Composite image comparing Sarah Palin (L) and actress Julianne Moore. Photo at left by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. Photo at right by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.
KEITH OLBERMANN: HBO will be televising a movie next month about Sarah Palin who, if you will remember, was a vice presidential candidate in the 2008 presidential campaign. Believe it or not, Sarah Palin’s camp isn’t very happy about it.
In our number-one story — if you hated the book, you’re going to hate the movie. In advance of next month’s release of the HBO film “Game Change,” based on the 2010 Mark Halperin and John Heilemann book of the same name, seven current and former advisers to Ms. Palin have launched a pre-emptive attack against the film, which they haven’t seen.
Although Palin herself, who’s played by Julianne Moore in the film, continues to feign a lack of interest:
(Excerpt from video clip) SARAH PALIN: I’m really not too concerned, though, about an HBO movie based on a false narrative when there are so many other things that we need to be concerned about. I honestly will not waste my time watching it, and I encourage others to find something else more productive to do.
OLBERMANN: Her defenders, however, are happy to discuss the film which they have not seen.
In a conference call with reporters yesterday, former Palin aide Jason Recher dismissed it as a “false narrative cobbled together by a group of people who simply weren’t there.” Even though he hasn’t seen it.
Randy Scheunemann, who during the campaign was tasked with tutoring Palin on foreign policy matters — and what a job he did — added, “To call this movie fiction gives fiction a bad name.” Even though he hasn’t seen it.
And according to Palin’s former spokeswoman Meg Stapleton, “Looking at the trailers alone gets my blood boiling.” The trailers for a film that she hasn’t seen.
In fact, the one minute, 47-second trailer is all they have seen. Their anger based solely on a few rather unflattering clips.
(Excerpt from video clip) WOODY HARRELSON: Oh my God, what have we done?
(Excerpt from video clip) MOORE: It wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t properly prepped. I miss my baby. I miss sleeping with my baby.
(Excerpt from video clip) HARRELSON: She’s on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown.
(Excerpt from video clip) MOORE: They’re telling me what to say, what to wear, how to talk. I am not your puppet.
OLBERMANN: Joined now by comedienne JC Coccoli. Good to talk to you. Thanks for your time tonight.
JC COCCOLI: Hey, thank you so much for having me on.
OLBERMANN: Why is the Palin camp making such a big deal out of this? Why would you go to the trouble of having a scheduled group conference call?
COCCOLI: You know, I honestly feel like they scheduled that conference call so they can all just high-five each other, because they’re just so excited that she’s back in the media. Why not?
OLBERMANN: I was just going to say — she’s almost evaporated, publicity-wise, outside the Fox News bubble. Are they protesting too much here? Are they, in fact, trying to use this thing as a means of reinvigorating her base and tapping into that one American — true American spirit that she relies on, anger?
COCCOLI: Yeah. I mean, I feel like, with her, they’re going to protest all they want, but really, in the end, they’re just happy that she’s back. And all these people that are employed by her, and right now that Bristol’s not on “Dancing with the Stars” and the reality show is done, they’re just going to look for something else to really push her through the media. And if it’s not a sex tape — my God, just let it be this.
OLBERMANN: Well, of all those choices, thank you for picking this one correctly.
I mentioned — this was earlier — that it’s Robert Lopez’s birthday, the co-creator of “The Book of Mormon.” There’s a lesson here that nobody seems to learn from generation to generation. “Book of Mormon” — no Mormon protests, it’s a hit. There’s a waiting list, but it’s not a frenzy. There’s not stampedes. They haven’t made a movie out of it yet.
“Monty Python’s Life of Brian” — fringy film, Catholics protested, and it grossed $19 million in this country, in 1979 dollars, largely because of the protests.
Why doesn’t anybody learn this? If you leave it alone, it might go away.
COCCOLI: I feel like, especially if you protest more, that film is going to be a hit now. People are going to protest and they’re going to end up watching HBO more than they should. And really, like, in the end, if you would just let it silence, it would go away.
But now I say, “Keep it coming,” and make, like, a thousand more films because her — her as a person — for me, in the media, is the best thing I’ve ever seen. I would watch a thousand shows just with her. An interview with her and Katie Couric, just on a loop, would be, like, the best film I’ve ever seen.
OLBERMANN: Could there have been a better strategy to approach on this thing, though? I mean, the co-authors are John Heilemann. I don’t know who John Heilemann is. But Mark Halperin is a co-author. I know who that is, and I know he’s the laughingstock of the profession. If they had just left this alone, wouldn’t it have died of its own weight?
COCCOLI: Yeah, I mean, the book — I didn’t read the book. I’m so busy just reading the Kardashian book, can’t wait for another one. But I just really — I honestly do believe these are two journalists that took their story and just made a film out of it, and they had the opportunity to correct facts. I mean, I’m sure of it, but it is just one of those films. I’m pretty sure Jack didn’t really fall in love with Rose on the Titanic, but we’re going to certainly see that in 3-D. Why not?
OLBERMANN: On the other hand, there’s not actually a way to check as to what happened on the Titanic, and this, we do have some reference.
COCCOLI: Very valid point.
OLBERMANN: Comedienne JC Coccoli, thanks for your time tonight.
COCCOLI: Thank you so much.
