Update on Atlas Shrugged Movie, May 3, 2004

Crusader Entertainment, which acquired the rights to film Atlas Shrugged a year ago, will be affected by a recent reorganization of its parent company, Anschutz Film Group. It does not appear, however, that the change will derail the Atlas Shrugged project.

In a recent article on Anschutz's media interests, George Anders of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Anschutz insiders say it's an open question whether they will press on" with the movie.

"That's not what we hear from the insiders we know," says David Kelley, executive director of The Objectivist Center, who has consulted on the project. "Jim Hart, the screenwriter, has the go-ahead to complete the script, on which he has been making great progress. And the producers say they fully expect to endorse the next extension of the option when it comes up in late July."Crusader is being replaced in the Anschutz roster by a new division, Bristol Bay Productions. Howard Baldwin, the Crusader CEO who signed last year's deal to produce Atlas, is leaving the company. He and his wife Karen Baldwin, who was in charge of creative affairs, will become independent producers, and the movie will now be a co-venture between them and Bristol Bay.