Academy Award nominated actress Julianne Moore told MTV News that

It was hard, really, really hard

playing former Alaska governor/2008 GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin in the upcoming  Game Change, directed by Jay Roach and based on Mark Halperin and John Heilemann‘s 2010 bestseller of the same name.

I had a great director, Jay Roach who was incredible. I adored him, [he was] so supportive, so smart. I did a lot of research, I worked really hard. It’s hard to play someone who is very present in people’s minds, who’s on television, very idiosyncratic,  I did my best. We’ll see, I hope we pulled it off.

The HBO movie stars Ed Harris as John McCain, and Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt, Larry Sullivan as Palin’s deputy chief of staff Chris Edwards, Jamey Sheridan as McCain’s speechwriter and senior campaign advisor Mark Salter.

We’ll get to see behind the scenes with Palin family, too: Melissa Farman plays Bristol Palin, David Barry Gray appears as Todd Palin, and Justin Gaston as Levi Johnston. The film follows the 2008 McCain campaign from the candidate’s selection of Sarah Palin as running mate to their defeat on election night.

Moore worked to get her character’s accent down:

I had to listen to it over and over again. My son was embarrassed because [Palin's speeches were] all that was on my iPod. He said, ‘Where’s your music?’ [I told him] I erased all my music.

The film, shot in Maryland, was reported to be responsible for employing 160 local crew and 1,800 residents as extras. But that kind of job creation wasn’t on Palin’s mind when she spoke to Sean Hannity about Game Change. She wondered why she wasn’t get some money for her kids’ braces. Um, Sarah, haven’t you made millions off your books and TV appearances? Maybe Bristol could help you out with her windfall if you’ve spent all yours!