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.[1] The film centers on a spin doctor and a Hollywood producer who fabricates 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.
Wag the Dog was released one month before the news broke of the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and the bombing of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan by the Clinton administration in August 1998, which prompted the media to draw comparisons between the film and reality.[3] The comparison was also made in December 1998, when the administration initiated a bombing campaign of Iraq during Clinton's impeachment trial for the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.[4] It was made again in spring 1999, when the administration intervened in the Kosovo War and initiated a bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, which, coincidentally, bordered Albania and contained ethnic Albanians.[5] The film grossed $64.3 million on a $15 million budget, and was well received by critics, who praised the direction, performances, themes and humor. Hoffman received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, and screenwriters David Mamet and Hilary Henkin were both nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
^ abTuran, Kenneth (December 24, 1997). "'Wag the Dog' Is a Comedy With Some Real Bite to It". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2017. A gloriously cynical black comedy that functions as a wicked smart satire on the interlocking world of politics and show business ...
^"Wag the Dog (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
^"Wag the Dog Back In Spotlight". CNN. August 20, 1998. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
^"Cohen criticizes 'wag the dog' characterization". CNN. March 23, 2004. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
^Reed, Julia (April 11, 1999). "Welcome to Wag the Dog Three". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
WagtheDog is a 1997 American political satire black comedy film produced and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro...
Wagthedog is, as a political term, the act of creating a diversion from a damaging issue usually through military force. It stems from the generic use...
Tail wagging is the behavior of thedog observed as its tail moves back and forth in the same plane. Within Canidae, specifically Canis lupus familiaris...
releases—Volcano, I Know What You Did Last Summer and WagtheDog. The disaster film Volcano, about the formation of a volcano in Los Angeles, had her star...
Tatara, Paul (January 6, 1998). "'WagtheDog' grabs satire by the tail". CNN: Showbiz/Movies. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Sandler...
for nine films, including Local Hero (1983), Cal (1984), The Princess Bride (1987), WagtheDog (1997) and Altamira (2016). He has produced albums for Tina...
both a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for her work on the screenplay of WagtheDog in 1997. Henkin was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised...
Look up wag or WAG in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wag generally refers to tail wagging by dogs. Wag, Wags, WAG or WAGS may also refer to: Wag (band)...
Oscar-nominated roles are for The Graduate (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Lenny (1975), Tootsie (1982), and WagtheDog (1997). Other notable roles include...
Run (1988); WagtheDog (1997); Analyze This (1999) and its sequel, Analyze That (2002); the Meet the Parents films (2000–2010); and The Intern (2015)...
Field originated the role, but in 1993, when he had to undergo a hernia operation, the role, along with the Blue Wiggle and WagstheDog, was played by...
(1981), The Verdict (1982), The Untouchables (1987), Hoffa (1992), WagtheDog (1997), and Hannibal (2001). Mamet himself wrote the screenplay for the 1992...
(1996), thriller Mad City (1997), and the satirical black comedy WagtheDog (1997) alongside Robert De Niro. In the 2000s, he played theatrical producer...
Disclosure, Red Eye and WagtheDog. Plakson wrote and performed an allegorical solo show, An Evening with Eve. Plakson penned and performed the alternative country...
of her father's films, including Showtime (2002), WagtheDog (1997), City by the Sea (2002) and The Intern (2015). Recently De Niro's endeavors have led...
performance in the premiere of Donald Margulies's two-person play Collected Stories at South Coast Repertory. She then went on to film WagtheDog while simultaneously...
the 1990s, including substantial roles in the films Judgment Night (1993), Gunmen (1994), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) and WagtheDog (1997). In the 2000s...
work in the television series SCTV and Great News. She has appeared in films such as Black Christmas (1974), WagtheDog (1997), Hedwig and the Angry Inch...
voiced Young Anastasia in the animated musical film Anastasia. Also in 1997, Dunst appeared in the black comedy film WagtheDog, opposite Robert De Niro...
best known as the author of the political and detective novel American Hero, which was adapted into the political-parody film WagtheDog. An early inspiration...
Valentine's Day. In the 1997 film WagtheDog, the song performed by Chevalier is used as backdrop for an election campaign ad. In the mid-1990s, a contemporary...
This is the list of episodes for Bunnicula, an animated series based on the original books written by Deborah Howe and James Howe. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's...