Changeover: Wag the Dog (1997) — "This is nothing."

Some satires age because the world moves on. Wag the Dog aged because the world caught up with it. Barry Levinson's 1997 comedy, written by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet, sends Robert De Niro's spin doctor and Dustin Hoffman's Hollywood producer to stage a fake war with Albania and bury a presidential scandal days before an election. It opened weeks before the Lewinsky story broke. Nearly thirty years on, is it still satire when real life has gone further than the movie ever dared?

This one goes out on Election Day for a reason: it's a movie about voters being treated as an audience to be managed. So if you haven't already, go vote. 

The Kulturecast's Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, and The Projection Booth's Mike White meet for Changeover to talk Barry Levinson, Bob Roberts, Man of the Year, the art of spin, and so much more.

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The Kulturecast is a film and culture podcast from Weirding Way Media, hosted by Chris Stachiw, the Doctor of Podcasting, alongside a rotating table of guest co-hosts. Each week digs into where film and culture meet — and how each one bends the other. Now home to sub-feeds including Required Viewing: A 360° Film Study with Dr. David D. Perlmutter.

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