Notes

Ayn Rand's novels on film? Those of you who, like REASON's founders, were strongly affected by the writings of novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand will be interested to learn that within the next few years, all four of her novels may be available in filmed versions. Two such films already exist. Besides the well-known 1949 version of The Fountainhead (from Warner Brothers, starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal), we recently learned, there is a little-known 1942 Italian version of We the Living, starring Rossano Brazzi. The film was banned by the Mussolini government shortly after its release and has not been seen since. Now, Henry Mark Holzer and Erika Holzer have purchased the film, and a subtitled version is in preparation by Duncan Scott Productions of New York. Plans are to submit it to the Cannes Film Festival this year, followed by worldwide theater and television release.

The new projects involve Anthem and Atlas Shrugged. Movie rights to the former have been granted by Ayn Rand's estate to O'Quinn Productions (the movie and TV branch of the Starlog Organization). Kerry O'Quinn and Douglas Borton are working on a screenplay, based on a lengthy treatment they developed last year. Meanwhile, work is continuing on a screenplay for a movie version of Atlas Shrugged, under the auspices of Hollywood's Henry Jaffe Enterprises, which holds the movie rights to this novel. We'll keep you posted on all of these projects.

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Another think tank favoring individual liberty and free markets is coming into being—this time in Vienna. The Reason Foundation is helping it to get started. The Carl Menger Institute begins operating early this year, with Prof. Albert Zlabinger as its executive director. Like similar think tanks in the United States, Canada, England, and a number of other countries, CMI will conduct public-policy research, publish books and monographs (including translations into German of a number of English-language books), and hold seminars and conferences, all with a view to reviving the ideas of classical liberalism in Austria. Americans interested in making tax-deductible contributions to assist with this effort should make their checks payable to the Reason Foundation and designate their use as the Carl Menger Institute Fund.

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The Reason Foundation's daily radio program, "Perspective on the Economy," continues to grow. Last spring, when we sought your help in funding this new effort, the program, a daily one-minute commentary on current issues from a free-market stance, was carried on 155 radio stations. As of the first of this year, that 155 had grown to 187. Included in that total were 44 of the country's top 100 radio markets. So each weekday millions of listeners are hearing economically literate commentary by REASON contributors. My thanks to all of you who helped us with this project. And if any of you would like a "Perspective" brochure with which to approach your local radio station about carrying the program, please let me know.

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Does your library carry REASON? If your nearest public library branch, your college library, or the nearest high school library carried REASON, think how many people would be exposed to the ideas of "free minds and free markets." You may wish to ask the librarian to order REASON—they frequently need only a few requests in order to do so. Or you could offer to buy the library a gift subscription. That's a tax-deductible item for you, since it's a gift to the library. Moreover, you can add REASON to your library at bargain rates. One or two library gift subscriptions are just $12 each. If you give three or more, our special rate is just $10 each. Send your order to Library Gifts, REASON, Box 40105, Santa Barbara, CA 93140. Your canceled check will serve as your receipt for purposes of documenting a tax-deductible contribution.
—R.W.P.

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Correction: Tim Condon's Taxes column in the December 1984 issue contained an error relating to the estate tax exemption, parenthetically noting that the exemption was frozen at $275,000 by the Tax Reform Act of 1984. This is incorrect, and the scheduled increases to $325,000 in 1984 and $400,000 in 1985 have occurred. Our erstwhile tax expert happily notes that such a freeze was indeed not passed. "If I've got to be caught in a misstatement," he said, "at least it's one where the facts are good news for everyone outside the Gang of 535. My apologies to anyone who was misled by my mistake."
—M.Z.