Wag the Dog 1997

type: Movie

language: English

duration: 97 min

genre: comedy

theme: black comedy

director: Barry Levinson

Score: 7 / 10

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

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

Cast

person Andrea Martin
Anne Heche
Craig T. Nelson
David Koechner
Denis Leary
Drena De Niro
Dustin Hoffman
person Geoffrey Blake
George Gaynes
person Giselle Fernández
Harland Williams
person Harry Kalenberg
person http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q708059
Jay Leno
Jim Belushi
John Cho
person John Franklin
John Michael Higgins
Kirsten Dunst
Marguerite Moreau
Merle Haggard
Robert De Niro
person Robert Richardson
Suzie Plakson
William H. Macy
person Willie Nelson
Woody Harrelson

More details

author	David Mamet Hilary Henkin
award	Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
contentLocation	Washington, D.C.
director	Barry Levinson
editor	Stu Linder
genre	comedy political satire
keywords	78 rpm 78 rpm record air force base andrews air force base astroturfing begin appearing behind enemy lines bomb central intelligence agency cia cinema of the united states claim criminally insane fictional war flee folk singer gas station hard work heart attack hollywood id illegal alien kill library of congress military funeral oval office plane crash power line rescue shoe tossing special forces spin doctor the white house theme song warn
musicBy	Mark Knopfler
nomination	Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
producer	Jane Rosenthal Robert De Niro
productionCompany	TriBeCa Productions
publisher	New Line Cinema
theme	black comedy conspiracy theories