Who’s the Real Game Changer in ‘Game Change’?

The Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik got a sneak peak at “Game Change” yesterday, which premieres on HBO next month. Based on the 2010 best-seller by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, the HBO telling is get a lot of attention for its portrayal of Sarah Palin, played by Julianne Moore. But Zurawik thinks it’s Woody Harrelson‘s turns as McCain adviser Steve Schmidt — who was on “Hardball” just last night talking about the current GOP race — that should be noticed.

Wow, and wow again. What a force Harrelson brings to the role. The real Schmidt had the thankless task of trying to manage an emotionally fragile and, at times, possibly imbalanced Palin. But he should get on his knees every night for the rest of his life and thank God that Harrelson was picked to play him.

Zurawik notes several tvnewsers are featured in “Game Change” through the use of clips of their reporting and, in some cases, body doubles for reversal shots.

Fox hosts Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly do get a little face time, but nothing like CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper. In fact, the film opens and closes with Cooper, in his role as a part-time correspondent at CBS for”60 Minutes,” interviewing Schmidt.

By the way, if you want to see some of the relics from the 2008 campaign — both real and imagined — head over to the Newseum beginning Friday where, among other items, Tina Fey‘s suit, flag pin and eyeglasses worn during her Palin parodies on “Saturday Night Live” will be on display.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.