From director Todd Phillips (“The Hangover” trilogy) comes “War Dogs,” a comedic drama based on true events, starring Oscar nominee Jonah Hill (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Moneyball”) and Miles Teller (“Whiplash,” the “Divergent” trilogy).
“War Dogs” follows two friends in their early 20s (Hill and Teller) living in Miami Beach during the Iraq War who exploit a little-known government initiative that allows smaller 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 dollar deal to arm the Afghan military—a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people, not the least of which turns out to be the U.S. Government.
The film also stars Ana de Armas (“Knock Knock”) and four-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper,” “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”).
The screenplay is by Stephen Chin and Todd Phillips & Jason Smilovic, based on the Rolling Stone article titled “Arms and the Dudes,” by Guy Lawson. Oscar nominees Mark Gordon (“Saving Private Ryan,” “Steve Jobs”), Todd Phillips (“Borat”) and Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper”) are the producers, with David Siegel and Bryan Zuriff serving as executive producers.
“War Dogs” reunited Phillips with several of his collaborators from “The Hangover” trilogy, including director of photography Lawrence Sher, production designer Bill Brzeski and editor Jeff Groth. Joining the team is costume designer Michael Kaplan (“Star Trek,” “Star Trek: Into Darkness”). The music is by Cliff Martinez (“Drive,” “Traffic”).
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Joint Effort/Mark Gordon Company Production, a Todd Phillips movie, “War Dogs.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
www.wardogsmovie.net
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
MONEY, CORRUPTION
AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
DAVID
They called guys like us “war dogs”— bottom feeders who make money off of war without ever stepping foot on the battlefield. It was meant to be derogatory. But we kinda liked it.
It might have been one of the biggest hustles ever…and it could only happen in America.
“War Dogs” grew out of the story of two stoner kids, barely into their 20s, who became multi-millionaires as the most improbable of international arms dealers. But just as they reached what should have been the pinnacle of success, it all came crashing down in spectacular fashion.
One of the unifying themes of filmmaker Todd Phillips’ movies is people making bad decisions. Whether it’s a few post-college guys starting their own frat house or four friends planning an ill-fated bachelor party in Vegas, there are always repercussions that are outrageous and completely unexpected. Bad decisions are again at the center of “War Dogs,” but there is an edge to the humor, born of the fact that the film is based on a true story of a couple of guys who managed to turn a little-known government initiative on its ear…to the tune of $300 million dollars.
Phillips offers, “I always think movies have a little more gravity to them when you can take real events and build on them. It’s a movie about the rise and fall of two young guys, chasing their image of the ‘American dream,’ who got a little too greedy. And, you know, a little bit of greed gets in the way of good decision making.”
Bradley Cooper, who served as a producer and also appears in the film, adds, “One thing the movie shows is how susceptible someone can be when everything is put in front of him on a silver platter and how people deal with excess differently.”
It all started during the George W. Bush administration when huge no-bid contracts to supply the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were being awarded to conglomerates like Halliburton, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. As criticism of the perceived cronyism and war-profiteering grew, the government decided to level the playing field with FedBizOpps (short for Federal Business Operations), which opened the bidding on military contracts to…well…virtually anyone. Unfortunately, there were just enough loopholes to make it possible to take advantage of the system.
The tale was chronicled in a 2011 Rolling Stone article called “Arms and the Dudes,” by Guy Lawson. “The Bush administration was trying to favor small businesses,” Lawson expands, “and no business was smaller than these dudes, sitting in a studio apartment in Miami Beach with nothing but a bong on the table, a laptop and a cell phone.”
Producer Mark Gordon recounts, “I was on a plane when I first read the story in Rolling Stone, and I couldn’t believe it was true. Everything about it cried out to be made into a movie. I’ve always found that audiences love films about characters who beat the system, even if they ultimately get their comeuppance, one way or another. Add in the fact that these two seemed the most unlikely people to pull off this kind of hustle, and you have something really special.”
Gordon adds that Phillips was the perfect director to bring the tale to the big screen. He states, “There is no one better than Todd to tell a story about outrageous characters getting into all kinds of trouble. He’s the master.”
“War Dogs” also marks the first film on which Phillips and Cooper teamed as producers under the banner of their new production entity, Joint Effort. Cooper relates, “I was very interested to see how Todd was going to take the article and realize it cinematically. I loved the idea of a film about what these guys did, knowing it would be spawned from Todd’s brain.”
“As I was going through it,” Phillips recalls, “I thought, ‘This has the makings of a terrific film.’ And the more we dug into it, the more evident it became that it could be a great two-hander with the right two actors.”
Jonah Hill and Miles Teller star, respectively, in the central roles of Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, and both say they were intrigued by these characters who jumped at the opportunity to reap huge rewards without giving much thought to what they were sowing. Hill remarks, “There’s definitely something enticing about watching people make it rich without following the rules. It’s why I’ve always loved gangster movies…movies where the guys with swagger win. Until they don’t,” he smiles.
“It’s a cool story,” says Teller. “You have to respect what they were able to do; at one point, they had a $300 million deal going. That’s an insane amount of money for a couple of guys in their early 20s who were just fakin’ it till they made it. It’s fascinating how things can kind of snowball and you can get in way over your head.”
The real David Packouz admits, “I won’t lie, it was pretty awesome for a while. We would go to parties and people would introduce themselves: ‘I’m a stockbroker or I’m in real estate… So what do you do?’ ‘We’re international arms dealers.’ The initial reaction went from ‘You’re kidding, right?’ to ‘You’re full of s**t,’ but once they realized we were not joking, they were blown away. One reason the story is so crazy is that very few people make it big in the arms business, especially at our age. The fact that we won a contract to supply the entire Afghan army was totally bizarre.”
But the driving force was always money. Phillips confirms, “It’s very clear in the movie: they are not necessarily pro-war. It’s not about who’s fighting or why they’re fighting, it’s about how much product can they move. So war is really just an opportunity for them. And that’s a true thing. War is an economy. There is an underbelly to it where a lot of people make a lot of money and these two guys are just trying to get in on that.”
As incredible as the actual circumstances were, Phillips emphasizes, “This isn’t a documentary. He and co-writers Jason Smilovic and Stephen Chin took both dramatic—and comedic—license.
“There was a lot that happened that wasn’t in the movie or was changed,” Packouz attests, “but life is always more complicated than depicted in Hollywood movies. You can’t fit years of life into a couple of hours, so that’s to be expected. But I love the script; it’s fast-paced and entertaining.”
In working on the screenplay, Chin spent some time with Packouz in Miami. He notes, “America may be the land of opportunity, but David had figured out early on that hard work alone was not going to make him rich. I believe that’s why ‘Scarface,’ which was also set in Miami, was such an important movie to them growing up. It became their idea of the American dream—if they had the big idea, hustled hard enough and didn’t play by the rules, they could snatch it. So it didn’t surprise me that two ambitious young guys had figured out how to game the system, especially in the internet age. What did surprise me was the size of the contract and how close they came to pulling it off.”
Phillips reveals that they decided early on to tell the story from Packouz’s perspective, noting, “We realized the best way into this story was through David’s eyes. David represents the everyman stepping into this world he knew nothing about, much like the audience.”
Smilovic adds, “David was our way into the movie, not only to communicate the present-tense narrative but also all of the past-tense baggage. And for the audience to invest in him—and, frankly, not to think he’s an idiot—they need to be invested in the relationship between these two guys…to believe the friendship is genuine.”
“A lot of my movies end up focusing on male relationships,” Phillips comments. “There is an undercurrent of real love when you have true friends. You feel it with the guys in ‘The Hangover’ and in ‘Old School,’ and I was trying to do the same thing in this movie because I always think that’s interesting.”
Cooper, who shared in Phillips’ brand of camaraderie as part of the infamous Wolfpack, observes, “‘War Dogs’ feels very much like a natural progression in Todd’s evolution as a filmmaker because you have male characters that don’t feel so far away from his wheelhouse, yet there’s an edginess that takes it to the next level. The great thing about Todd is he’s always had his finger on the pulse of what’s cool. He can take a story with a dark texture and give it a patina that makes it humorous and exciting.”
Working under Phillips’ direction for the first time, both Hill and Teller say they were drawn to the project by the opportunity to collaborate with him, as well as the screenplay.
“When Todd gave me the script, it was genuinely too good to pass up,” Hill says, “and getting to finally work with Todd was the exciting bonus of the whole thing. We’d talked about doing something together in the past, but for whatever reason, it never worked out. ‘War Dogs’ came at the right moment, and I’m really glad it did.”
Teller states, “Todd is the definition of a filmmaker to me; he’s so good at what he does. As an actor, you want to feel you’re in good hands and that’s how I felt every day. And I loved the script; it was just as dramatic as it was funny, with action, suspense and even a bit of espionage.”
“It has a lot of different elements, and that’s what’s good about it,” Hill adds. “I think it will subvert people’s expectations and get them talking about it, and that’s awesome.”
“The subject matter is ripe for discussion,” Cooper agrees. “Our goal was to tell a compelling story in an entertaining way, but you never know the kind of conversations it might spark. It’s a movie people could be talking about and debating long after they leave the theatre because the story has so many layers and is still very much in step with the times in which we live. I think people will find it especially interesting that the program that started it all is still very much in effect.”
“War Dogs” unfolds on a global scale, so it was important to Phillips to make the film on an international stage. He affirms, “When you’re on location, I really believe it informs everyone involved. It informs the cinematographer, the production and costume designers, the actors… To me, the environment is a huge tool, and this is one movie where we really took that to another level.”
Filming took place on location in Miami Beach, Las Vegas, Morocco, Romania, and Southern California. Phillips offers, “I really wanted to convey the scope of international arms dealers, international being the key word.”
THE CAST
DAVID
No offense, but I’m against this war…
EFRAIM
Dude, I’m against this war, too!
…This isn’t about being pro-war. The war is happening. This is about being pro-money.
When we meet Efraim and David in “War Dogs,” they don’t appear to be the international arms dealer types. Two middle-class, early-twenty-something guys in Miami Beach, they had been best friends in junior high, but lost touch, as people do. Reunited at the funeral of a mutual friend, they reconnect and start to catch up. David has been eking out a living as a masseuse, but he thinks he has hit on a big idea—selling high-end bed sheets to Miami’s myriad of old folks homes. Efraim is also in sales, but that’s where the similarity ends.
While David has an apartment filled with boxes of unsold sheets and unpaid bills, Efraim has a bank account in the seven figures thanks to FedBizOpps, the government’s marketplace for an infinite variety of military supplies. When Efraim invites David to go into business with him, the answer is obvious. AEY INC. is born.
“Efraim is a great character,” says Jonah Hill. “He gets to be the guy who says, ‘Let’s go down the rabbit hole,’ and he’s so extreme and explosive, I just knew the role was right for me. He wants to be rich and loves the flashy, more surface things in life. That’s what he thinks will bring him happiness. He’s a wheeler-dealer who’s incredibly charming when he needs to be. But there is nothing lazy about him. He has to have enormous drive and intelligence and cunning to maneuver through this world. It made him really interesting to play.”
Phillips says that the role showcased Hill’s great versatility because “Efraim becomes whoever he needs to be in a given situation. He is a chameleon who is able to kind of blend into the person he thinks you want to him to be. It was a really fun aspect of the character for Jonah to play.”
The allure of financial freedom isn’t lost on David, but for somewhat less hedonistic reasons than Efraim. Miles Teller explains, “He is struggling to make ends meet when Efraim shows up. Efraim was his buddy when they were kids and they would get into trouble together. When he comes back into his life, David gets reenergized and excited by the opportunity to make some real money because he has a pregnant girlfriend and is wondering how he is going to provide for his family.”
“Money,” Smilovic states. “Ultimately that is what everything comes down to, isn’t it? It’s just money, but it gives you the resources to look out for yourself and the people you care about.”
Phillips, who had first met Teller when he produced the comedy “Project X,” says, “I think Miles is a world-class actor. It’s almost as if he doesn’t have to try. I don’t mean that in a negative way; he’s just naturally gifted. It’s amazing to watch. We were lucky to have both him and Jonah in the movie.”
Efraim’s and David’s newfound wealth opens the door to luxury apartments, expensive cars and better drugs. Nevertheless, David is initially forced to hide the real source of his income from his staunchly anti-gun, anti-war girlfriend, Iz, who is about to become his wife.
Ana de Armas, who plays Iz, offers, “She knows even less than half of what’s going on at first because David knows she would never approve of it, so she’s dealing with this weird atmosphere of secrecy. Naturally, at some point in the movie, she finds out, but she understands this is for the family and their future, so she decides she’s going to be supportive. Whatever he decides to do, she will be with him. That’s Iz’s main characteristic: she loves and trusts David. I thinks she’s a very strong, sensitive woman and is a very good partner in life.”
De Armas won the role after a long audition process in which the filmmakers “read a lot of women for the part of Iz,” Phillips recalls. “But when Ana came in, it was like, ‘Whoa, that’s the one.’ She’s a wonderful actress and when you look at her, she expresses so much emotion just in her eyes.”
The admiration is mutual. “Todd is very smart and what I find so remarkable about him is his ability to put movies together that connect so well with audiences,” says de Armas. “On the set, he knows what he wants and when you feel that confidence in your director, who is the person telling you what he’s looking for, it’s amazing. He spends time with you rehearsing, so when you hear ‘Action,’ you know what to do. And then you have the freedom to play around because you have the foundation of the scene.”
Despite their success, Efraim and David are still relatively small fish in the international arms dealer pond, where one of the biggest fish is a man named Henry Girard. Bradley Cooper, who plays the role, says, “Henry is definitely not somebody you would ever want to cross in any way, shape or form. Don’t let his poor eyesight or the thick prescription glasses fool you; they are no indication of how dangerous he can be. He has been banned from doing work with the U.S. military because he’s on a terrorist watch list, but Henry still has access to a tremendous amount of ammunition that Efraim and David need to solidify a deal worth $300 million, so they get hung up with him.”
Phillips notes, “Henry is that guy who’s been on both sides of every conflict. He doesn’t have a political standing; he just likes when people fight because it’s great for business and the character of Efraim loves that attitude. So when they finally meet him at an arms convention in Las Vegas, it’s a big moment for Efraim to sit across from his hero.”
Phillips goes on to reveal, “Henry is an amalgamation of different people. These guys start crossing the wrong kind of people in an attempt to fulfill this deal and then make it a little more profitable, and it becomes dangerous for them. But we had to simplify it, as you do in making movies, so it’s represented in this made-up character.”
Efraim and David have another silent partner who has been helping to bankroll their deals for a percentage of the profits. Kevin Pollak joins the cast as another fictitious character, Ralph Slutsky, a dry cleaner whose motives go beyond the financial benefits. He affirms, “My character is a very devout Jew who believes he has a responsibility to Israel. Todd actually wrote a little speech on the topic that every Jewish person has a debt to pay to Israel…one whose weight we carry on our shoulders. That really spoke to everything Ralph is. Jonah’s character sells him on the idea that there is an aspect of their business that is supportive of Israel, so Ralph certainly feels he’s contributing to a greater cause.”
Rounding out the main cast are: JB Blanc as Bashkim, who serves as Efraim and David’s point of contact in Albania, where they have arranged to buy 100 million-plus rounds of AK-47 ammo in a $300 million deal that will make or break them; Shaun Toub as a driver they know only as Marlboro for the brand of cigarettes he smokes; and Patrick St. Esprit as Army Captain Philip Santas, who can’t believe two civilians managed to drive unscathed through Iraq’s “Triangle of Death.”
The real David Packouz also makes a cameo appearance as a musician in an early scene where Teller’s character is trying to unload some bed sheets at an old age home. Phillips shares, “I thought it would be cool to put him in the movie. We have him playing ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper,’ which is obviously not an appropriate song for the venue. Sometimes you just have to have a little fun with stuff like that,” he smiles.
THE PRODUCTION
DAVID
You seriously wanna drive to Baghdad?
EFRAIM
David, we’re gun runners. Let’s go run some guns.
Almost all of “War Dogs” was shot on location, which presented both challenges and benefits to the filmmakers and crew. Phillips attests. “When you’re in a real place, you feel the texture and the atmosphere and that always comes through in a film.”
Production designer Bill Brzeski who counts this as his fifth collaboration with Phillips, adds, “Todd likes things to be in the actual places, or as close a match to the actual places as possible, so we tried to go with practical locations and did not shoot much on soundstages. It was also the preference of our DP, Larry Sher, who appreciates natural lighting, which adds to the reality.”
Conversely, Brzeski acknowledges, “Location filming is also nerve racking because there’s a lot less control than going on a stage and building a set. But it doesn’t give you a better looking movie.”
“I’m so glad I did the movie, but all the travel was not easy,” Jonah Hill admits. “We were in some crazy conditions, but you can see the difference in scope when you’re out on location when you watch the movie. That’s all that counts.”
Miles Teller adds that there was one major advantage to being on location for him and Hill. “Jonah and I didn’t have an opportunity to spend a lot of time together beforehand, but we had the chance to bond in Romania, which is really important for this movie. We were halfway around the world and shooting long days so we had time to hang out together, which was cool.”
Brzeski describes the design of the film as “all about contrasts.” He illustrates, “The beautiful, sunny skies and warm weather of Miami Beach intercuts with the gray, cold, post-Soviet world of Bucharest, which doubled for Albania. The AEY offices go from being a funky, little place to being a sleek, modern office space. They move from cheap apartments to upscale, high-rise Miami Beach condos. It’s everything that happens when you’re too young and get too much money too fast.”
The theme of contrasts also extended to their wardrobes. Costume designer Michael Kaplan expounds, “For Efraim, there is a Tony Montana/”Scarface” seed planted early in the film. As the film progresses, we see his love of track suits and Italian designer accessories—Gucci, Versace, etc.—with his slicked hair, spray tan, expensive watches. There’s always a bit of flash and panache for Efraim, romanticizing the notion of Mafioso kingpin.”
Hill confirms, “There are moments where he just goes full gangster—or what his version of a gangster outfit would be. At one point, we were shooting a scene in in Romania where everything is gray. Todd even wanted the extras all dressed in gray. And then there’s Efraim wearing this really loud outfit, which was very effective. The clothes Michael Kaplan put me in were amazing and really helped me to feel like this overly confident character who doesn’t care what other people think.”
Kaplan also points out the disparity between what Efraim wears versus the clothes of the more conservative David. “David is more grounded than the flamboyant Efraim. He remains the straight-laced voice of reason, and his conservative, Miami Beach-boy look reflects that throughout the film.”
Filming on “War Dogs” began in Romania, which doubled for the country of Albania, where a seemingly endless supply of arms and ammunition is being stored. Phillips says, “We were looking for a massive warehouse or hangar, and Brzeski sent some photos from Bucharest of a hangar they found. I went to see it and said, ‘Okay, this is the perfect place.’ It just felt rundown, like the stuff’s been there for decades, and that was the idea.”
Brzeski details, “It was called the King’s Hangar because it was actually the king of Romania’s personal hangar back in the days before Communism. We cleaned it out and brought in all kinds of items from military junkyards and collectors to make it look like a vast munitions storehouse.”
From Romania, the filmmakers and cast traveled to Las Vegas, where Phillips returned to a familiar location: Caesar’s Palace. Scenes were filmed in the famed casino and in their popular restaurant, Rao’s. “Because we did ‘The Hangover’ movies there, Todd knows the people and they know him,” says Brzeski. “They’re very comfortable with having us around.”
Another scene sent in Las Vegas, the international arms show, was actually filmed in Downtown Los Angeles at the L.A. Convention Center. “That was tough,” Brzeski comments, “because a real international arms show is the size of football fields, full of weapons with people from all over the world. What we did was create a little piece of it and then, through digital technology, we expanded it.”
The original AEY cramped office space was one of the few sets built on a soundstage at Warner Bros. Once the company starts raking in serious money, the new high-rise offices were filmed in an office building in Century City. “But, of course, you’ll see Miami out the windows,” Brzeski notes.
Other Los Angeles locations included the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre, which stood in for an old folks home, and the Los Angeles Times building, which was used for government offices.
Staying in California, the production moved to El Centro, California, located about 120 miles east of San Diego. The area’s barren desert clime made it the perfect stand-in for war-torn Iraq. Brzeski confirms, “El Centro actually has a very similar vibe to that part of the Middle East.”
Although El Centro provided a safe alternative to filming in an actual war zone, it was not without its problems. Phillips attests, “Those were some of the toughest shooting days on the movie because it’s brutally hot and there are sudden dust storms when the wind kicks up. There’s also a U.S. Navy Air Facility there, so we couldn’t fly our helicopters over their air space.”
In addition, some of the desert landscape is protected, so care had to be taken not to disturb any of the natural plant life.
The challenges notwithstanding, Phillips asserts, “To me, that’s part of the fun of location filmmaking,” the director continues. “It does generate some frenzy, but eventually, you find a way to make it all work. Ultimately, we had a great experience down there, but it was a bit of a bear.”
Leaving the arid desert behind, the company moved to the lush environs of Miami Beach, where the story begins and which serves as Efraim and David’s home base. One of the most notable locations was the city’s iconic Fontainebleau Hotel, designed by the famed architect Morris Lapidus, who “invented what we think of as the archetypal Miami look,” Brzeski states. “The pastel colors and the architecture were his brainchild. It all personifies Miami Beach.”
The designer notes that being in Miami added to the visual authenticity of the story. “Miami Beach is different from any other place in America, and it’s hard to duplicate. That’s why we went there. We didn’t have to try and make another city look like Miami Beach; we could just come in and shoot it.”
The final stage of principal photography was accomplished in Morocco. The Middle Eastern country doubled for Amman, Jordan, where Efraim and David begin their ill-advised drive to Iraq to deliver an order of Berettas…taking them right through the “Triangle of Death.”
Although Phillips did take some dramatic license in creating that pivotal sequence, the filmmaker marvels, “It is still incredible to think what these kids managed to pull off during those years. But I was most astounded by the government—that this could happen with no real system of checks and balances.”
He concludes, “Some might call what they were able to achieve a story of the American Dream, but I think we all have different ideas of what that is. This may not be mine…but it certainly could be somebody’s.”
# # #
ABOUT THE CAST
JONAH HILL (Efraim) is a two-time Academy Award nominee whose acting prowess has put him at the forefront of Hollywood, in both the comedic and dramatic realms.
Hill earned his second Academy Award nomination for his work in Martin Scorsese’s critically acclaimed film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” opposite Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort. For Hill’s portrayal of Donnie Azoff, Belfort’s close friend and partner in both business and debauchery, he received Variety’s Creative Impact Award for Acting and shared in a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for Best Acting Ensemble. In addition, the film, which grossed more than $392 million, received Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Critics’ Choice Award nominations for Best Picture, and was honored by the AFI and National Board of Review as one of the Top Ten films of the year.
Hill had received his first Academy Award nomination for his role in Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball,” in which he starred alongside Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffman. His performance as Peter Brand, who introduces the concept of sabermetrics to Pitt’s Billy Beane, earned Hill Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. “Moneyball” also received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture.
In the summer of 2014, Hill starred opposite Channing Tatum in “22 Jump Street,” which grossed over $330 million worldwide. The film is the sequel to 2012’s “21 Jump Street,” in which Hill also starred with Tatum, which opened at number one at the box office and went on to make over $200 million worldwide. Hill and Tatum will both return for the third installment, “23 Jump Street.” In addition to starring in all three films, Hill is a writer and producer of the franchise.
His upcoming films also include the title role in the fact-based drama “The Ballad of Richard Jewell,” which will reunite him with DiCaprio. Stepping behind the camera, Hill is also set to make his directorial debut with “Mid ‘90s,” a coming-of-age film he also wrote, but in which he will not be acting.
Hill’s other film acting credits include the Coen brothers’ comedy “Hail, Caesar!”; Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained”; Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s “This Is the End”; Jay and Mark Duplass’ “Cyrus”; and several Judd Apatow films, including Hill’s breakout role in “Superbad,” “Get Him to the Greek,” “Funny People,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” He has also lent his voice to a number of animated features, including “The LEGO® Movie,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “Megamind” and Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who!” Hill can also be heard in the animated comedy “Sausage Party,” opening later this summer.
In addition, Hill co-wrote, created, and voiced the title character in the critically acclaimed animated series “Allen Gregory,” for FOX Television in 2011. That same year, he also directed the Sara Bareilles music video “Gonna Get Over You.”
As a writer and producer, Hill is working on “The Adventurer’s Handbook,” in which he will co-star with Jason Segel, and “Pure Imagination,” an Apatow-produced comedy, which Hill will executive produce. Hill was an associate producer on the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy “Brüno” and an executive producer on “The Sitter,” in which he also starred.
Hill began his career performing one-scene plays that he wrote and performed at the gritty Black and White bar in New York City. His first feature role was in David O. Russell’s “I Heart Huckabees,” with Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin.
MILES TELLER (David) follows “War Dogs” with starring roles in three very different dramas. He will next be seen in the inspirational true story “Bleed for This,” playing former World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza, who made one of sports’ most incredible comebacks following a near-fatal car crash. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the film is slated for release this November. Teller recently wrapped filming “Thank You for Your Service,” about the effects of PTSD on those returning home from war. He is currently filming the true-life drama “Granite Mountain,” about the elite crew of men battling the 2013 wildfire in Prescott, Arizona, that tragically claimed the lives of 19 firefighters.
Teller earned his BFA from New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts and acted in several shorts before making an auspicious feature film debut opposite Nicole Kidman in John Cameron Mitchell’s “Rabbit Hole.” In the 2010 film, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Teller played a loner teen who escapes into a world of comic books and science fiction.
Over the next three years, he starred in the remake of “Footloose”; the Todd Phillips-produced outrageous hit comedy “Project X”; and the comedy “21 & Over,” written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. He first gained widespread critical acclaim for his work in James Ponsoldt’s independent feature “The Spectacular Now.” His performance brought him the Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, shared with co-star Shailene Woodley.
In 2014, Teller earned praise from both critics and audiences for his riveting performance in the award-winning drama “Whiplash,” opposite J.K. Simmons. The film received the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Sundance and the Deauville Film Festivals and also brought Teller a Gotham Award nomination for Best Actor. That same year, he reunited with Woodley to co-star in the hit sci-fi action adventure “Divergent.” He has since reprised his role in the sequels, “Insurgent” and “Allegiant.”
Teller’s additional film credits include the comedy “That Awkward Moment,” the action adventure “Fantastic Four,” and the comedy “Get a Job,” opposite Anna Kendrick.
ANA de ARMAS (Iz) is a Cuban-born actress who has become one of Spain’s rising stars, and now American audiences are discovering her in a number of different roles.
She is currently in production on Denis Villeneuve’s as-yet-untitled “Blade Runner” sequel, in which she stars alongside Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright and Mackenzie Davis. The story picks up several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original, which was set in 2019 in a dystopian Los Angeles. Being executive-produced by Ridley Scott, the film is slated for release on October 6, 2017.
Also upcoming, de Armas will be seen in “Hands of Stone,” with Edgar Ramírez, Robert De Niro and Usher. The biographical drama is about the life of boxer Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran. De Armas plays Felicidad Iglesias, Duran’s (Ramirez) eventual wife and the woman who stood by him during his rise to boxing fame and after the infamous “no mas” fight against Sugar Ray Leonard. Written and directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and is slated for release on August 26, 2016.
Most recently, de Armas completed production on the actioner “Overdrive,” in which she stars alongside Scott Eastwood and Freddie Thorp. She also recently starred in the mystery thriller “Exposed,” opposite Keanu Reeves and Mira Sorvino. De Armas first met Reeves while filming Eli Roth’s independent thriller “Knock Knock,” which debuted at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
De Armas made her feature film debut in “Una Rosa de Francia” for the Cuban Institute of Cinematography and quickly grew to fame in Spain. Her additional credits include the Spanish films “Por un Puñado de Besos,” “Faraday,” “Blind Alley” and “Sex, Party and Lies.”
KEVIN POLLAK (Ralph Slutsky) has co-starred in more than 75 films. Just a few of his notable credits include Bryan Singer’s “The Usual Suspects,” Rob Reiner’s “A Few Good Men” and Martin Scorsese’s “Casino.” Most recently, he co-starred with Ricky Gervais and Eric Bana in the Netflix feature film “Special Correspondents,” which Gervaise also wrote and directed. Pollak is currently filming the independent feature “The Three Christs of Ypsilanti,” being directed by Jon Avnet and starring Richard Gere, Julianna Margulies, Bradley Cooper and Peter Dinklage, among others.
Pollak recently directed the indie comedy feature “The Late Bloomer,” which stars J.K. Simmons, Maria Bello, Brittany Snow, Jane Lynch, Johnny Simmons, Kumail Nanjiani and Beck Bennett. The film will premiere on October 7th.
BRADLEY COOPER (Henry Girard / Producer) is a four-time Academy Award nominee, including three nods for his acting roles and one for his work as a producer. “War Dogs” marks the first film Cooper and filmmaker Todd Phillips produced together under their production company, Joint Effort, which was formed in 2014.
That same year, Cooper produced and starred in Clint Eastwood’s award-winning film “American Sniper,” which was the top-grossing film of 2014. Cooper’s much-lauded portrayal of celebrated Navy SEAL Chris Kyle brought him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor in an Action Movie. He earned a second Oscar nod, for Best Picture, as a producer on the film, which received six nominations in all.
Cooper had received his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role of the troubled Pat Solitano in David O. Russell’s acclaimed 2012 drama “Silver Linings Playbook,” in which he starred with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro. Cooper also served as an executive producer on the film, which received a total of eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. He also won a National Board of Review Award for Best Actor and a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor in a Comedy. In addition, he received Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), BAFTA and Independent Spirit Award nominations for his performance in the film.
The following year, he garnered his second consecutive Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance as the unhinged FBI Agent, Richie DiMaso, in Russell’s drama “American Hustle,” starring with Lawrence, Christian Bale and Amy Adams. Cooper was an executive producer on the film, which was nominated for ten Academy Awards in all, including Best Picture. Cooper also garnered Golden Globe, SAG Award and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. In addition, the film’s ensemble cast won a SAG Award and a Critics’ Choice Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
In 2015, Cooper reunited with Russell, Lawrence and De Niro in the Golden Globe-nominated film “Joy,” based on the true story of the creator of the Miracle Mop, Joy Mangano.
Earlier that year, Cooper completed a successful run of the play “The Elephant Man” in London, marking his West End debut. He earned rave reviews from critics for his portrayal of Joseph Merrick, starring with Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola under the direction of Scott Ellis. From late 2014 into February 2015, Cooper had performed the play on Broadway, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in Leading Role, an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play, a Drama League Award for Outstanding Distinguished Performance, and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play. The Broadway production received four Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Play. Cooper had first taken on the part of Merrick on the Nikos Stage at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the summer of 2012, also directed by Ellis and alongside the same cast.
Cooper first worked with Todd Phillips in 2009 when he starred with Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis in the blockbuster comedy “The Hangover.” They reunited in 2011’s “The Hangover Part II” and 2013’s “The Hangover Part III.” Collectively, the trilogy grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide.
In 2014, Cooper lent his voice to the character Rocket Raccoon in the smash hit action-adventure “Guardians of the Galaxy,” directed by James Gunn. He again voices the character in the sequel, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” which will be released on May 5, 2017.
In 2013, Cooper starred opposite Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes in the critically acclaimed film “The Place Beyond the Pines,” directed by Derek Cianfrance. The film was recognized by the National Board of Review as one of their Top 10 Films of 2013.
Cooper previously produced and starred in the 2011 hit thriller “Limitless,” directed by Neil Burger and also starring De Niro and Abbie Cornish.
His additional film credits include “Burnt,” “Aloha,” “Serena” “The Words,” “Hit and Run,” “The A-Team,” “He’s Just Not That Into You,” “All About Steve,” “New York, I Love You,” “Yes Man,” “Wedding Crashers,” and “Wet Hot American Summer.” Cooper reprised his role from “Wet Hot American Summer” in Netflix’s “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp,” reuniting the original cast and director David Wain.
Cooper’s first major role was the character of Will Tippin on the hit series “Alias,” which ran for five seasons on ABC. Cooper also starred in the F/X drama “Nip/Tuck,” as well as FOX’s comedy “Kitchen Confidential,” based on the trials and tribulations of renowned chef Anthony Bourdain. His other television credits include “Jack & Bobby” and a guest appearance on “Sex and the City.”
Cooper made his Broadway debut in the spring of 2006 in Joe Montello’s production of “Three Days of Rain,” opposite Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd. In July 2008, he joined the cast of the critically-acclaimed Theresa Rebeck play “The Understudy,” which premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival to rave reviews and sold out performances.
Born in Philadelphia, Cooper graduated with honors in the English program at Georgetown University. After moving to New York City, he obtained his Masters in the Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
TODD PHILLIPS (Director/Producer/Writer) began his career as a documentary filmmaker while he was still a student at New York University Film School. He began writing and directing features in 2000 with the cult classic comedy “Road Trip,” and has since become one of the strongest driving forces in writing, directing and producing comedic films. Phillips was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” in 2006.
“War Dogs” is the first film Phillips produced with Bradley Cooper under their production company, Joint Effort, which they formed in 2014.
In 2009, Phillips directed the blockbuster hit comedy “The Hangover,” starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis, which won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. He then wrote and directed the sequels, “The Hangover Part II,” in 2011, and “The Hangover Part III,” in 2013. Collectively, the trilogy grossed over $1.4 billion globally. Phillips produced all three films under his Green Hat Productions banner, which he established in 2008.
In 2004, Phillips wrote and directed the comedy box office hit “Starsky & Hutch,” starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. He has written, directed and produced such cult classic comedies as “Old School,” starring Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn; “School for Scoundrels”; and “Due Date,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. He also served as producer on the outrageous dark comedy “Project X.”
Earlier in his career, Phillips’ documentary filmmaking was inspired by humor taken from everyday reality and the belief that the truth is often stranger than fiction. In 1993, while he was still a student at New York University Film School, Phillips made “Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies,” which portrays the revolting antics of extreme punk rocker GG Allin and became an instant underground sensation. It had a theatrical release in 1994 and went on to become the highest grossing student film of its time. Phillips followed that in 1998 with “Frat House,” a documentary that he produced and directed for HBO’s “America Undercover” series. The film premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize for documentary features. The unflinching exposé of life in fraternities created a public controversy that eventually caused the film to be shelved by HBO. In 2000, Phillips produced and directed his third documentary, “Bittersweet Motel,” which centered on musical cult phenomenon Phish.
MARK GORDON (Producer) is an award-winning producer with more than 100 motion picture and television projects to his credit. He received a Best Picture Academy Award nomination as a producer on Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed World War II drama “Saving Private Ryan,” which also won the Golden Globe for Best Picture – Drama. The top-grossing film (domestically) of 1998, it also received Best Picture honors from numerous critics groups.
In 2015, Gordon produced the acclaimed biographical drama “Steve Jobs,” directed by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle from a screenplay by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin.
Among Gordon’s wide range of forthcoming features are: the drama “Molly’s Game,” written by Sorkin, who will also mark his directing debut on the film; the thriller “All the Old Knives,” to be directed by Neil Burger; a remake of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” to be directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh; the war drama “Sand Castle,” directed by Fernando Coimbra and starring Nicholas Hoult and Henry Cavill; and the fantasy “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” with Lasse Hallström set to direct.
His other previous film producing credits include “2012,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Speed,” “Source Code,” “The Messenger” and “The Patriot.” As executive producer and financier, Gordon’s credits include “Tomb Raider,” “Wonder Boys,” “The Painted Veil,” “A Simple Plan” and “Primary Colors.”
In the television arena, Gordon currently serves as an executive producer on the hit shows “Grey’s Anatomy”; “Ray Donovan”; “Criminal Minds”; its franchise spin-off, “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”; and “Quantico.” The Mark Gordon Company is also the lead studio on the upcoming ABC drama series “Designated Survivor,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, and the ABC pilot “Conviction,” starring Hayley Atwell. In 2015, Gordon was honored by the Producers Guild of America with the Norman Lear Award for achievement in television. He is a five-time Emmy nominee and two-time winner, including an Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie for the HBO drama “Warm Springs.” Additionally, he won a Golden Globe for his work on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Some of his other television credits include “Private Practice,” “Army Wives” and “Reaper.”
In 2015, The Mark Gordon Company partnered with Entertainment One (eOne) to create an independent television and film studio. Gordon serves as CEO for the company, which both finances and produces premium content by Gordon as well as other producers.
Gordon is the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America, having served as its President from 2010 through 2014, where he spearheaded the establishment of The Producer’s Mark.
A devoted philanthropist and champion of public education, Gordon is the founder of Citizens of the World Charter Schools (CWC), which serves 1,400 students across five schools in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, New York. CWC will be expanding to include two more schools in Kansas City in 2016. Gordon served on the board of the Archer School for Girls and is the former chairman of Teach for America Los Angeles. He is also a former board member of the Virginia Film Festival, Chrysalis, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and UCLA Lab School.
STEPHEN CHIN (Screenwriter) spent a month with David Packouz in Miami before working on the “War Dogs” screenplay adaptation of Guy Lawson’s Rolling Stone article “Arms and the Dudes.”
Born in Canada, Chin was educated at Yale College and Yale Law School. After practicing law in Washington DC, he worked first as a studio executive at Miramax and later as an independent producer. He executive produced Harmony Korine’s “Gummo” and produced Larry Clark’s “Another Day in Paradise,” which he also wrote. Additionally, he produced and financed Ron Shelton’s “Play It to the Bone,” starring Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson.
Chin later left a studio producing deal to travel to some of the most amazing—but admittedly uncomfortable—places on earth, meeting some deeply inspiring people and a few very scary ones. In 2004, he travelled to Iraq to seek the life rights of two young entrepreneurs who had started the first radio station in the country, post-Saddam. Chin snuck in with smugglers through the insurgent-controlled Al Anbar “Triangle of Death.” Posing as an Asian computer geek from California, he was able to enter the Green Zone, the Republican Palace, Fallujah and Baghdad. No one ever questioned his cover story, and the script he wrote about what he saw became the Black List script “I Rock Iraq.” Chin has been a screenwriter ever since.
He has worked for Warner Bros., Universal, Fox, DreamWorks and MGM. He also wrote another Black List script, “The Zero.” In 2015, he sold a TV pilot spec to HBO with Forest Whitaker. Legendary Pictures has also tapped Chin to adapt a classic Chinese property for a global audience.
JASON SMILOVIC (Writer) began his career as the creator and co-executive producer of the drama series “Karen Sisco.” The show was based on the character created by Elmore Leonard in his novel Out of Sight, which was originally adapted in the hit movie directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney. This made him one of the youngest creators in the history of network television. In quick fashion, he went on to create and develop three other primetime dramas that aired on NBC: “Kidnapped,” “Bionic Woman,” and “My Own Worst Enemy.”
He is currently adapting Sydney Pollack’s classic 1975 feature film, “Three Days of the Condor,” into a television series for DirecTV with Skydance TV/MGM and Paramount. Additionally, Smilovic has multiple pilots in development at various networks.
His first feature screenplay was the 2006 release “Lucky Number Slevin,” directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci and Bruce Willis.
GUY LAWSON (Author) is the New York Times bestselling author of Arms and The Dudes: How Three Stoners From Miami Beach Became the Most Unlikely Gun Runners in History. In addition, he is also the author of Octopus: Sam Israel, the Secret Market, and Wall Street’s Wildest Con, and The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia.
For two decades, Lawson has traveled the world reporting on a wide range of subjects—domestic terrorism, the Mexican drug wars, conflict in the Balkans, pain pill pushers, ice hockey in northern Canada, life in a Bowery flophouse, fútbol in Brazil, Hezbollah suicide bombers, and the Rwandan genocide war crime trials, among others. His work has appeared in many international publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, GQ, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The Australian, and The Globe and Mail.
Following “War Dogs,” Lawson has four projects in development for feature films. In March of 2016, his New York Times Magazine article “Ice Pack,” about the first expedition to ever reach the North Pole, was optioned by Sony Pictures, with Will Ferrell attached to star. In April 2015, Lawson’s Rolling Stone article “The Dukes of Oxy” was optioned by New Line/Warner Bros., with Mike De Luca attached to produce and Ansel Elgort to star. In addition, his book Octopus is with HBO, to be written and directed by Peter Gould, and The Brotherhoods is also with Warner Bros., to be produced by Dan Lin.
Born in Toronto, Lawson holds degrees from the University of Western Australia and the University of Cambridge.
DAVID SIEGEL (Executive Producer) previously served as an executive producer on “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” starring Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling, and Rob Reiner’s “Flipped.” He is also an executive producer on the upcoming horror film “The Babysitter,” and the comedy “Life of the Party.”
He has previously worked with Todd Phillips on four films, including serving as co-producer on the smash hit comedies “The Hangover,” “The Hangover Part II” and “The Hangover Part III,” and as associate producer on “Starsky and & Hutch.” He also worked as a production manager on “Project X,” which Phillips produced.
In addition, Siegel has been the production manager on a broad range of films, including “The LEGO® Movie” (live action segment); Rob Reiner’s “The Bucket List”; “The Pursuit of Happyness”; “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”; “Holes,” “Collateral Damage,” “Play It to the Bone,” “Message in a Bottle,” “Air Force One” and “Tin Cup.”
Siegel grew up in Maryland, where he began his career working on a small independent movie and then worked in the locations department on numerous films in Washington, D.C. Moving to Los Angeles, he soon became the transportation coordinator on such memorable films as “Wyatt Earp,” “The Bodyguard,” “White Men Can’t Jump,” “The Addams Family,” “Dances With Wolves,” “Lord of the Flies,” “Bull Durham” and “Broadcast News.”
BRYAN ZURIFF (Executive Producer) is the executive producer of the critically acclaimed, hit Showtime series “Ray Donovan,” starring Live Schreiber and Jon Voight.
For the big screen, Zuriff recently served as an executive producer on the acclaimed biopic “Steve Jobs,” directed by Danny Boyle and starring Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet. He is currently developing the film “Cowboy Ninja Viking,” to star Chris Pratt, with David Leitch and Chad Stahelski set to co-direct. He also has several other films in various stages of development.
As a former talent manager and Executive Vice President of Marketing at Content Partners, Zuriff has diverse industry knowledge and experience. He executive produced Oren Moverman’s 2009 drama “The Messenger,” which starred Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay, for Moverman and Alessandro Camon, and Best Supporting Actor, for Harrelson, and garnered a number of other film industry honors.
Zuriff also produced Jacob Estes’ dark comedy, “The Details,” which starred Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney and Ray Liotta. The Weinstein Company purchased the film’s distribution rights at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for $9.2 million, marking the most successful film at that year’s festival.
LAWRENCE SHER (Director of Photography) recently made his directorial debut on the upcoming comedy “Bastards,” starring Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, J.K. Simmons and Glenn Close. The film is slated for release on January 27, 2017.
A director of photography for more than 20 years, Sher has shot commercials and music videos, as well as more than 25 feature films. He previously teamed with Todd Phillips as the cinematographer on four of the director’s films: the hit comedies “The Hangover,” “The Hangover Part II” and “The Hangover Part III,” and “Due Date.”
His work as cinematographer also includes the Zach Braff-directed films “Garden State” and “Wish I Was Here”; “The Dictator,” directed by Larry Charles; David Frankel’s “The Big Year”; Greg Mottola’s “Paul”; “I Love You, Man”; “Trucker”; “The Promotion”; “Dan in Real Life”; “The Dukes of Hazzard”; “The Chumscrubber”; and “Kissing Jessica Stein.” Sher has also been the cinematographer on many television pilots, including HBO’s “Enlightened,” for director Mike White.
Born and raised in New York City, Sher studied economics at Wesleyan University before moving to Los Angeles, where he began his career.
BILL BRZESKI (Production Designer) is a highly regarded production designer with more than 30 years of experience in feature films, television, theater and interior design.
Brzeski’s recent film credits include the worldwide blockbusters “Furious 7,” for director James Wan, and “Iron Man 3,” directed by Shane Black. His work will next be seen in “Fast 8,” being directed by F. Gary Gray.
“War Dogs” marks Brzeski’s fourth collaboration with director Todd Phillips, following the megahit comedy “The Hangover,” for which he received a Best Production Design nomination from the Art Directors Guild; its sequel “The Hangover Part II”; and “Due Date.” He was also the production designer on “Project X,” produced by Phillips.
His other film credits include James L. Brooks’ Oscar-winning Best Picture “As Good as It Gets,” as well as Danny DeVito’s “Matilda,” Rob Minkoff’s “Stuart Little” and “Stuart Little 2,” Rob Reiner’s “The Bucket List,” and “The Forbidden Kingdom,” to name only a portion.
Brzeski received his undergraduate degree from Miami University and earned an MFA in design from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Originally interested in designing for ballet and the opera, he began his career in theater before moving to Los Angeles.
He started working in television and has served as production designer on many series episodes and pilots.
JEFF GROTH (Editor) has edited a wide variety of film and television projects. He first worked with Todd Phillips in 2012 as the editor on “Project X,” which Phillips produced. The following year, he reunited with Phillips on “The Hangover Part III,” the final film in the director’s hit comedy trilogy.
From 2008 to 2010, Groth served as an editor on the hit HBO series “Entourage,” created by Doug Ellin. In 2015, Ellin tapped him to edit the feature film “Entourage,” reuniting the entire cast.
Groth’s other film editing credits include “The Wedding Ringer,” and the documentary/nonfiction comedy “Religulous.”
MICHAEL KAPLAN (Costume Designer) recently designed the costumes for J.J. Abrams’ record-breaking hit “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens,” kicking off a new chapter in George Lucas’s blockbuster sci-fi franchise. He is currently working on the much-anticipated next installment, “Star Wars: Episode VIII,” due out in 2017. He also collaborated with Abrams on “Star Trek” and “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” both starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana; and Brad Bird’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” starring Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner.
Kaplan earlier won a BAFTA Award for his costumes for Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking 1982 science fiction drama “Blade Runner.” The following year, he set off a fashion trend for an entire generation with his costume designs for his next film, Adrian Lyne’s “Flashdance.”
He has since designed the costumes for more than 35 films, including multiple collaborations with such directors as David Fincher, on “Panic Room,” “Fight Club,” “The Game,” and “Se7en”; and Michael Bay on “Pearl Harbor” and “Armageddon.” He also reunited with Scott on “Matchstick Men.”
Kaplan’s many other credits include “Winter’s Tale”; “Burlesque,” starring Cher and Christina Aguilera; Francis Lawrence’s “I Am Legend,” starring Will Smith; Michael Mann’s “Miami Vice,” starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx; Doug Liman’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” starring Chevy Chase; James Bridges’ “Perfect,” starring John Travolta an