Game Change (2012)

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska becomes Sen. 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 | alaska | script | election | 

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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:

Changement de cap

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

This film's director Jay Roach, who directed this movie about the 2008 US American Presidential election, previously directed Recount (2008), which was about the 2000 US American Presidential Election. Roach later directed the political comedy The Campaign (2012) and the political drama All the Way (2016), the latter about former American US President Lyndon B. Johnson.

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Goofs

In a bedroom scene, Julianne Moore's Sarah Palin is wearing the third jersey of the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche. This jersey was officially announced more than a year later on November 12, 2009 making it an anachronism for her character to be wearing it in 2008 during the Presidential campaign.

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Quotes

Chris Edwards: Steve, I'm getting a bunch of mixed messages here. Is the governor giving a concession speech or not? Because she just told me...
Steve Schmidt: I've already said this five times already. She is not giving a speech.
Chris Edwards: Well, she seems to think otherwise.
Steve Schmidt: Well, she's not.
Chris Edwards: What do you want me to tell her?
Steve Schmidt: Tell her she's not fucking speaking!
Chris Edwards: Okay, well, you both seem pretty certain...
Steve Schmidt: Well, let my certainty supersede her certainty! God damn it!

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #8.113 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Beyond the Great Divide
Written by Jack Wesley Routh and J.C. Crowley (as John Charles Crowley II)
Performed by Emmylou Harris
Courtesy of Nonesuch Records

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"