Game Change (2012)

Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska becomes Senator John McCain's running mate in the 2008 Presidential election.

Director:

Jay Roach

Writers:

Danny Strong, Mark Halperin (book)

Stars:

Ed Harris, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 28 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julianne Moore	...	Sarah Palin
Woody Harrelson	...	Steve Schmidt
Ed Harris	...	John McCain
Peter MacNicol	...	Rick Davis
Jamey Sheridan	...	Mark Salter
Sarah Paulson	...	Nicolle Wallace
Ron Livingston	...	Mark Wallace
David Barry Gray	...	Todd Palin
Larry Sullivan	...	Chris Edwards
Mikal Evans	...	Bexie Nobles
Colby French	...	Tucker Eskew
Bruce Altman	...	Fred Davis
Spencer Garrett	...	Steve Biegun
Brian Howe	...	Randy Scheunemann
John Rothman	...	A.B. Culvahouse

Storyline

Summer, 2008: John McCain secures the nomination, but polls behind Barack Obama. Strategist Steve Schmidt suggests a game changer: picking a conservative female with media savvy, unknown Alaska governor Sarah Palin, as vice president. She's an immediate hit and a quick study - the gap closes. Then, Tina Fey's impersonation, a raft of criticism, and missing her family send Palin into a near-catatonic state: she doesn't prepare for her Katie Couric interview and bombs. Schmidt searches for an answer: don't expect her to learn the issues, but give her a script. Palin does well in the debate with Biden; she finds her voice, goes off script, and goes rogue. A mistake?

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Plot Keywords:

american politics | cell phone | down syndrome | presidential election | 21th century | 

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Taglines:

Politics would never be the same.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site - HBO

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Game Change

Filming Locations:

Brooklandville, Maryland, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Playtone, Everyman Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Woody Harrelson has appeared in such politically-themed pictures as LBJ (2016), where he plays the title character, President Lyndon B. Johnson; Game Change (2012); Barry Levinson's political satire Wag the Dog (1997); Battle in Seattle (2007); and Welcome to Sarajevo (1997). The year after LBJ (2016), Harrelson played the title character in Wilson (2017), but this was not former US President 'Woodrow Wilson', as with the earlier Wilson (1944).

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Goofs

Steve Schmidt tells Sarah Palin that, if everything goes according to plan, her Secret Service agents will be with her for the rest of her life. Vice Presidents only receive Secret Service protection for six months after leaving office, and if she were to succeed John McCain as President then ten years after leaving office.

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Quotes

Anderson Cooper: If you had to do it over again, would you have her on the ticket?
Steve Schmidt: You don't get to go back in time, Anderson, and have do-overs in life.

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Connections

Features Saturday Night Live: Michael Phelps/Lil' Wayne (2008)

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Soundtracks

NBC Nightly News Theme
Written by John Williams
Courtesy of NBC Studios

User Reviews

It's God's plan...

I have a mind of my own, at least I want to think so, but, I was influenced enough to give Game Change a miss. I was told this was a hatchet job - I must admit that the comments came from Republicans mostly - I finally saw Game Change last night, It literally blew my mind. Hatchet job? What are you talking about? I felt for her, the film humanizes her and somehow explains without partisan hysteria, how we got there, that in a way is to explain how we got here in 2017. Julianne Moore is superb, superb! Not a single false note or cheap shot. I also felt for John McCain, the American hero who told us that Sarah Palin was ready to to be President. The torment in John McCain through Ed Harris's eyes is more eloquent that any line of dialogue. As is Nicolle Wallace, played brilliantly by Sarah Paulson. Her torment is also so real you can touch it. A special mention should go to Woody Harrelson, es Steve Schmidt, extraordinary. Writers, directors and everybody involved deserve oodles of praise. They told us a piece of recent American history about a woman who thought her Vice Presidency was "God's plan"