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“War Dogs,” out in theaters on Aug. 18, is a dramedy inspired
by two young men, played by Hill and Miles Teller, living in
Miami Beach during the Iraq War who exploit a little-known
government initiative that allowed small businesses to bid on
U.S. military contracts.
Starting small, they begin raking in big money and are living
the high life. But the pair gets in over their heads when they
land a $300 million deal to arm the Afghan military - a deal
that puts them in business with some shady people, not the least
of which turns out to be the U.S. government.
“it's just a story that's so crazy you can't believe it actually
happened,” Hill told Reuters on Thursday for a special screening
of the film.
“It was just this unbelievable story about people kind of
abusing the 'American Dream' and the character was just kind of
too insane - I would've been too jealous if I was watching
someone else play this character."
“Hangover” director Todd Phillips, who co-wrote and directed
“War Dogs,” said he was interested in the financial aspects of
war and conflict.
"There are a lot of movies that have been made about war, there
are a lot of movies that have been made about soldiers and how
patriotic they are, there haven't been a lot of movies that
shine a light on the obscene amount of money that a small group
of people make on war."
When asked about the current political climate in the United
States, in particular the 2016 presidential race, Phillips said:
"It's embarrassing for everybody involved. It's always hard to
travel when you're an American, travel overseas, because you
bring all this baggage that is America with you. Donald Trump, I
think, it's just an embarrassment to the country but I don't
think it's going to stick."
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