War Dogs (2016 film)

War Dogs
An artwork poster of the film which parodies "Scarface" and shows the two main actors with the title slogan and the credits.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTodd Phillips
Screenplay by
Based on"Arms and the Dudes"
by Guy Lawson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLawrence Sher
Edited byJeff Groth
Music byCliff Martinez
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • August 3, 2016 (2016-08-03) (New York City)
  • August 19, 2016 (2016-08-19) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million[4]
Box office$86.2 million[5]

War Dogs is a 2016 American black comedy crime film directed by Todd Phillips and written by Phillips, Jason Smilovic and Stephen Chin, based on the 2011 Rolling Stone article, "Arms and the Dudes", by Guy Lawson (which was later expanded upon in a novel, also titled Arms and the Dudes.)[6][7] The film follows two arms dealers, Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, who receive a U.S. Army contract to supply ammunitions for the Afghan National Army worth approximately $300 million.[8] The film, which features an unreliable narrator and is labeled as being "based on a true story", is heavily fictionalized and dramatized,[9][10] with some of its events, such as the duo driving through Iraq, were either invented or based on other events, such as Chin's own experiences.[11][12]

The film stars Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Ana de Armas, and Bradley Cooper, who also produced. Filming began on March 2, 2015, in Romania. The film premiered in New York City on August 3, 2016 and was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 19, 2016. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $86 million.[13] Hill received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.[14] Additionally, Diveroli claimed, but later dismissed, the film was falsely marketed as a true story, and stole material from his 2016 memoir Once a Gun Runner.[15][16]

  1. ^ "War Dogs". RatPac Entertainment. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Gleiberman, Owen (August 16, 2016). "Film Review: 'War Dogs'". Variety. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  3. ^ "War Dogs (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "2016 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmLA. May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  5. ^ "War Dogs (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  6. ^ "The Stoner Arms Dealers: How Two American Kids Became Big-Time Weapons Traders". Rolling Stone. March 16, 2011. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  7. ^ Lawson, Guy (June 9, 2015). Arms and the Dudes. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1451667592.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ComingSoonPhotos was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Zwecker, Bill (August 14, 2016). "Miles Teller, Jonah Hill learned how to become 'War Dogs'". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  10. ^ Roeper, Richard (August 16, 2016). "Jonah Hill, Miles Teller armed and hilarious in slick 'War Dogs'". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  11. ^ O'Hehir, Andrew (August 16, 2016). "Bros in the heart of darkness: Jonah Hill and Miles Teller's "War Dogs" is a scathing indictment of Dick Cheney's America". Salon. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  12. ^ Ito, Robert (August 12, 2016). "Guns. Money. Iraq. And Then a Screenplay for 'War Dogs.'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference tomatoes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "2017 Golden Globes: full list of nominations". The Guardian. December 12, 2016. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  15. ^ "The Truth Behind the Movie "War Dogs"". November 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via Youtube.
  16. ^ Shammas, Brittany (January 5, 2018). "War Dogs Smuggler Efraim Diveroli Sues Memoir Co-Author". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.