Bush vs. Gore, one more time

Still, Klain, now general counsel for a private investment firm, said the movie overemphasizes his role. And he cautioned that it should not be viewed as a journalistic enterprise. "If people watch the film and think this is the complete story of what had happened, they're going to be missing a lot," he said. "A lot of really complex and nuanced debates we had about strategy ended up getting oversimplified into 10-second conversations.

"It's a film," he added. "Not a history book."

Director Jay Roach said he's not under any illusion that the movie will be viewed as the definitive take on the recount.

"We just tried to be fair and to capture the essence of the truth," said Roach, who has directed such comedy blockbusters as "Meet the Parents" and the "Austin Powers" series. "You can't tell the whole story of the recount, of thousands of people over 30 days. But we thought if the audience saw we were diligent, they couldn't dismiss it, no matter what side they were on."

Indeed, Spacey said he believes the movie's sensibilities will surprise viewers.

"Rather than what people might expect, which is that it's some sort of political polemic or boring history film, it's actually more of a thriller," he said.

If the 2000 recount -- a confounding mess of undervotes, hanging chads and vague election laws -- seems unlikely material for a cinematic drama, then the origin of the film is even more improbable.

The movie sprang from an unexpected source: Strong is an actor best known for his roles on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gilmore Girls." An aspiring screenwriter who had written several unsold comedies, Strong was inspired to try something different after seeing David Hare's play "Stuff Happens," which traces the buildup to the war in Iraq.

In crafting the script, he relied heavily on public documents and interviews with the key players. But Strong noted that he wrote "95% of the dialogue" and concocted scenes for dramatic effect. (An encounter on an airport tarmac between Klain and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, played by Tom Wilkinson, never happened, for example.)

"We feel that the film is accurate, but we're very clear to say that it's a movie. It's not a documentary," Strong said.

Still, Klain was so uneasy about the approach that he suggested the filmmakers create fictional characters instead of using the names of real people, a notion they rejected as unrealistic. He's most bothered by a scene in which his character, at a low point for the Democrats, tells field director Michael Whouley (played by Denis Leary): "I'm not even sure I like Al Gore."