Sense Of Life in Spanish

[AlanTucker 0]

From Alan Tucker

Michael, First of all, I want to thank you for making SOL, which I readily admit brought tears to my eyes when I first saw it 2002.

Anyway, I live in Latin America. A new Spanish edition of "Atlas Shrugged" has recently been released and was, the last time I looked, a bestseller in Mexico and Argentina where it was published. Ayn Rand is now becoming a familiar personality in Latin America, and is offering a view of life never before witnessed south of the border.

What I would like to know is have you ever thought about putting out an SOL edition for the Spanish speaking market? Argentina and Mexico would be ready made markets, and as the fame of "Atlas Shrugged" advances down here, sooner or later all of Latin America would be receptive to a Ayn Rand's rational view of life.

[copax7 0]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for your question and for your comments on "A Sense of Life." I'm always glad to hear that the film has moved people.

Unfortunately, in regard to a Spanish version of the film, we do not have a foreign distrubutor at the moment. We did have one for a number of years but they did not do a very good job. I do recall that they claim to have licensed the film to play on Spanish television, but I'm not sure this truly happened. With overseas film distributors, it is difficult to monitor their activities. The good news is that the contract with that distributor has expired and the foreign distibution rights are now available. Strand Releasing (the US distributor) has talked with me about handling the foreign market for the film as well, but I think they are unsure of the demand in other countries for the documentary. I would suggest that you email or write them and share with them your thoughts on how much interest there would be for the film in your country. This may inspire them to get the film released to Spanish speaking territories. Their contact information is: Strand Releasing, Attn. Jon Gerrans, 6140 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232-7465, (310) 836-7500 (email: jongerrans@strandreleasing.com).

In the meantime, I will pass on the information to them as well. It can't hurt to let them know that Ayn Rand is now being read more and more in other countries.

Thanks again and here's to Ayn Rand's books being read all over the world (not to mention, a little film about her life being seen right along with them as well!).

Cheers,

Michael Paxton

From Alan Tucker

Michael, First of all, I want to thank you for making SOL, which I readily admit brought tears to my eyes when I first saw it 2002.

Anyway, I live in Latin America. A new Spanish edition of "Atlas Shrugged" has recently been released and was, the last time I looked, a bestseller in Mexico and Argentina where it was published. Ayn Rand is now becoming a familiar personality in Latin America, and is offering a view of life never before witnessed south of the border.

What I would like to know is have you ever thought about putting out an SOL edition for the Spanish speaking market? Argentina and Mexico would be ready made markets, and as the fame of "Atlas Shrugged" advances down here, sooner or later all of Latin America would be receptive to a Ayn Rand's rational view of life.

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[copax7 0]

Alan,

Just found out that the email for Jon Gerrans at Strand Releasing has changed. It is jon@strandreleasing.com

Thanks,

Michael

Hi Alan,

Thanks for your question and for your comments on "A Sense of Life."  I'm always glad to hear that the film has moved people.

Unfortunately, in regard to a Spanish version of the film, we do not have a foreign distrubutor at the moment.  We did have one for a number of years but they did not do a very good job.  I do recall that they claim to have licensed the film to play on Spanish television, but I'm not sure this truly happened.  With overseas film distributors, it is difficult to monitor their activities.  The good news is that the contract with that distributor has expired and the foreign distibution rights are now available.  Strand Releasing (the US distributor) has talked with me about handling the foreign market for the film as well, but I think they are unsure of the demand in other countries for the documentary.  I would suggest that you email or write them and share with them your thoughts on how much interest there would be for the film in your country.  This may inspire them to get the film released to Spanish speaking territories.  Their contact information is: Strand Releasing, Attn. Jon Gerrans, 6140 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA  90232-7465, (310) 836-7500 (email: jongerrans@strandreleasing.com).

In the meantime, I will pass on the information to them as well.  It can't hurt to let them know that Ayn Rand is now being read more and more in other countries.

Thanks again and here's to Ayn Rand's books being read all over the world (not to mention, a little film about her life being seen right along with them as well!).

Cheers,

Michael Paxton

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[AlanTucker 0]

From Alan Tucker

Thanks for the reply, Michael. I will drop them an email and see what they have to say. By the way, due to SOL I bought all the interviews with Ayn Rand from ARI, except the Phil Donahue tape. I loved the Mike Wallace interview. AR seemed to be at the height of her intellectual power. I was wondering if you had access to her Johnny Carson interviews and if you ever considered using them?

In the Special Edition, I really enjoyed the interview you did with that gal, and of course the extra footage with Leonard and Harry Binswanger. Can you share with us, how much additional footage you have that may be of interest?

Also, would you know who that woman is sitting in back of Ayn Rand at the HUAC hearings? The gal with the dark glasses and the hard-boiled glare, who looks rather bored and contemptuous of the whole process. Could she have been Richard Nixon's sister, girlfriend, personal trainer, bodyguard?

[copax7 0]

Alan,

Sorry for the delay in answering your question.

Yes, the Mike Wallace interview was great and I was very happy that someone had the good sense to do kinescope versions of the show (since video did not exist in those days). I did not have access to the Johnny Carson interviews because--as far as I (and Johnny Carson) are concerned--they no longer exist. Mr. Carson sent me a personal note to tell me how sad he was that these shows were erased by NBC in the late '60s (I think they were recycling tapes so they could record new shows over them and save production costs). At any rate, I could not locate any of these shows and would have absolutely used them if they existed. Of course, it might have been too much for the budget of the film since NBC was one of the more expensive licensees that I had to deal with. Their "Tomorrow Show" clips were quite expensive to license for the film.

Regarding additional footage from "A Sense of Life" that is available--there are a few interviews that wound up on the cutting room floor. However, I really don't think they are worth sharing with an audience. I pretty much put everything that was worth seeing in the Collector's Edition. Of course, it would be great to actually cut the negative and do a real sound mix/score for the "Ideal" scenes and the bonus interviews someday (to make them look and sound better), but that would cost a bit of money to do. Perhaps that will happen with a "Restored" version of the movie and bonus material in the distant future.

Unfortunately, I do not know the identity of the woman seated behind Ayn Rand at the hearings. We aren't sure who would be seated in that section of the room (journalists? politicians? secretaries?). Watching that footage used to crack me up because I thought she looked like Edith Head, the costume designer, and not unlike the Edna character in "The Incredibles".

Michael Paxton

From Alan Tucker

Thanks for the reply, Michael. I will drop them an email and see what they have to say. By the way, due to SOL I bought all the interviews with Ayn Rand from ARI, except the Phil Donahue tape. I loved the Mike Wallace interview. AR seemed to be at the height of her intellectual power. I was wondering if you had access to her Johnny Carson interviews and if you ever considered using them?

In the Special Edition, I really enjoyed the interview you did with that gal, and of course the extra footage with Leonard and Harry Binswanger. Can you share with us, how much additional footage you have that may be of interest?

Also, would you know who that woman is sitting in back of Ayn Rand at the HUAC hearings? The gal with the dark glasses and the hard-boiled glare, who looks rather bored and contemptuous of the whole process. Could she have been Richard Nixon's sister, girlfriend, personal trainer, bodyguard?

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