Cast This! "Game Change" w/ Julianne Moore

The news of Julianne Moore's casting as Sarah Palin in HBO's Game Change, adapted from the best-selling tell-all about the 2008 Presidential Race, is spreading like wildfire. I haven't read a single piece on it yet (other than the opinion-free news bit from The Hollywood Reporter) but one imagines many Tina Fey references will be popping up. How can anyone outdo that particular crucifixion by spiritiually dead-on mimicry? Perhaps Juli has been considering the role for sometime and asked for pointers on the set of 30 Rock?

Here at the Film Experience we try never to think of Sarah Palin, a true blight on American culture (though perhaps the celebrity we most deserve as Americans given our national habit of treasuring stupidity). Given their diametrically opposed politics, we can only imagine Julianne Moore weeping when thinking of the Politertainer in real life. Though Julianne Moore's whole screen persona tilts toward the weepy so...

Speaking of weeping.

Here at The Film Experience we regularly weep knowing that the surest way for the truly great and imaginative screen actors (like Moore herself) to win prizes is to eschew their own imaginative gift for character creation and hone their technical ability to mimic other famous people instead. But since that's the world we live in, perhaps Julianne can finally win some hardware? At least a Globe? Though she's one of modern cinema's most acclaimed performers she's actually unpracticed at the art of acceptance speeches. Though she won an Daytime Emmy before hitting the movies, since she achieved fame she's won virtually nothing apart from untelevised critics prizes or "special" you're awesome type of career honors -- like the recent Hasty Puddings situation. Apart from a rare "Ensemble" or shared prize she has never won: an Oscar, a Golden Globe, Cannes, SAG, BAFTA, or a Primetime Emmy. She hasn't even managed an MTV tub o' popcorn or even a Saturn win! Her biggest "gets" were the Volvi cup in Venice, the Spirit Award and the "Critics Choice" all for  Far From Heaven (2002). And regarding the latter, had the BFCA been the organization in size, shape and tone that they are now back then, she wouldn't have even won that! And I say that as a (frustrated) voting member.

What do you make of this news? Excited to see her try mimicry for a change?

CAST THIS
Since Julianne Moore is the only star announced thus far that leaves four major power couple roles uncast? Who would you have as (clockwise from top left: John & Elizabeth Edwards, Bill & Hilary, John and Cindy McCain, and Michelle and Barack Obama. And oops I forgot Joe Biden in the photo.

Who would YOU place in the other roles?

Comments

[NATHANIEL R]

Joe -- yeah, I can't really see Kidman or Winslet abandoning the movies for TV. (he says despite Kate having a big tv role coming up). Winslet has in her favor that she's a British actress and they tend to be cast well into there senior years in movies if they're already famous before they're old.

as for Julianne. i suppose the writing is on the wall but i don't like it either.

Benny -- Miranda Richardson is a good one, too!

Volvag -- i'm not sure i'd want to blame sexual repression on people becoming killers. If you could point it to that, there would be millions of killers because America is so freaking sexually repressed. But yes agreed that the Republican idea of forcing very particular views of morality on everyone is not only evil but, well, dumb. To each their own is really the only way to go in a society that's meant to be pluralistic in regarding to belief systems. So long as people aren't hurting other people or breaking the law, they should be free to do whatever the hell they wanna do.

RICK -- thank you for saying this. That really is 90% of the problem. Did you see that extraordinary skit (was it the Daily Show?) about the media ignoring her for 30 days or something. it was so funny.

[Orion]

It's not a death sentence if Julianne Moore ends up on television from now on. She's nearing fifty, and in film land, that's no woman's land. At least on television, she'll have her pick of challenging roles and characters. If you're in the film snob view that film is all that matters, then fine, but if you've seen how fierce Glenn Close is on "Damages" for example, you might start to change your tune. I hope Moore does a great Sarah Palin, and if this is what it takes to get her some awardage, then bring it on!

[Nick Davis]

If you've read the book, you know how many excellent scenes are just waiting to be dramatized. Barack and Hillary unquestionably get the most airtime in the book - the McCains don't even factor in till the final third or so, though I'm sure the script will readjust that balance.

I thought of Lennix for Obama, too, or Giancarlo Esposito.

Viola Davis or Kimberly Elise would be fun Michelles, but I doubt she'll have much of a role.

I want Janet McTeer for Hillary. Badly. And since she's such a huge celebrity, I'm sure she'll land it in a heartbeat.

I am not on the same page with the "playing a real person always equals imitation" thing. Look at Hopkins in Nixon, or Emma Thompson in Primary Colors. I expect Julianne will go more that way, and we know from Safe, Cookie's Fortune, et al., that she's very good at playing "vacant" when she needs to. Though I expect she'll manage to play the character and not just editorialize against her. Low-hanging fruit(cake), and all.