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 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. The film, which features an unreliable narrator and is labeled as being "based on a true story", is heavily fictionalized and dramatized, 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.
Theatrical release poster
Todd Phillips is an American filmmaker. Phillips began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, and School for Scoundrels. He came to wider prominence in the early 2010s for directing The Hangover film series. In 2019, he co-wrote and directed the psychological thriller film Joker, based on the DC Comics character of the same name, which premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival where it received the top prize, the Golden Lion. Joker went on to earn Phillips three Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, with his co-writer Scott Silver, his second, third, and fourth Academy Award nominations after also being nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Borat at the 79th Academy Awards.
Phillips in 2016
Phillips winning the Golden Lion for the film Joker at the 76th Venice Film Festival