Wag the Dog
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| Wag the Dog | |
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| Directed by | Barry Levinson |
| Produced by | Barry Levinson Robert De Niro |
| Written by | Hilary Henkin David Mamet |
| Starring | Dustin Hoffman Robert De Niro Anne Heche Denis Leary William H. Macy Willie Nelson |
| Editing by | Stu Linder |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | December 17, 1997 |
| Running time | 97 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Wag the Dog is a 1997 film starring Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman about a Washington spin doctor who, merely days before a presidential election, distracts the electorate from a sex scandal by hiring a Hollywood film producer to construct a fake war with Albania. The scheme enlists the aid of a country music singer, who creates several theme songs for the war; a "fad king"; and a costume designer, who helps create a fictional special forces unit to fight the war's supposed battles.
Wag the Dog was produced and directed by Barry Levinson. The screenplay was credited to Hilary Henkin and David Mamet. The film is based on the novel American Hero by Larry Beinhart. The book differs greatly from the picture. In the book, the president is specifically George H. W. Bush (in the movie he is unnamed), the fake war operation is explicitly Desert Storm, and the war actually occurs, instead of being entirely falsified.[1]
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[edit] Plot
When an unnamed President of the United States is caught in a closed room with a young girl scout less than two weeks before re-election, a hired political gun (played by Robert DeNiro) is brought in to try and take the public attention away from the scandal. He decides to construct a fake war with Albania, hoping the media will concentrate on this instead. In order to come up with his 'war', he contacts a Hollywood producer (Hoffman), who brings in a series of specialists who help construct a theme song, build up interest and fake some footage of an orphan in Albania.
The plan's continual setbacks (including having to use an Army prison convict to be their 'hero' who was "shot down behind enemy lines") don't disturb the producer, who continues to declare "This is nothing" while comparing the situation to a past movie-making catastrophe he averted. In the end, with the election done and the President re-elected, everything seems fine - until the producer finds out from the news outlets that the media are crediting the President's tired "Don't change horses in midstream" campaign slogan with his win, rather than his elaborate plans. The producer is about to call the media to 'set them straight', when the President's aide has him killed and make it look like he had a heart-attack while tanning next to his pool.
The film drew attention later for similarities to the Clinton sex scandal[2], especially after Operation Infinite Reach[3] and Operation Desert Fox, although the movie also makes reference to the Persian Gulf War and the invasion of Grenada as an example of war used as an electoral tactic. The film also explores the similarities between politics and Hollywood.
[edit] Cast
- Dustin Hoffman as Stanley Motss
- Robert De Niro as Conrad Brean
- Anne Heche as Winifred Ames
- Denis Leary as Fad King
- Willie Nelson as Johnny Dean
- Andrea Martin as Liz Butsky
- Kirsten Dunst as Tracy Lime
- William H. Macy as Agent Charles Young
- John Michael Higgins as John Levy
- Suzie Plakson as Grace
- Woody Harrelson as Sergeant William Schumann
- Michael Belson as President
- Suzanne Cryer as Amy Cain
- Jason Cottle as A.D.
- David Koechner as Director
- Harland Williams as Pet Wrangler
- Sean Masterson as Bob Richardson
- Bernard Hocke as Technician
- Jenna Byrne as Sharon
- Maurice Woods as Kid With Shoes
- Phil Morris as Co-Pilot
- Chris Ellis as Officer
- Ed Morgan as Store Owner
- J. Patrick McCormack as Pilot
- Jennifer Manley as Teenage Girl
- Edrie Warner as Judge
- Richard Lawson as CIA Agent
- Drena De Niro as Gate Stewardess
- Alberto Vazquez as Combine Driver
- Stephanie Kemp as First Aide
- Jack Esformes as Second Aide
- John Cho as Third Aide
- Michael Reid Davis as Fourth Aide
- Brant Cotton as Sharon's Boyfriend
- Kenneth Kern as Nashville Engineer
- Michelle Levinson as Faye
- Ron McCoy as Limo Driver
- Derek Morgan as CIA Agent
- Garry R. Roleder as USAF Chaplain
- George Gaynes as Senator Cole
- Rick Scarry as White House Reporter
- Cliff B. Howard as Ranger
- Furley Lumpkin as First Raking Dad
- Sean Fenton as Second Raking Dad
- Nikki Crawford as Mom
- John Franklin as First Jockey
- Kevin Furlong as Second Jockey
- Lu Elrod as Southern Woman
- Michael Villani as Male Commentator
- Shirley Prestia as Crossfire Moderator
- Warren Wilson as Crossfire Interviewer
- Terry Anzur as Factory Reporter
- Melissa Gardner as Santa Fe Reporter
- Giselle Fernandez as Female Press Person
- Christine Devine as Chicago Newscaster
- Richard Saxton as Second Chicago Newscaster
- Geoffrey Blake as First Media Guy
- Jerry Levine as Second Media Guy
- Jack Shearer as Sklansky
- Emmmett Miller as News Break Reporter
- Bill Handel as Andrews AFB Reporter
- Arlene Afshangol as Albanian Girl
- Hope Garber as Albanian Grandmother
- Gina Menza as Press Room Reporter
- Maggie Mellin as Mrs Rose
- Tom Murray as Aircraft Carrier Reporter
- Ralph Tabakin as Southern Man
- Marguerite Moreau as Teenage Girl In Audience
[edit] Motss and Evans
Hoffman's character is said to have been based directly upon famed producer Robert Evans. Similarities have been noted between the character and Evans' work habits, mannerisms, quirks, clothing style, hairstyle, and large, square-framed eyeglasses; in fact, the real Evans is said to have joked, "I'm magnificent in this film."[4] Hoffman has never discussed any inspiration Evans may have provided for the role, and claims on the commentary track for the film's DVD release that much of Motss' characterization was based on his own father, Harry Hoffman, a former prop manager for Columbia Pictures.
[edit] Writing credits
Controversy surrounds the writing credits of the movie.[5] Original drafter Henkin took the film's producers to court and threatened to quit the Writers Guild of America after director Barry Levinson chose not to award her a screenwriting credit. Eventually, the WGA awarded Henkin credit, and Levinson himself threatened to quit the Guild, claiming that Mamet wrote every line of dialogue, as well as creating the characters of Motss and Schumann, and originating most of the scenes set in Hollywood and all of the scenes set in Nashville.[6]
[edit] Music
| Wag the Dog | |
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| Soundtrack by Mark Knopfler | |
| Released | 13 January, 1998 |
| Label | Mercury Records |
The film featured many songs created for the fictitious campaign waged by the protagonists: "Good Old Shoe", "The American Dream" and "The Men of the 303" are but salient examples. None of these pieces made it onto the soundtrack, which was released on CD: it featured only the title track, by British guitarist/vocalist Mark Knopfler, and seven of Knopfler's instrumentals.
Track listing
- "Wag the Dog" 4:44
- "Working on It" 3:27
- "In the Heartland" 2:45
- "An American Hero" 2:04
- "Just Instinct" 1:36
- "Stretching Out" 4:17
- "Drooling National" 1:53
- "We're Going to War" 3:23
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/American-Hero-Larry-Beinhart/dp/0345366638
- ^ http://www.cuttingedge.org/NEWS/n1204.cfm
- ^ http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Pulitzerwinning_journalist_Why_I_asked_if_0522.html
- ^ "Double Takes". Newsweek (The Washington Post Company). 1998-03-02. http://www.newsweek.com/id/91054?tid=relatedcl. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ^ http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4769893-1.html
- ^ http://www2.eonline.com/uberblog/b35690_woof_warp_of_dog_screen_credit.html
[edit] See also
- Astroturfing, a controversial public relations practice depicted in the film
- Canadian Bacon, a film about an American war started for similar reasons
[edit] External links
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