War Dogs, the newest movie from Hangover director Todd Phillips, stars Jonah Hill and Miles Teller in the true story of Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, two stoner buddies from Miami turned international arms dealers. The friends started working together in 2005, and were soon bidding on U.S. Army contracts, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and personally delivering guns to Iraq. In 2007, their company, AEY, won a $300 million dollar deal with the U.S. government to supply 100,000 rounds of ammunition to the Army.
“You can see it as a dollar sign, and that’s what these guys did,†Teller told Vulture at the premiere. “Even though these guys are dealing with $300 million contracts, and 100,000 rounds of AK47 ammo, to them it could have been Funyuns; it could have been Doritos. They were able look at it as a way to make money, and we are just exploiting a loophole.†Set in what the film calls “Dick Cheney’s America,†Teller plays Packouz, the workhorse in the partnership, with Jonah Hill as Diveroli, a bro partial to gold jewelry, black tracksuits, and Scarface references.
But the two actors have a different relationship with guns themselves. “I’ve pretty much always felt the same way about guns. I’m not a big fan of them,†Hill said. “I think the movie is really good at pointing out how ridiculously easy it was for these two guys to become gunrunners the way our government is currently structured in that world.â€Â In terms of gun control, Hill said he’d like to see more oversight and “just way more heavy screening, and making it harder overall for people to get guns.â€
Teller is a little more comfortable with guns. “I’ve always had a respect for guns,†he said. “Once I got into a pretty rural town of Florida, it was not uncommon for your buddy’s dad to have a gun rack.†He said that he would be going duck hunting soon. “I’m going hunting this fall in North Dakota, so I’ll have my hunter’s safety [license] and everything. If you are going to use a weapon, just make sure that you’ve passed all the tests.†Be careful, Miles: This isn’t Nintendo!