Wag the Dog
Wag the Dog is a 1997 American black comedy political satire film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. Produced and directed by Barry Levinson, the film centers on a spin doctor and a Hollywood producer who fabricate a war in Albania to distract voters from a presidential sex scandal. The screenplay by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet was loosely adapted from Larry Beinhart's 1993 novel, American Hero.
Plot
The President of the United States is caught making advances on an underage girl inside the Oval Office less than two weeks before the election. Conrad Brean, a top spin doctor, is brought in by presidential aide Winifred Ames to take the public's attention away from the scandal. He decides to construct a fictional war in Albania, hoping the media will concentrate on this instead. Brean contacts Hollywood producer Stanley Motss to create the war, complete with a theme song and fake film footage of a fleeing orphan to arouse sympathy. The hoax is initially successful, with the president quickly gaining ground in the polls.
Awards
Cast
- Andrea Martin
- Anne Heche
- Craig T. Nelson
- David Koechner
- Denis Leary
- Drena De Niro
- Dustin Hoffman
- Geoffrey Blake
- George Gaynes
- Giselle Fernández
- Harland Williams
- Harry Kalenberg
- http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q708059
- Jay Leno
- Jim Belushi
- John Cho
- John Franklin
- John Michael Higgins
- Kirsten Dunst
- Marguerite Moreau
- Merle Haggard
- Robert De Niro
- Robert Richardson
- Suzie Plakson
- William H. Macy
- Willie Nelson
- Woody Harrelson