According to the filmmakers, and this is a so-called spoiler alert, former Congressman Ron Paul appears in a cameo in the third and final installment of the independent movie trilogy, which they’re calling Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galt? (Read my reviews of Atlas Shrugged Part 1 and Atlas Shrugged Part 2).
I’ve learned that Ron Paul, a libertarian Christian who does not grasp let alone advocate and practice Rand’s philosophy, appears in a scene following Galt’s speech. Besides Ron Paul, Atlas Shrugged Part 3 includes appearances by Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Grover Norquist, Matt Kibbe, Jonathan Hoenig and other conservatives, libertarians and fans of Rand’s work. The film is directed by James Manera, produced by Harmon Kaslow and John Aglialoro, and it features Kris Polaha as John Galt and Laura Regan as Dagny Taggart. The film also includes Rob Morrow, Joaquim de Almeida and Greg Germann. I’m planning to post a review this summer before it opens in September.
Whatever the artistic merits of the picture, which I expect to be bad or mixed, the press release about Congressman Paul’s appearance includes a quote with which I partly agree: “Atlas Shrugged is a fantastic book, but [it’s] much more than a story – [it’s] a philosophy. It’s influenced millions of people already and because of its greatness [it’s] going to continue to influence a lot of people.” Actually, her novel is a literary presentation of Rand’s philosophy. The question, besides “Who is John Galt?” is whether anyone whom the novel, its theme and Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, influences will be free to think, create and live. This, as Rand dramatizes in her 1957 masterpiece, is up to each of us.