With the economy sluggish and cities starved for revenue, Los Angeles producer Charles Ashira figured the world was ready for a big-screen biopic of his financial hero.

But "Henry George—the Movie" is going nowhere fast.

Investors, it seems, don't share his fascination with Mr. George, a political economist who gained fame in 1879 with a runaway best seller, "Progress and Poverty."

Mr. George's main idea was that governments should have just one tax—on land. The "land value tax," he suggested, could boost the economy, smooth income disparities, and encourage development of empty lots.

"It's a win-win-win scenario for the rich, the poor and the middle class," says Mr. Ashira, who runs a production company called BackHome Pictures. "It's an idea whose time has come."