Tomorrow's "Game Change" day! And in celebration I present a special interview with author Geoffrey Dunn.

Like many of you I have been hearing ALL kinds of contradictory information about the movie Game Change.

Some have said it eviscerates Sarah Palin, while others claim that it is sympathetic toward her and will make people feel sorry for her. 

Her people have been attacking the film, which convinced me that THEY at least think it is bad for Sarah, but then Julianne Moore has repeatedly stated that she felt sympathy for the person who she was asked to portray, which made me worry that she would fail to adequately represent the mean girl side of Palin that most of us have come to know all too well.

All in all it left me somewhat confused.

Then I received an e-mail from my friend Geoffrey Dunn, author of the book "The Lies of Sarah Palin. The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power," suggesting that we do an interview, since HE had already seen the movie.

Seven seconds.  That's how long it took me to type out my response, "You betcha!"

Here is that interview:

Immoral Minority: Geoffrey, it seemed you took a sabbatical from writing about Palin after your book, "The Lies of Sarah Palin" was published. It is very nice to see you back over at the Huffington Post these days, is this in response to the increased interest in Palin and the movie "Game Change," or were you always planning on taking a break and then jumping back in at a later time?

Geoffrey Dunn: With Palin, as you know Jesse, there are no plans [laughter]. And after the publication of my book I felt a need to get away from that subject for a while. I think that I wrote two really important pieces about Palin in the last six months. One for the Anchorage Press called “Palin Redivivus” about problems with Frank Bailey’s book. And another for Firedog Lake entitled “Blood In the Snow” about the shameful attack on Joe McGinniss by Janet Maslin of the New York Times . Covering Palin is a bit like swimming in a cesspool—there’s no way to avoid the stink. So I took a long shower. But with the renewed focus on Palin because of Game Change , I felt as though I needed to get back into the fray. Huffington gives me a much huger audience than anywhere else. They feature my work. And with all the pushback from Palin & Co. against Game Change (the movie), I felt that I needed to come to its defense in terms of its portrayal of Palin as an extremely disruptive force on the campaign. And I will be writing several more pieces about Palin, Game Change and some of the larger issues this all raises about what I am calling “the pornography of American politics.”

IM: There has been much talk that the HBO movie Game Change might in fact portray Sarah Palin as more of a tragic figure, or garner sympathy from the audience for how she was treated by the McCain campaign. What are your thoughts on that possibility?

Dunn: Superb read on your part. But I’ve now watched Game Change twice. One of its missteps is depicting Palin as a “victim,” which of course she was not. At best she is a victim of her own psychological pathologies and delusions. And Bristol’s and Todd’s depictions will be a hoot to anyone who has ever encountered their energy in Alaska. I will be telling viewers to re-watch that footage of the family in Homer while they were filming Palin’s unreality show or the footage of Todd and Sarah at the airport in Valdez. But let me tell you, Julianne Moore absolutely inhabits Palin — and she has her crazy-angry-delusional persona down to perfection. It took me only a few blinks of an eye to fall into her character, and like you, I’ve watched far too much real Sarah Palin footage to be healthy. But Moore captures Palin for what you and I know her to be—a dysfunctional, mean-spirited woman driven by anger and revenge who is out only for herself. That is the ultimate portrait of Sarah Palin that emerges from Game Change . It’s devastating.

IM: Is there anything that you uncovered during your research for your book that you had hoped would make it into the movie?

Dunn: Most of what I uncovered during my research for the book made it into the movie, especially about Palin’s dysfunction and duplicity and betrayal. What the film really misses the mark on is all the prelude to Palin’s selection. It makes it seem as though Palin was discovered by McCain advisors while Googling for a woman candidate. That’s such a distortion of reality that I will focus some attention in the next few weeks responding to that narrative. Sarah Palin did not fall out of the sky. She was angling for that nomination from the moment she was elected Governor of Alaska. And there were right-wingers like Bill Kristol pushing her candidacy. In June of 2008 Kristol said knowingly twice, on Fox News, that Palin was going to get the nod. People inside the McCain camp—most notably Rick Davis—had their eyes on her for a long time. I tell this story in detail in my book, far more than Game Change (either the book or film), and if readers are interested in this issue I strongly suggest that they read my section of the book that deals with this vetting and selection process.

IM: We know how Steve Schmidt and Nicole Wallace view Sarah Palin these days, however many others who participated in the McCain campaign have remained relatively silent. Why do you believe that is?

Dunn: I mean, Nicolle Wallace described Palin as “cuckoo for Coco Puffs.” We know how she feels. Schmidt is far more careful, but he has clearly stated Palin is “unfit for the presidency.” Some of those other McCain operatives, like Rick Davis, are still closely associated with John McCain. Other’s like Jason Recher are still on Palin’s payroll. And the others are simply afraid to go on the record. I spoke to several people from the McCain campaign who are afraid of Palin. As you know, Palin’s minions are a vicious lot. They have gone after Schmidt. And they will go after Game Change . But I think the film will solidify in the public’s mind how dangerous and irresponsible the Palin selection really was. That’s why the Palin pushback has been so hard. This film will seriously push down Palin’s favorability ratings even further—and they are already astonishingly low.

IM: From what I can glean from the trailers for Game Change it appears that most of the responsibility for the choosing of Sarah Palin is laid at the feet of Steve Schmidt. Do you believe this is accurate? Or even fair?

Dunn: Rick Davis was in charge of selecting and vetting the VP process. He did a shitty job. And to be fair to everyone, McCain wanted Lieberman. But when the word got out they were going with Lieberman (blame Lindsay Graham for that), the rightwing nutbags who adore Palin threatened to walk out of the convention. So Lieberman was viewed as a fool’s move. That left Mitt Romney (who McCain disliked), Tim Pawlenty (who has the charisma of cardboard), and Palin (who they knew nothing about). They wanted a woman—a “game changer”—so they went with door Number Three. They initially got a huge boost and then a huge crash with Palin. Could they have won with either of the other two? Who knows? With Palin? Never. Never ever. She’s poison to any campaign. Just ask Joe Miller. Anyway, the “fault” if you will for the selection of Palin falls squarely on the shoulders on Rick Davis. The Davis character is minimized in the film, but remember Davis was busted during the campaign for being a lobbyist for Freddie Mac? Sound familiar? Anyway, Schmidt takes the fall for this and it really is unfair to him. But he’s a big boy and he will survive and thrive. He has as much integrity as anyone I’ve ever met, inside or outside of politics. The dramatic arc of Game Change is about him confronting his conscience re Palin. He knows he helped to create a monster on the landscape of American politics. 

IM: Since you have already seen Game Change, you lucky dog, is there anything that was left out that you really wish had been addressed?

 Dunn: Hey, I do feel like a lucky dog to have seen it. And since I was worried about it, actually, I was very very pleased with the film. As I said, it contains a brilliant performance by Julianne Moore—she will receive many awards—and it goes after a deeper story about the truly vulgar nature of American presidential politics. That story is larger than Palin. But no matter how the director and writer and HBO try to spin it, Game Change presents an absolutely devastating portrait of Palin. I was moved and shaken by it. And I know this Palin turf as well as anyone. It was still a revelation. But yes, there is one thing I wish that would have been in the film. I really wish they had included the scene near the end of the campaign with the French-Canadian comedians pretending to be Sarkozy! Moore could have pulled it off. Whenever anyone makes the argument that Palin was prepared for the presidency, I ask them to go back and listen to that interview. I analyze it in great detail in my book. But, damn, it’s not in the film. C’est la vie! 

IM: What do you predict Palin will be doing in the next five years? Do you believe her political career is over, or do you think she has any hope of rising from the ashes?

Dunn: She’s done in Alaska. She certainly had her eyes on that 2014 Senate race, and now she hasn’t got a shot. Zero. Cooked. And she really has no place in real American politics, either. I say “real” because Sarah Palin has become a punch line and a laughingstock. She’s a joke. She holds a very small—albeit intense—niche in the American political discussion, and if she stays at Fox News (where my sources tell me she is not well-loved) she will continue to have a presence. But it is marginal at best. She’s had zero impact on the 2012 race. As soon as Todd endorsed Gingrich, Newt’s prospects sunk. People are interested in Palin, but they don’t take her seriously. It’s truly pathetic to watch her talk about the possibility of her being selected at a brokered convention in Tampa. That’s why she really wants the battle to go on between Romney and the anti-Romney forces. It’s all about her. She didn’t have the guts to run. She didn’t have the political traction. At the end of my book, I liken her to the Wizard of Oz, all smoke and mirrors, “hiding behind a phalanx of curtains and screens with no direct accountability, pulling her levers and turning her wheels to create a fraudulent illusion of power and influence.” She’s nothing more than a snake-oil salesman. She’s a fraud. And the American people have caught on. 

IM: And finally, on a personal note, how is your family? Is Tess's singing career starting to take off? The rest of the family doing well?

 Dunn: We’re all fine. Tess’s career has really taken off since you saw her play at that party in Anchorage [during the summer of ‘09]. She just had a new album release and has been a cover-girl on a couple of mags. Her new album is killer. She’s going to be on the Warped tour again this year. Dylan’s doing great as well, playing basketball and baseball. But they are all very tired of Sarah Palin. Very, very tired of her. Enough already. I agree. 

Well that is great to hear Geoffrey, I am VERY impressed with Tess's success, though of course I knew she would be a star when I first heard her sing in Anchorage almost three years ago now.

And thank you for this great interview my friend, it definitely went a long way toward calming any feelings of concern I, and some of my readers, had about this movie.

So folks get your popcorn ready because we are only a day away from, in Geoffrey's words, "an absolutely devastating portrait of Palin."

Sounds like "must see TV" to me!