While serving as guest host on Tuesday's NBC Today, Sarah Palin literally gave HBO's hit piece on her, Game Change, a thumbs down, and declared: "I didn't see the movie. And I wouldn't waste my time seeing the movie....because I don't waste my time on false narratives, on lies." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Palin made the criticism during the Today's Professionals panel segment, causing shock among the liberal pundits. Advertising executive Donny Deutsch wondered: "So you didn't like Julianne Moore?" Attorney Star Jones proclaimed how much she liked the movie and asked in disbelief: "Are you telling the truth? You didn't see it?" Co-host Matt Lauer chimed in: "You didn't see Game Change? You never saw it?"
The subject came up while the panel discussed actor Ashton Kutcher being cast as a young Steve Jobs in an upcoming film on the late Apple founder. As the others debated the decision, Palin remarked: "Well, do any of you here have experience with people being paid a lot of money to pretend like they're you?"
Talking to Meet the Press host David Gregory on March 11, Game Change co-author John Heilemann simply could not imagine why Palin would not like absurdly slanted film adaptation: "...it's hard to know why she's not happy with it....the movie is an incredibly balanced portrait of her..."
Among a long list of attacks in the HBO production, at one point, one of the characters wonders if Palin was "mentally unstable."
Here is a portion of the April 3 exchange:
8:17AM ET
(...)
SARAH PALIN: Well, do any of you here have experience with people being paid a lot of money to pretend like they're you?
DEUTSCH: I was going to ask, what do you think of Julianne Moore, who was going to do it, seriously?
[PALIN GIVES A THUMBS DOWN]
PALIN: Tina Fey was good.
JONES: I liked it, I'm not going to lie to you. [inaudible] ...to tell you. I liked it.
DEUTSCH: So you didn't like Julianne Moore?
PALIN: You know, I didn't see the movie. And I wouldn't waste my time seeing the movie.
JONES: Are you telling the truth? You didn't see it?
LAUER: You didn't see Game Change? You never saw it?
PALIN: Didn't see Game Change – no, because I don't waste my time on false narratives, on lies.
JONES: Fair enough.
PALIN: No. So I'm not going to waste my time there. But I do have to admit that Tina Fey has been pretty clever.
(...)