A reminder that Game Change, the HBO film about John McCain's
selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, debuts tonight. Here's
what we wrote this week about the movie that is roiling the political
world:
The book Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and
the Race of a Lifetime raced to the top of best-seller lists in 2010
because it provided behind-the-scenes details of the compelling 2008
presidential election.
The film Game Change, which debuts on HBO Saturday at 9 p.m. ET,
covers only half the story.
Not Barack Obama's election as the nation's first African-American
president; instead, Game Change zeroes in on how little-known Sarah
Palin, governor of Alaska for less than two years, became John
McCain's running mate and zoomed into the stratosphere of political
celebrity.
"I just thought it was by far the most compelling story in that book,"
director Jay Roach says.
Ed Harris and Julianne Moore portray John McCain and Sarah Palin in
HBO's Game Change.
CAPTIONBy Phillip V. Caruso, HBOMcCain's last-minute decision to tap
Palin offered a tight story within a short time frame, less than 60
days from the announcement to Election Day. Screenwriter Danny Strong
calls it "one of the most amazing political stories of our time."
Palin supporters see a different motive for devoting the movie to
McCain and Palin: Hollywood's antipathy to Republicans.
On the website for Palin's PAC, seven supporters of the Alaska
governor describe Game Change as "historical fiction" and "a series of
scenes where the dialogue, locations and participants are invented or
rendered unrecognizable for dramatic effect." One of the signers is
foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann, who is portrayed in the
film.
McCain, played by Ed Harris, has said he won't watch Game Change,
telling the Fox News talk radio show Kilmeade and Friends it is "based
on a book that's totally unfair and untrue, especially to Sarah Palin.
… She's a good and decent person, and this continuing maligning of her
by the liberal left is reprehensible to me."
To be sure, there are some cringe-worthy moments in the film for Palin fans.
As played by Julianne Moore, Palin did not know why there are two
Koreas or what the Federal Reserve System is. She nearly had a nervous
breakdown. On Election Night, she tried to seize center stage from
McCain before his concession speech.
The negative news coverage that accompanied her candidacy is featured,
from her pregnant teenage daughter to the disastrous interview with
Katie Couric.
The real John McCain and Sarah Palin in 2010
CAPTIONBy Darren Hauck, Getty ImagesBut Palin is also shown reviving a
moribund McCain campaign after her well-received convention speech.
Her family is portrayed as loving and close-knit. Game Change
showcases Palin's exceptional political skills and her ability to
reach voters who feel locked out of the political system.
Before Game Change, Roach and Strong worked together on Recount
(2008), another HBO production, about the 2000 post-election battle of
Florida between lawyers for George W. Bush and Al Gore.
The director and the screenwriter say they are political junkies
interested in how decisions are made behind closed doors. They say
they want to tell stories, not promote political agendas.
"I don't think anybody is going to change parties or switch their
votes because of the film," Strong says.
Game Change has three main characters: Palin, McCain and Steve
Schmidt, the campaign strategist who pushed Palin for running mate as
a way to compete with the charismatic Obama.
Played by Woody Harrelson, Schmidt supplies the film's title, telling
McCain in an early scene he needs a "game changing pick" for veep.
Schmidt's character spends the rest of the movie wrestling with the
consequences of that decision.
In a phone interview, the real-life Schmidt said watching Harrelson in
Game Change was like an "out-of-body experience." Schmidt, who
cooperated in the project, vouched for the film's accuracy and called
the story "an instance in which the ambition to win superseded
judgment."
"There are a lot of important lessons to be learned," Schmidt said. "I
regret playing a part in a process that yielded someone on the ticket
who was not prepared to be president."
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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