# Wag the Dog
**Wag the Dog** is a 1997 American black comedy directed by [Barry Levinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/barry-levinson), in which a White House spin doctor and a Hollywood producer fabricate a war in Albania to distract the public from a presidential sex scandal two weeks before an election. It stars [Robert De Niro](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-de-niro) as political consultant Conrad Brean, Dustin Hoffman as producer Stanley Motss, and [Anne Heche](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-heche) as presidential adviser Winifred Ames.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61660-WAG-THE-DOG) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wag_the_dog) The screenplay is credited to Hilary Henkin and David Mamet, adapted from Larry Beinhart's novel *American Hero*.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-24-ca-1649-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Los Angeles opening December 25, 1997; New York the week of December 26, 1997[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61660-WAG-THE-DOG) |
| Director and writers | Barry Levinson; screenplay by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet, from Larry Beinhart's novel *American Hero*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61660-WAG-THE-DOG) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-24-ca-1649-story.html) |
| Cast | Dustin Hoffman (Stanley Motss), Robert De Niro (Conrad Brean), Anne Heche (Winifred Ames), Woody Harrelson (Sgt. William Schumann), Denis Leary (Fad King)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61660-WAG-THE-DOG) |
| Production | New Line Cinema; $15 million budget; 29-day shoot[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61660-WAG-THE-DOG) • [4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/wag-the-dog) |
| Box office | $43,057,470 domestic, $64,252,038 worldwide, 4.3 times its production budget[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wag-the-Dog) |
| Critical scores | 86% Tomatometer from 79 reviews; Metascore 74 (generally favorable)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wag_the_dog) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wag-the-dog/critic-reviews/) |
| Recognition | Two Academy Award nominations[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/the-oral-history-of-wag-the-dog) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Two weeks before the presidential election, the incumbent President is accused of accosting a young girl in the [Oval Office](https://www.edgepedia.org/oval-office). Before the story reaches the media, adviser Winifred Ames brings in Conrad Brean, a political consultant specializing in salvage operations. Brean decides a distraction is the best course and recruits Hollywood producer Stanley Motss to stage a patriotic campaign centered on a fabricated war with Albania. The scheme includes manufactured news footage, such as a young girl fleeing a burning town clutching her cat, and a phony war hero, Sergeant William Schumann, played by [Woody Harrelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-harrelson).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wag_the_dog) • [4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/wag-the-dog) • [8](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/wag-the-dog/) One of Brean's early tactics is to issue denials of a non-existent B-3 bomber; the denial is true, since no such aircraft exists.[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/wag-the-dog) Motss assembles a creative team including Liz Butsky ([Andrea Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrea-martin)), Fad King (Denis Leary), and songwriter Johnny Green (Willie Nelson).[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/wag-the-dog) • [9](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/wag-the-dog/umc.cmc.5e9wztbdz8zv4hxnnq5oy0q0k)
The title comes from the question posed in the opening credits: why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail; if the tail were smarter, the tail would wag the dog.[10](https://time.com/3553581/election-movies-about-politics/)
## Production
Levinson filmed the $15 million satire in a 29-day shoot, a schedule shorter than many contemporary rock videos take.[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/wag-the-dog) • [11](https://aadl.org/files/documents/pdf/aa_agenda/aa_agenda_19980900.pdf) Levinson had initially turned down Hilary Henkin's screenplay, though he liked the premise; once on board, he brought in [David Mamet](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-mamet) to write a new version that departed significantly from both the novel and the earlier draft.[12](https://expeditiorepositorio.utadeo.edu.co/bitstream/handle/20.500.12010/16081/1000254.pdf) • [13](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-09-ca-51882-story.html) Producer Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of TriBeCa, argued the film's story and dialogue were entirely new apart from the basic premise, while the book's side maintained that Beinhart's seminal contribution deserved acknowledgment.[13](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-09-ca-51882-story.html)
The credit question went to the [Writers Guild of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/writers-guild-of-america). In the final weeks before release, Mamet sought sole credit while Henkin argued her work merited shared credit; the guild awarded her first-position shared credit, and Mamet reportedly refused to attach his name to any film for which he was not the sole writer afterward, a position that surfaced the next year with *Ronin*.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/the-oral-history-of-wag-the-dog) [Mark Knopfler](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-knopfler) composed the music, and the flag-waving song "The American Dream" was written for the film by Tom Bahler, co-writer of "We Are the World".[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61660-WAG-THE-DOG) • [4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/wag-the-dog)
## Release and reception
New Line released the film on December 25, 1997, opening in 3 theaters and expanding to 1,752 at its widest; its domestic gross of $43,057,470 gave it a 67.0 percent domestic share of the $64,252,038 worldwide total.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wag-the-Dog) Critics responded strongly. Roger Ebert of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) gave it 100, comparing it to *Dr. Strangelove* as a satire that makes you laugh and then wonder.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wag-the-dog/critic-reviews/) Writing in Time, Ebert also observed that it was getting harder for satire to stay ahead of reality.[10](https://time.com/3553581/election-movies-about-politics/) The film earned two Academy Award nominations.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/the-oral-history-of-wag-the-dog)
## Timing and the Lewinsky scandal
The film reached theaters in the weeks immediately preceding allegations that President Clinton had an affair with White House intern [Monica Lewinsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/monica-lewinsky) became public, and for a period it became the defining reference point whenever real politics appeared to imitate its fictional counterpart.[14](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/real-thing-election-campaigns-and-the-question-of-authenticity-in-american-film-and-television/EFD154C51AEA64AF9302810D9B636338) According to commentary on the DVD, the inspiration for Beinhart's novel and Henkin's first script was the Bush White House's stage management of the Persian Gulf War.[15](https://www.salon.com/2000/10/25/wag_dog/) Scholars have since treated the film as a central critique of spin-doctoring during the Clinton presidency, an account of politics in which the authentic and the real are constructed by spin doctors, media advisers, and Hollywood producers.[14](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/real-thing-election-campaigns-and-the-question-of-authenticity-in-american-film-and-television/EFD154C51AEA64AF9302810D9B636338)
## Legacy
Commentators have repeatedly returned to the film as media landscapes changed. A 2022 Vanity Fair oral history quoted producer Jane Rosenthal saying she was proud of the movie but saddened that current events outstripped its inventions.[7](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/the-oral-history-of-wag-the-dog) Critics writing years after release noted that the worlds of politics, entertainment, and news media have grown more intertwined since 1997, with narratives carefully controlled and expectations minimal.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wag_the_dog) The film's running time is listed as 105 minutes by the AFI Catalog and The Numbers, and 97 minutes by the BFI.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61660-WAG-THE-DOG) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wag-the-Dog) • [16](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/e7dbbfc8-12dc-5aa3-9840-4941d9ac9305/wag-the-dog)
## References
1. [Wag the Dog (1997), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61660-WAG-THE-DOG)
2. [Wag the Dog, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wag_the_dog)
3. ['Wag the Dog' Is a Comedy With Some Real Bite to It, Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan, December 24, 1997)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-24-ca-1649-story.html)
4. [Wag the Dog, American Film Institute (watch.afi.com)](https://watch.afi.com/movie/wag-the-dog)
5. [Wag the Dog (1997) Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wag-the-Dog)
6. [Wag the Dog Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wag-the-dog/critic-reviews/)
7. ["What Difference Does It Make If It's True?": The Oral History of 'Wag the Dog', Vanity Fair (Kristopher Tapley, December 20, 2022)](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/the-oral-history-of-wag-the-dog)
8. [Wag the Dog, American Humane Society production report](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/wag-the-dog/)
9. [Wag the Dog, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/wag-the-dog/umc.cmc.5e9wztbdz8zv4hxnnq5oy0q0k)
10. [5 Election Comedies to Get You Ready for the Polls, Time (November 4, 2014)](https://time.com/3553581/election-movies-about-politics/)
11. [Ann Arbor Agenda, September 1998 review of Wag the Dog](https://aadl.org/files/documents/pdf/aa_agenda/aa_agenda_19980900.pdf)
12. [Wag the Dog: A Study on Film and Reality in the Digital Age, Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano repository](https://expeditiorepositorio.utadeo.edu.co/bitstream/handle/20.500.12010/16081/1000254.pdf)
13. ['Dog' Wags Ethics, Los Angeles Times (November 9, 1997)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-09-ca-51882-story.html)
14. [Gregory Frame, "The Real Thing": Election Campaigns and The Question of Authenticity in American Film and Television, Journal of American Studies 50(3), 2016](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/real-thing-election-campaigns-and-the-question-of-authenticity-in-american-film-and-television/EFD154C51AEA64AF9302810D9B636338)
15. ["Wag the Dog", Salon.com (October 25, 2000)](https://www.salon.com/2000/10/25/wag_dog/)
16. [Wag the Dog (1997), British Film Institute](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/e7dbbfc8-12dc-5aa3-9840-4941d9ac9305/wag-the-dog)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1995 to 1999 › Black and satirical comedies › Released 1995 to 1998*
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