To Alan Collins [Letter 386]

April 16, 1949

Mr. Alan C. Collins
Curtis Brown, Ltd.
347 Madison Avenue
New York 17, N. Y.

Dear Alan:

Thank you for your letter. I am very happy that you liked the picture [The Fountainhead], and I am delighted that your favorite scene was the courtroom speech.

We had a press preview of the picture on April 12, and it was very successful. The picture will be released early in July, and I am planning to come to New York at that time.

I don’t agree with you about the importance of reviews for this picture and about your saying that it is not a picture for the neighborhood theaters. I expect a great many, and perhaps most, of the reviews to be bad, because the intellectual Pinks will not like this picture—and these reviews will not make any difference whatever. As to the box office, I think that the picture will do very well both in the big cities and in the neighborhood theaters. But if there is any difference, I will stick my neck out, just for the fun of it and for the record, and predict that this picture will be more successful at the neighborhood theaters than in the big ones.

I am very happy about everything so far, but am concentrating hard not to let it distract me too much and am working on my new novel which is progressing very well.

With best regards,

Sincerely,

Ayn Rand

AR.jk

P. S. Was my friend, Archie Ogden, at the showing of the picture? If he was, please tell him that I would like to hear from him.