal, on the strength of her Fountainhead performance. Then I realized Hollywood does not have actresses like Neal anymore, so I was pretty skeptical until I watched AS1. Even though she is blond, I found Taylor's performance to be believable. She is very talented, but I do believe she may be too busy now, not to mention PO'd to be passed over for AS2.
Other than Taylor, my short list of actresses that are realistically possible choices include:

Elizabeth Moss
Natalie Zea
Carla Gugino
Debra Winger ( 15 years ago )

Dominique McElligott . She is DT even before she speaks.

Taylor was PERFECT!!!!

Taylor from Atlas #1. She just had more life & portrayed more strength to her character. I also liked the Rearden of #1.
I'm so happy that #3 is coming. Have read atlas 3 times and bringing the book to life in a present day scenario shows how close we are to mirroring the same situation today with what government is now up to.

Taylor from part one! I really liked here very much as Dagny!

The Part 2 cast was not bad, but the Part 1 cast really brought the book to life. I have read the book at least 4 times. When I watched Part 1, I watched the book.

Gotta add my vote for the original cast of Part 1. They had a much better understanding of the characters they played. The second Dagny came across as rather a victim, something I never got from the book.

Taylor Shilling projected the image of the confident young heroine whom I knew from the book. Samantha Mathis's worry lines showed us a Dagny near the end of her rope.

I agree that Deborah Wisocky as Lillian in Atlas I was the better of the two. But I have to go with Esai Morales and Jason Beghe for d'Anconia and Rearden.

(I think that the Objectivist fan community pretty much found Jeff Yagher perfect as Jeff Allen - small part then, no place in Atlas III, but the nod still applies.)

Robert Picardo was the better Dr. Stadler. The only problem was waiting for him to ask if he could use the Motor against the Borg. OTOH outside of his make-up Armin Shimerman showed himself to be a good performer. He told me at a Trekker con that he was a fan of Ayn Rand and I was happy to see him with a part.

I think that the character of Leonard Small can be left behind. You made your point. The Wet Nurse was named Tony. Long, long ago, a fan suggested Dustin Hoffman for the role. You need someone like that. He has a tough bit of work in Part III.

Casting Atlas Shrugged has been a frequent topic over the decades. Two generations of actors have come and gone. Rock Hudson for Hank Rearden; Diana Rigg for Dagny; Ron Eli for John Galt... Everyone has opinions; but ultimately, it is not really our job or we would be doing it. Testing your audience is important, but the camel is horse that was designed by a committee.

Everyone too easily sees Atlas Shrugged as a political tract. It is a psychological drama. Dagny never asked Hank for his opinion on anything. In fact, Francisco cautioned James on that very point.

Although I am a technical writer, my degrees are in social science. While corporate types gush over teamwork, the empirical truth is that the lone expert makes better choices than a hard-working team of well-wishers with good intentions.

... and we do all wish you well because we are proud of the hard work we do. But it this is the job we are paying you for. Good luck.

I always envisioned Dagney as a brunette. I don't have a specific person in mind, but someone who looks like a young Natalie Wood. For a today actress I would say Catherine Zeta Jones.

AMANDA TAPPING! Played such a similar dynamic character to Dagney, as Major Samantha Carter in STARGATE 1. She would be a brilliant choice. Of course, Taylor Shilling my first choice. Sorry the Part 2 casting for her was all wrong, own it & move on.

My wife, she is a 28 yr business owner, veteran advocate of Ayn's ideas and is beautiful. She has 2 teenage sons who are following in her capitalistic, entrepreneur footsteps. She replays Atlas 1 & 2 to remind my boys of Ayn's ideas and has a passion for getting these ideas to the public forefront; plus she can act.

Taylor Schilling and Grant Bowler from Part 1, and the rest of the cast from Part 1 too. I think the director was better in Part 1 he was able to pull natural real performances out of the actors. Part 2 actors weren't bad just not as good as Part 1, may have been the directing in Part 2.

The almost complete cast change from part 1 to part 2 was a shock. But Samantha made a more-believable Dagny - still quite attractive, but mature enough that she could sell the role as operations director of the country's largest railroad. I don't know if it was just excellent makeupor a superb actress, but did anyone notice how much younger she looked when she was with Hank, or when she decided to retire to her family's cabin in the woods? But with the more-mature Dagney you also need the more-mature Jason Beghe, who I felt better fit the part of Hank. Of the Part 1 cast, I would definitely bring back Graham Beckel as Wyatt(not a shock because the Wyatt character doesn't appear again until part 3 of the book).

Remember the timeline - 12 years passed from pt1 to pt 2. The characters were older and had been fighting a losing battle the whole time. The John Gault line is demoed and she can't find any competent people. Samantha played this older, worried and frustrated executive perfectly.

Taylor play a excellent Dagney pt1, but now think of how she would morph into a 12 yr older, 12 years more harried Dagney. I think Samantha has the range and experience to show the apprehension she needs first in the valley, the excitement at find Gault as her personal goal, and the pain of the decision of going back to the world.

I can absolutely see her pointing a gun at a guard and ordering him to open that door. And I can see her making the shot when she had to. Some have compared her to a mom of teenagers - that determination in her character to make her kids functional adults, is what makes her perfect.

I wish this could have been filmed in the 50s. I keep visualizing Tallulah Bankhead as Dagny.

Ida Lupino is Dagny Taggart...PERIOD!

Taylor Schilling was superb as Dagny and should be cast again in Atlas 3. She portrays a confident self-image, which is the essence of the book and movies.

Taylor gets my vote. I can't think of any of today's actresses that could portray Dagny as Ms. Rand wrote the character.

Angelina Jolie would be perfect as Dagny Taggart.