A couple of years back [my how time flies when one's blogging], the VodkaPundit and I traded a series of emails about our “dream cast” for a movie of Atlas Shrugged. According to Stephen, it just might happen. Since he’s already making his casting recommendations, I thought I’d go ahead and make mine:

Dagny Taggart. Stephen’s choice of Angelina Jolie seems a little too full-on gorgeous for the role. My favorite female for this role has been — and continues to be — Jody Foster, and considering the age-range of my other casting choices, I maintain she’s perfect for the role. However, for those who seem to believe that female leads should be disproportionately younger than their male co-stars, Hilary Swank’s my second choice: she has the strength of character, subtle appeal and depth required without Angelina’s burden of all-out glamour.

John Galt. Pitt? Well, he certainly does have the requisite one-dimensionality, Galt is still supposed to be a beacon of manliness and Pitt ain’t it. He needs a firmer jaw line, a better set of shoulders, and more depth than a pretty pair of eyes. Why not pick George Clooney and have it all?

Hank Reardon. Ralph Fiennes. Bulk him up a bit and he has the right combination of charisma, sophistication and angst.

Francisco d’Anconia. It’s a toss-up between Antonio Banderas and Cliff Curtis.

Ragnar Danneskjöld. I agree with Stephen that this requires a “pretty” man, but one with a brain. (He was a brilliant philosophy student, after all.) Viggo Mortenson always makes me happy in both departments.

Jim Taggart. A surprisingly demanding role that requires an actor who can appear simultaneously obtuse and malevolent. I’d go with Kevin Spacey on this one.

Cheryl Brooks (the young store clerk who marries Jim Taggart and later commits suicide). I’ll probably take a thrashing for recommending Reese Witherspoon for such a small-profile role, but she’s just so good at portraying vapid young girls that I couldn’t resist. If not her, well, perhaps Brittany Murphy would do, too.

Balph Eubanks (a pathetic writer nevertheless praised as a “literary leader” despite poor sales and lack of appeal). This role needs someone smug, deluded, insecure and pissy. In other words, Jude Law.

Dan Conway (the railroad owner who acceps his role as the sacrificial lamb following the enactment of the “anti-dog-eat-dog” rule). An older actor is definitely needed, and one who can combine the grit that it took Conway to get to the top of his industry and the bewildered resignation he exhibits when he gives up the fight. I see John Goodman here, and not just because of the similarities between character names.

Eddie Willers. The quietly adoring and devoted assistant to Dagny Taggart who possesses the moral fortitude to be an innovator but not the intellectual drive and flair. I’m torn between Matt Damon and Edward Norton.

Ellis Wyatt (the dynamo who revived Colorado’s oil economy). It’s a perfect role for Kiefer Sutherland.

Hugh Akston (philosophy professor and father-figure to Galt, Reardon and Danneskjöld). I don’t have any issue with Stephen’s nominee, Paul Newman, although if the film has a modern-day setting Morgan Freeman would be damn good in this role.

Lillian Reardon. Again, I agree with the VodkaGuy: Carrie-Anne Moss has the perfect iciness for this role.

Midas Mulligan. Ben Kingsley.

The rest of the characters are so minor — in my mind at any rate — that I don’t think their casting would make or break the movie.

Now, the real question is whether Hollywood could actually make this movie right. Perhaps the fact that nobody has even tried is a silent admission.

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