The early reviews are in

… and the VIPs who got invited to a special screening of Atlas Shrugged, Part I in Los Angeles liked what they saw. A lot.

One reviewer, Hans Schantz, shared the very same fears — no, the very same certainty — I had as the movie went into production:

When I heard my favorite novel was being made into a movie, all the available omens boded ill: a “low-budget” production, with “no-name” stars, made independently – without the adult supervision of a real Hollywood studio, and rushed into production at the last minute to avoid loss of rights. It sounded like a recipe for disaster. Scratch that… it WAS a recipe for disaster. I mourned the might-have-been movie I’d been waiting my entire adult life to see. I regretted the lost opportunity. I averted my eyes to avoid the painfully unfolding train wreck.

Then he ended up believing that the low budget and lack of Hollywood backing enhanced the film.

I emailed the Atlas creative team asking about the possibility of a reviewers’ screening here in the Northwest. Didn’t get an answer. Ah well. Never did think of myself as the VIP type. But who knows what could still happen between now and the April 15 opening.