Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Game Change (2012, TV movie) - Moore and Co. shimmer in Roach's dynamite political retelling

2/21/2021

Game Change (2012, TV movie) - Moore and Co. shimmer in Roach's dynamite political retelling

♥♥♥♥♥

Julianne Moore sparkles as Sarah Palin on this near-symmetrical poster for Jay Roach's Game Change

2008: Republican veteran John McCain is gaining in on his opponents and becomes the GOP candidate for the presidential election. But to have a better shot against the crowd-pleasing novelty of Democratic nominee Barack Obama, he needs a game-changer for his vice presidential running mate. Attention befalls Alaska's female governor...

Game Change is written by Danny Strong (Recount (2008, TV movie)), based on the same-titled 2010 book by journalists Mark Halperin (The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008 (2006)) and John Heilemann (Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era (2001)), and directed by great New Mexican filmmaker Jay Roach (Zoo Radio (1990)).

It is a terrific, darn exciting TV movie for every one with an interest in America, politics and/or just great acting performances in an intense drama about family and power. Julianne Moore (Gloria Bell (2018)) is fantastic as Alaskan governor Sarah Palin: We may not get under her skin, but we get to know her a lot better, for good and bad, in Game Change. Her getting trapped inside a campaign that had not vetted her sufficiently prior to selecting her, (if they had, they wouldn't have chosen her), which ends up changing her life, is an at times heartbreaking tale.

Ed Harris (Radio (2003)) as McCain, as well as Woody Harrelson (2012 (2009)), Sarah Paulson (The Spirit (2008)) and Peter MacNicol (Recess: School's Out (2001)) are also outstanding. The film is extremely well-made. An excellent time.

2000 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Meet the Parents (2000) - Roach, Stiller, De Niro and Co. make comedy gold

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Unknown - mainly a TV movie

= Uncertain

[Game Change premiered 28 February (Chicago) and runs 118 minutes. Strong and Roach had also considered a film about the Democratic primary race, where Obama beat Hillary Clinton, but left that, reportedly due to the length and complexity of that story. Strong said that he interviewed 25 people related to the McCain/Palin campaign to write the script, aside from reading the book and Palin's book Going Rogue (2009). Shooting took place in New Mexico, Delaware and Baltimore, Maryland around April 2011. The film opened to 2.1 mil. in ratings in North America, HBO's highest rating for a TV movie since Something the Lord Made (2004). It won 3/5 Golden Globe nominations, 5/12 Primetime Emmy nominations, an AFI award and many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Real-life McCain and Palin took offense with the film but also both refused to watch it; Steven Schmidt, the McCain/Palin campaign strategist, Harrelson's character, on the other hand watched Game Change and called it "the truth of the campaign." Roach returned with The Campaign (2012). Moore returned in Being Flynn (2012); Harris in Sweetwater (2013); and Harrelson in The Hunger Games (2012). Game Change is fresh at 67 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomateos.]

What do you think of Game Change?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

2/21/2021

Game Change (2012, TV movie) - Moore and Co. shimmer in Roach's dynamite political retelling

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