Wag the Dog
Wag the Dog is a 1997 American political satire black comedy film produced and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. 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 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
- Chris Ellis
- Craig T. Nelson
- David Koechner
- Denis Leary
- Drena De Niro
- Dustin Hoffman
- Geoffrey Blake
- George Gaynes
- Giselle Fernández
- Harland Williams
- Harry Kalenberg
- 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
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 air force base andrews air force base begin appearing behind enemy lines bomb claim criminally insane fictional war flee folk singer gas station hard work heart attack id illegal alien kill library of congress military funeral oval office plane crash power line rescue sexual abuse shoe tossing special forces spin doctor talk show 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 |