Wag the Dog Quotes
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Source: Wag the Dog
Speaker: Stanley Motss
"This is nothing!"
This is nothing! Piece of cake! Producing is being a samurai warrior. They pay you day in, day out for years so that one day when called upon, you can respond, your training at its peak, and save the day!
Context
This line is spoken by Stanley Motss, played by Dustin Hoffman, in the film Wag the Dog, directed by Barry Levinson (1997).
Stanley Motss has just been hired to produce a faux war for the American government. You might not be surprised to hear that not everything is going smoothly. But Stanley has a motto. Whenever things are hard, he reassures his producing partners that "This is nothing!"
And Stanley is probably right. He's had to deal with much worse when he was producing Hollywood films. Really, could staging a pretend war be worse than dealing with egomaniac actors every day? He thinks not.
Where you've heard it
Anyone looking to minimize a pretty big situation might break this one out for comic effect. Hey, if you're smiling, you can't burst into a puddle of tears.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Is it a little bit grandiose to pretend things aren't as bad as they seem? Sure. But everyone will appreciate your effort regardless.