It has taken businessman John Aglialoro nearly 20 years to realize his ambition of making a movie out of "Atlas Shrugged," the 1957 novel by Ayn Rand that has sold more than 7 million copies and has as passionate a following among many political conservatives and libertarians as "Twilight" has among teen girls.
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The 97-minute film is a faithful adaptation of the first third of the book, with some adjustments made for modern audiences: It takes place in the year 2016, when gasoline costs $37.50 a gallon, train travel predominates and clothes, cellphones and offices look pretty much as they do on a "Law & Order" rerun. Dagny, played by Taylor Schilling of the now-canceled television show "Mercy," is still trying to hold Taggart Transcontinental together. She's building a train line with a new metal alloy made by the man who is also her love interest, steel magnate Hank Rearden (former "True Blood" werewolf Grant Bowler). Much of the film's dialogue comes straight from Rand's often didactic prose and, perhaps as a result of the quick and thrifty adaptation, some dramatic action scenes are left out and key props, like a supposedly groundbreaking motor, look more jury-rigged than cutting-edge.
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The real story of what kept "Atlas" out of movie theaters for so long is a bit more complicated.

[Lifetime Channel on Line 2]