Brutal Self-Own: Director Jay Roach Wishes ‘Game Change,’ ‘Recount’ Were ‘More Persuasive’

NEW YORK, May 6 (UPI) — Director Jay Roach says he wishes his election-themed TV movies Game Change and Recount had more of an impact on political discourse and policy in the United States.

Starring Ed Harris and Julianne Moore, 2012’s Game Change followed Republican Sen. John McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate in his unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid against Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

2008’s Recount was about the lawsuits spawned by voting irregularities in the 2000 presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore. It starred Laura Dern, Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, and John Hurt.

Although both Emmy-winning TV movies focused on contentious times in U.S. politics, they also contained hope and humor.

“I am very proud of those. I just wish I had been more persuasive,” Roach told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

“I wish Recount had convinced us to work harder to make it easier to vote. I wish somehow it made us prioritize voting even more,” Roach said. “And I wish Game Change had taught us that maybe reality show-style personalities aren’t the most statesman-like leaders for us. I wish they were more persuasive.”

Watching them now in an even more divisive era, the films seem “quaint,” he added.

“To me, at the time, they were anxiety fever dreams,” Roach said.

“They were my way of coping and [asking] how did this happen and how then shall we proceed as a civilization? I’m proud of them, but I wish they had changed the world a little more.”

Roach also directed all eight episodes of High Desert, a dramedy premiering on Apple TV+ on May 17. It stars Patricia Arquette, Bernadette Peters, Christine Taylor, Keir O’Donnell, and Rupert Friend.