Game Change's Julianne Moore walked away with the Emmy tonight for outstanding lead actress in a miniseries or a movie for playing Sarah Palin. Shortly after accepting the win, the actress spoke with us backstage about her effort to accurately portray the 2008 vice presidential nominee and shared her love for her castmates.
Tonight is the Emmy Awards, and the nominees include a number of fictional female politicians. Both Amy Poehler and Julie Bowen are nominated for their characters — Amy as Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation and Julie as Claire Dunphy on Modern Family — who campaigned for office last season. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is nominated for her role as US Vice President Selina Meyer on HBO's new show Veep. And nominees Julianne Moore and Kristen Wiig have both portrayed real-life politicians, with Julianne playing former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in the made-for-TV film Game Change and Kristen's SNL skits as Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
These ladies are a part of the growing group of female politicians on TV and in films, a trend we're happy to see, especially this election year. Big-name actresses have been getting in on the political parts with Meryl Streep reigning the 2012 award season for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady and Sigourney Weaver playing a Hillary Clinton-inspired first lady turned secretary of state on USA's new show Political Animals.
Over the years we've seen everything from serious dramas to lighthearted SNL skits feature women in political positions, and we say keep it coming! The more comfortable we as a country get seeing women as vice presidents and presidents on screen, the more likely it will become a reality. So before we find out which women win the Emmy vote, let's look back at the imagined and real female politicians on TV and in film over the years. Then let's put a woman in the White House for real!
If you've seen ads or the trailer for HBO's Game Change, you might have done a double take. Julianne Moore has transformed herself into a version of Sarah Palin that is even more believable than Tina Fey's. Last night on The Daily Show, Julianne, an outspoken Democrat, talked about whether she worried the film about the 2008 election would be seen as elite Hollywood liberals taking cheap shots for fun. She said, "We were very, very careful to be as balanced as possible in our portrayal." Watch Julianne give her take on Game Change and made for TV politicians like Sarah Palin with Jon Stewart now.
Is it too soon to revisit the 2008 election? I hope not, because the trailer for HBO movie Game Change looks incredible. The film begins at the onset of John McCain's campaign, as political strategist Steve Schmidt (Woody Harrelson) advises presidential hopeful McCain (Ed Harris, who looks frighteningly like the senator) to select Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for his ticket.
Like Harris's McCain, Julianne Moore does a dead-on impersonation of Palin as she initially charms people as McCain's folksy running partner. The film looks like it doesn't hold back as it charts Palin's blunders with the media (being able to see Russia from Alaska is in there) and McCain's dissatisfaction with her. As a citizen, it was an entertaining campaign season, so I think the dramatization of it will be even more enthralling. The movie airs on March 10, but you can watch the trailer for Game Change now after the break.
It's that time again! The changing of the seasons to Spring means it's time for another of my reading lists. I have 15 books — classic and contemporary — that are in the process of being adapted into movies. Check out the literary offerings that I've compiled, and see the stars who are already lined up to bring the pages to life.
I guess Tina Fey turned them down! Julianne Moore will play Sarah Palin in the upcoming HBO film Game Change. And just like Fey, whose satirical SNL portrayal betrayed opposition to Palin, Moore has a political persuasion that differs from Mama Grizzly. While I doubt it will impact Moore's performance, here are three major issues on which they publicly disagree.
Abortion: Palin's personal life is considered by some an embodiment of the pro-life principles; she decided to have her baby Trig, who has Down syndrome, and she puts her daughter out there as an abstinence advocate, no matter the irony. Moore, on the other hand, is not just a pro-choice citizen but also an activist for reproductive rights. She's long been a vocal supporter of Planned Parenthood and urged Americans to "let it be known that we have a pro-choice majority in this country."
Political Party: Moore has donated to Democrats like John Kerry and Barack Obama, while Palin ran in the number two spot on the Republican ticket in 2008.
Same-Sex Marriage: LGBT straight ally Moore has graced the cover of the Human Rights Campaign Equality magazine, starred as a lesbian in The Kids Are All Right, and wrote a children's book that features a family with two moms. Although the former Alaska governor has previously opposed gay marriage and benefits for same-sex couples, this may be an issue where Palin and Moore can find some common ground. Palin recently retweeted a tweet criticizing Republicans for supporting don't ask, don't tell. Not quite a clear 180, but a suggestion that there's room for agreement.
Sarah Palin has been imitated countless times (mostly by Tina Fey), but she's about to get the celebrity treatment again. Julianne Moore is set to play the controversial politician in Jay Roach's HBO movie Game Change. The film chronicles the 2008 presidential election, but the rest of the cast has yet to be named. Can you see Moore as Palin?
