`WAG THE DOG' MAY BE A CHRISTMAS WINNER.

Byline: Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Barry Levinson's ``Wag the Dog'' is generating impressive reviews.

He's surprised about that.

He had assumed, he says, that the satire would turn some people off with its point of view and degree of cynicism. ``Dog'' has Robert De Niro playing a presidential spin doctor and Dustin Hoffman as a Hollywood producer who manufactures a war to divert attention from a White House sex scandal.

But Levinson hasn't found a turn-off factor yet. He says of the picture, which starts a rolling release on Christmas Day, ``People we've screened it for love it. And people in Washington who've seen it say, `It's more true than you can believe.' ''

He was warned that it would be too ``inside'' for people out of Hollywood and D.C. But, he now realizes, ``There is no `inside' anymore. The response has been wonderful far from the mainstream. Because of television - the behind-the-scenes stories, the interviews - and because of all the books and stories about heroes who didn't turn out to be heroes, naivete has vanished.''

Now, he stresses, the black comedy, which was written by David Mamet, ``is not so much directed at the current administration as politics in general - and how you can use and abuse the media today. With the technology becoming so sophisticated, it's hard to know what's true and what isn't.''

Meanwhile ...

Levinson, who has been working for years to bring the story of late pop singer Bobby Darin to screen, thinks he's finally close. He tells this column that writer James Toback has finished the script for the drama - and that he hopes to be making the movie come summer.

Christmas belles

Songstresses Melissa Manchester and Roberta Flack have had such a groovy time on their ``Colors of Christmas'' tour, they're now ``hoping to work together on future projects in the new year,'' says Melissa. ``Roberta and I have been performing a duet on the tour ... It's rare to see two women singing a duet. We blend our voices on `There's Still My Joy,' which I co-wrote with Beth Nielsen Chapman and Matt Rollings. It's on my `Joy' album and on Roberta's holiday album as well.

``We've recorded different interpretations of the song and have melded the two styles into the live performance. It's been magical.''

Now that the tour is finished, Melissa's back in L.A. for the holidays. She says, ``In our house, we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. The whole family gets together to celebrate.''

Go, go, ho, ho, ho

Pierce Brosnan, Keely Shaye Smith and their baby Dylan are relaxing in Jamaica during his yuletide break from promoting the latest 007 flick, ``Tomorrow Never Dies.'' Brosnan will be back at his tub-thumping chores after the holiday and through January.

Jane Seymour certainly isn't one to waste opportunities. Spending Christmas with her family at the nine-bedroom stately home she and husband James Keach own near Bath, England, Jane nipped over to the Continent this week for a whirlwind trek that included a Reader's Digest charity appearance in Poland and an appearance on behalf of the Escada couturier in Munich.

Our town

One of the loveliest events of the holiday season is always the party hosted by the Sidney Sheldons at their magnificent Beverly Hills estate. This year more so than ever, it seemed, with guests that included three comedic legends - Sid Caesar, Milton Berle and Phyllis Diller - plus that cut-up Larry Hagman.

Berle celebrates his 90th birthday next July and looks great! Hagman is in some discomfort. While making Mike Nichols' ``Primary Colors,'' he took a header off his Harley on a day away from work - and ended up finishing the film with six broken ribs.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Barry Levinson

Director of ``Wag the Dog''

(2) Melissa Manchester

Groovin' with Flack