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Republicans in the #NeverTrump camp had hung their hopes on a contested convention barring Donald Trump from becoming the nominee - but has that dream, as conservative blogger Matt Drudge tweeted, "evaporated in the corn fields of Indiana"? The Gop front-runner became the presumptive Gop nominee Tuesday night when, after winning the Indiana primary, his sole legitimate rival, Ted Cruz, dropped out of the race. Trump said he spoke with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus Tuesday night and the chairman, who himself has had a strained relationship with Trump, confirmed that the billionaire businessman's name would be on the ballot in November.

Republicans in the #NeverTrump camp had hung their hopes on a contested convention barring Donald Trump from becoming the nominee - but has that dream, as conservative blogger Matt Drudge tweeted, "evaporated in the corn fields of Indiana"? The Gop front-runner became the presumptive Gop nominee Tuesday night when, after winning the Indiana primary, his sole legitimate rival, Ted Cruz, dropped out of the race. Trump said he spoke with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus Tuesday night and the chairman, who himself has had a strained relationship with Trump, confirmed that the billionaire businessman's name would be on the ballot in November.

CNN's Howard Kurtz grilled director Jay Roach and screenwriter Danny Strong over the accuracy of their movie "Game Change" on Sunday's "Reliable Sources."

The HBO movie, which premiered on Saturday, documents Sarah Palin's experience on the 2008 campaign trail as told by the book "Game Change." It received some criticism about its accuracy, and Kurtz presented the filmmakers a wide array of concerns on Sunday.

Kurtz asked if their characterization of the project as a "dramatization" meant that " some of it was a little embellished." Roach rebuffed that notion. He said that adjustments were made to tell a sixty-day story in a two-hour movie, but insisted that the film was based on factual information that had been repeatedly checked.

Roach explained that they spent time with "Game Change" authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Strong added that he conducted twenty-five interviews with people in the McCain campaign. "We were able...

Chicago – You may be surprised by the angle taken by HBO’s controversial “Game Change,” a film already being summarily dismissed by conservative pundits who probably haven’t even seen the piece and merely assume that it’s another liberal Hollywood hatchet job. It’s not that at all. Yes, it does not make Sarah Palin nor the staff behind John McCain’s failed Presidential campaign look all that smart but it does break down some key failures of what happened on the Republican side of the ticket in 2008 in ways that take these people from “SNL” parodies to real people. It humanizes the people behind the sound bites and does so with three of the best performances on television in the last few years. It’s fantastic in so many ways.

TV Rating: 4.5/5.0

The team behind the excellent “Recount” (director Jay Roach and writer Danny Strong) try to offer...

Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage. At today’s TCA panel on HBO’s movie Game Change, director/executive producer Jay Roach said he tried to get Sarah Palin’s cooperation in preparing a script about the 2008 presidential election, which was based on the book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. “I got a very quick e-mail back from her attorney saying: ‘I checked. She declined.’ I took that as her final answer,” said Roach, also the director of HBO’s Recount, about the 2000 presidential race. Still, Game Change writer Danny Strong (who also penned Recount) said he was able to interview 25 people connected with the 2008 campaign. He did not get John McCain or his speechwriter Mark Salter but said, “I got everybody else, including people who are not portrayed in the film.” Strong called Game Change nonpartisan and added that Republican politicians were very receptive to...

Am I dreaming, or is this really Julianne Moore? I mean, look at her, she looks exactly like Sarah Palin!

Ok, you already know that we’re talking about the upcoming HBO movie titled Game Change, directed by Jay Roach, and based on Mark Halperin and John Heilemann‘s 2010 bestseller of the same name, so please take a look at this photo and tell me, is this Julianne Palin or Sarah Moore?

Ok, enough joking, this is the real thing. Whoever thought that Moore is the perfect choice to play Pallin on a big screen was damn right!

Production on Game Change started yesterday, and the whole thing is written by Danny Strong, while Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are executive producers.

All eyes on Moore right now, but the rest of the cast also includes Ed Harris as John McCain, Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt, McCain’s senior, Melissa Farman as Bristol Palin,...

She might not be Tina Fey, but Julianne Moore can pull off a pretty good Sarah Palin. Looks wise, that is. The first image of Moore in her Palin costume was released today and I have to say the actress looks pretty good in that get-up. Game Change started filming today under the direction of Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Recount).

Game Change follows Senator John McCain through his failed 2008 Republican presidential bid. Ed Harris will play McCain with Woody Harrelson as his senior advisor, Steve Schmidt. Rounding out the cast will be Melissa Farman as Bristol Palin, Larry Sullivan as Chris Edwards (Palin’s deputy chief of staff) and Jamey Sheridan as Mark Salter (McCain’s speechwriter).

THR got its hands on the first photo of Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in the upcoming HBO film "Game Change," which begins shooting today with director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, Recount) at the helm. Check out the photo below. Ed Harris plays John McCain in the film, which follows the Arizona Us Senator's failed 2008 Republican presidential bid. Woody Harrelson plays Steve Schmidt, McCain's senior adviser. Melissa Farman ("Lost") will play Bristol Palin. Larry Sullivan ("CSI") has been cast as Palin's deputy chief of staff Chris Edwards, while Jamey Sheridan ("Trauma") will play McCain's speechwriter and senior campaign advisor Mark Salter. Photo: (click to enlarge)...

Sarah Paulson, Peter MacNicol Justin Gaston, Larry Sullivan, Jamey Sheridan and Melissa Farman have all joined the cast of "Game Change" for HBO Films reports Deadline.

Jay Roach ("Meet the Parents," "Recount") directs this adaptation of Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s book about the behind-the-scenes turmoil of the 2008 presidential election from the party primaries up through election night.

Ed Harris plays John McCain while Julianne Moore is Sarah Palin, with the first photo of Moore as Palin above. Woody Harrelson and Ron Livingston were recently cast as senior campaign strategist Steve Schmidt and senior advisor Mark Wallace respectively.

Paulson will play McCain’s senior campaign adviser Nicolle Wallace, MacNicol is his campaign manager Rick Davis and Gaston is Bristol Palin’s baby daddy Levi Johnston.

Sullivan is Palin’s deputy chief of staff Chris Edwards, Sheridan is senior campaign adviser Mark Salter and Farman is Bristol Palin.

Danny Strong...

HBO Drama Finds Its Bristol Palin, Chris Edwards & Mark Salter Update: Deadline reveals that Sarah Paulson, Peter MacNicol and Justin Gaston have also joined the cast as McCain's senior campaign adviser Nicolle Wallace, McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis and Bristol Palin's baby daddy Levi Johnston respectively. Political heads are in for a major treat as HBO's forthcoming "Game Change" is not only tackling one of the most interesting political races in recent memory, but they've also lined up a crack cast to do it. With Julianne Moore (as Sarah Palin), Ed Harris (as John McCain), Woody Harrelson (as Steve…...

Julianne Moore stars as Sarah Palin in HBO's Game Change, while Ed Harris plays running-mate John McCain, Melissa Farman (Temple Grandin) plays Bristol Palin, Larry Sullivan plays Palin's deputy chief of staff Chris Edwards and Jamey Sheridan plays McCain's speechwriter/campaign advisor Mark Salter (complete photo mash-up below, actors in said order on the right). Shooting on the film begins today, with Jay Roach (Dinner for Schmucks, Meet the Parents, Austin Powers) directing a screenplay from actor-writer Danny Strong (adapted from Mark Halperin's book). Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are executive producers [THR, THR]. Reviews of Halperin's book also below. And in case you're wondering what Sarah Palin's response was to the White House releasing Obama birth certificate this morning, here you go: @SarahPalinUSA: Media: admit ...

HBO has released a photo of Julianne Moore chanelling the former governor of Alaska, and given the uncanny resemblance, she is Palin in comparison. Also: News on who’s playing Sarah’s daughter Bristol in HBO’s Game Change.

As seen in the first look pic, Moore has Palin’s hair color and ‘do dead to rights, and seems to have a handle on the “You betcha!” smile. The four-time Academy Award nominee is portraying the politician for Game Change, HBO’s TV-movie based on the book about John McCain’s 2008 White House run.

Ed Harris (Apollo 13) stars as McCain,...

HBO has found its Bristol Palin.

Melissa Farman has been cast to play the pregnant teenage daughter of 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin in the HBO original film "Game Change," based on the book by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. "Game Change" chronicles the 2008 Presidential election, with special focus on and insider secrets from the doomed campaign of Republican nominee John McCain.

A relative newcomer, Farman has had a number of TV guest spots, including in "Lost" and "NCIS." She has a history with HBO, starring in its Emmy Award-winning original movie "Temple Grandin" in 2010. She joins a cast that already features Ed Harris as John McCain and Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, amongst others.

It was also announced on Tuesday that Larry Sullivan, of "CSI" fame, will play Palin aide Chris Edwards, while Jamey Sheridan, of "Trauma, will play McCain speechwriter Mark Salter.

Those involved in the real...

HBO's "Game Change" has found its Bristol Palin. After the network cast Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, "Temple Grandin" actress Melissa Farman is recruited to join the cast to portray the former vice presidential nominee's daughter.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" star Larry Sullivan has also been cast as Sarah Palin's deputy chief of staff Chris Edwards. Meanwhile, Jamey Sheridan has just nabbed the role of John McCain's speechwriter and senior campaign advisor Mark Salter.

Also recently being added to the cast ensemble of the TV movie is Ron Livingston. The actor of HBO's mini series "Band of Brothers" is tapped to portray Mark Wallace, a senior adviser to McCain-Palin 2008. He led the debate-preparation team for Palin, who ended up exceeding expectations in her face-off with Joe Biden.

Previously, Oscar nominee Ed Harris has been tapped to play former presidential candidate John McCain.

Woody Harrelson...

HBO's upcoming political movie Game Change has added a slew of new cast members, including Melissa Farman (Temple Grandin) portraying Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol Palin.

The movie centers on the controversial Presidential campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin in 2008. Ron Livingston has joined the cast as Mark Wallace, a senior campaign advisor to the McCain-Palin ticket. Larry Sullivan (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) will play Chris Edwards, Sarah Palin's deputy chief of staff, while Jamey Sheridan (Trauma) is set to play John McCain's speechwriter/strategist, Mark Salter.

Ed Harris and Julianne Moore are already locked in to play John McCain and Sarah Palin, with Woody Harrelson playing Sarah Palin's senior campaign strategist and adviser.

Jay Roach will direct Game Change from a screenplay by Danny Strong, both of whom collaborated on the 2008 HBO political movie, Recount.

Today it was revealed that John McCain speechwriter Mark Salter is the anonymous author responsible for O: A Presidential Novel. While Salter himself had no comment, Time magazine’s Mark Halperin reported that Salter’s authorship was “confirmed by sources.” The news apparently makes sense to those familiar with McCain’s five books, all of which the senator co-wrote with Salter. “Salter’s adjective-heavy style, used in speeches and in books he co-wrote with McCain, is similar to the style in ‘O,’” Politico noted. Indeed, tepid critical reception to the novel mirrors criticism of certain McCain speeches.

Former McCain adviser Mark Salter, alleged to be the author of the anonymous novel about Obama, told The Daily Beast months ago about his failures at writing fiction.

So, another Washington mystery has been solved. Time's Mark Halperin has put two and two together and declared Mark Salter, John McCain's once trusted adviser and political alter ego, the author of O, the gimmicky anonymous novel about the Obama White House. Not that Halperin had to put much shoe leather into reporting this one out. Page Six all but declared Salter the winner last week. (Of course, Primary Colors, the Clinton-era novel which O apes, had many authors before Joel Klein aroused himself from anonymity.)

Related story on The Daily Beast: Nice Rhetoric, but Need Real Results

The reviews so far have been less than sterling. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times sniffed, "Well, now we know why the...