Wag The Dog - Writing Credits

Writing Credits

Controversy surrounds the writing credits of the movie. Original drafter Hilary 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 David 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. Levinson attributes any similarities between Henkin's version and the finished product to both working from the same novel.