I'm fine with that opinion, though I'd like to know what he thinks
_Atlas lacks as literature. _Atlas_ does have arguable weaknesses as a
novel that are perhaps the inevitable result of constructing the plot
to handle so much philosophical exploration. _Atlas_ is not a novel of
deep psychological exploration that attempts to portray fully living,
breathing, complex, "believable" characters. Several minor characters
simply seem to be mere placeholders for certain concepts.

Box Office Mojo: Are you one of the men of the mind?

Vadim Perelman: Yes. [Pausing] I am. That's my way in [to Ayn Rand's novel]—where I am right now and where I started, I had to be [a man of the mind]. That's what my mom told me when she read Atlas Shrugged—because she knows I have to have a door to get in [to adapting a literary work] and that's what she said: "look at your life." To [live under communism and] have no hot water and come to Hollywood with 14 dollars and not a single contact [and succeed]—that's only due to my individualism and my entrepreneurial spirit. I mean, I'm not changing the world. But maybe I am.

Box Office Mojo: Would you go on strike?

Vadim Perelman: If I was feeling victimized—yes, I would.

Box Office Mojo: How does having survived a childhood in Soviet Russia affect your work?

Vadim Perelman: I left with my mother when I was 14. That was 1977. [The communists] were letting [some] Jewish people out for public relations—also because there was a wheat shortage. I remember that [U.S. President Jimmy] Carter and [Soviet dictator Leonid] Brezhnev struck some sort of deal and I remember thinking: we are worth a couple of loaves of bread. It kind of made me who I am. There was a lot of death in my family. That definitely has an effect on my work; it made me stronger.

Box Office Mojo: How did you get the job to direct Atlas Shrugged?

Vadim Perelman: [Producer] Geyer Kosinksi came to me. We've always wanted to work together—we'd had a meeting about a project years ago—so I knew him.

Box Office Mojo: In making Atlas Shrugged, do you want the approval of Miss Rand's heir, philosopher Leonard Peikoff?

Vadim Perelman: As always, it's very important to me that the author of the novel be pleased. Andre [Dubus] loved House of Sand and Fog. Laura [Kasischke] loved The Life Before Her Eyes. I'd like to think that Ayn Rand would be pleased. I don't know Leonard Peikoff, but I feel like I know Ayn Rand and I think she would like it.

Box Office Mojo: What are your thoughts on the novel as literature?

Vadim Perelman: It's a great and important work because it has affected so many people but it doesn't fit into the standards of prose—it's purely mechanical plotting and writing—and I'll give you an example. Every [character] pretty much says exactly what is on their mind—what Ayn Rand wants them to say—the characters don't seem to act independent of the author's voice. I wouldn't call the Bible an example of great literature, either, but it's very influential. But none of that matters to me in making a film and my objective is to make a great film out of Atlas Shrugged. It is an honor to be chosen to do this and I don't take it lightly. I have nothing but the greatest respect for Ayn Rand as a thinker and as a writer.

Box Office Mojo: Composer James Horner scored both House of Sand and Fog and The Life Before Her Eyes. Will he score Atlas Shrugged?

Vadim Perelman: Yes. I would like for him to score everything I do.

[...]

Box Office Mojo: Is money—as Ayn Rand wrote in Atlas Shrugged— the root of all good?

Vadim Perelman: I have a great quote from Ayn Rand that I actually believe: "If there's a more tragic fool than the businessman that does not realize he's an extension of man's highest creative spirit—it's the artist who thinks that the businessman is his enemy." That should be on the masthead of your Web site. So, that answers your question—and that's from Atlas Shrugged.