Arguably one of the most hotly anticipated TV shows approaching the horizon is HBO's political TV movie
Game Change, based on the book written by
Mark Halperin and
John Heilemann about the 2008 presidential elections. The show is set to star
Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin,
Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt and
Ed Harris as Palin's partner in failed candidacy, Senator John McCain. And it is Harris' transformation into the War Vet, and
almost Die Hard name-a-like that has been released to the internet (via
/film) to huge clamour - and rightly so, as if this isn't one of the most impressive physical changes for a role you've ever seen, I'd be mightily surprised. This image might be two weeks old now, but by God it looks impressive, so it deserves reposting here: Okay, so the project will be little more than on-screen crucifixion of all of McCain's party (and some might so rightly so, given the odd decision to choose Palin as Vice Presidential candidate in what must have been a severely lax vetoing process), and all of the actors chosen are liberal, but it is compelling subject matter nonetheless. The official synopsis runs a little something like this:
Even before the book was out, its juiciest bits were everywhere: Sarah Palin was serene when chosen for V.P. because it was Gods plan. Hillary didnt know if she could control Bill (duh). Elizabeth Edwards was a shrew, not a saint. Overall, the men from the campaign garner less attention in these anecdote wars than the women and tend to come off betterbut only just: Obama, the authors note, can be conceited and windy; McCain was disengaged to the point of recklessness; and John Edwards is a cheating, egotistical blowhard. But, hey, thats politics, and its obvious that authors Heilemann (New York Magazine) and Halperin (Time) worked their sources wellall 200 of them. Some (including the sources themselves) will have trouble with the books use of quotes (or lack thereof). The interviews, according to the authors, were conducted on deep background, and dialogue was reconstructed extensively and with extreme care. Sometimes the source of a quote is clear, as when the book gets inside someones head, but not always. Many of the books events were covered heavily at the time (Hillarys presumed juggernaut; Michelle Obamas initial hostility to her husbands candidacy), but some of what this volume delivers is totally behind-the-scenes and genuinely jaw-dropping, including the revelation that senators ostensibly for Clinton (New Yorks Chuck Schumer) pushed hard for Obama. Another? The McCain camp found Sarah Palin by doing computer searches of female Republican officeholders. A sometimes superficial but intensely readable account of a landmark campaign (librarians take note: the exceedingly flimsy binding may reflect the publishers haste to rush the book to press).
If you missed it, we also already have an image of Moore as Sarah Palin, which is slightly less convincing, but, knowing the actress' ability, that shouldn't represent any problem for her portrayal of the Alaskan hunting fan:
The rest of the cast includes TV veterans
Ron Livingston (Band of Brothers),
Peter MacNicol (Ally McBeal),
Larry Sullivan (CSI),
Jamey Sheridan (Trauma) and Temple Grandins
Melissa Farman as Bristol Palin. Game Change is set to air later this year.