2016’s War Dogs movie was based on real events, but the War Dogs’ true story was different than what appeared in the film. At the center of the film, the two real-life protagonists, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller) are low-level arms dealers who manage to win a contract with the Pentagon worth $300 million to arm American allies in Afghanistan. The premise alone makes it hard to believe that War Dogs is a true story, but while there are some embellishments, this strange tale has a lot of truth to the story.
The Todd Phillips movie has a lot of fun embracing the oddity of this crime story. Efraim and David’s contract means they’re responsible for arming allies of the US with weapons in Afghanistan. When things go awry, the pair set off on a globetrotting adventure that sees them meddle with corrupt politicians and volatile arms dealers to make an extra buck. War Dogs‘ true story inspiration seems hard to believe. However, while War Dogs does dramatize certain elements to make them more suitable for cinematic retelling, the core narrative is faithful to the facts.
What The Film Gets Right About The War Dogs True Story
The Movie Was Based On A Feature Article & Non-Fiction Novel
There are a lot of things War Dogs gets right. Rolling Stone first covered the story, which detailed the events. Guy Lawson’s article was later expanded into a book, Arms and the Dudes, which set the foundations for Phillips’ biopic. Along with co-writers Stephen Chin and Jason Smilovic, Phillips gave a fairly accurate depiction of the events. David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli’s backstories are very true to life.
Diveroli was shipped off to Los Angeles midway through high school where he sold guns with his uncle.
Packouz worked as a massage therapist before reuniting with his former high school friend, and he also went on to sell sheets he bought from textile companies overseas. Meanwhile, Diveroli was shipped off to Los Angeles midway through high school where he sold guns with his uncle – and learned about arms dealing, before partnering with Packouz to do it on a bigger level. Efraim became a millionaire at 18, using his expertise to outbid larger companies for smaller, more disposable deals.
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How he acquired his insight into the trade and then used it is all fact – even down to the website the Department of Defense used to post weapon contracts for public auction. Diveroli’s life was shocking in the War Dogs movie, thanks to the conviction of the performance by Jonah Hill. Beyond Packouz and Diveroli’s lives in War Dogs, the facts surrounding the government’s involvement in their lives, such as being under pressure to level the playing field after being scrutinized for giving no-bid contracts to big companies, were also accurate.
A lot of the subtleties to the characters and stories were well-founded. Details like how the pair both got high before a big meeting with military heads are true and add to the absurdity of it all. Even Ana De Armas’ role as Packouz’s girlfriend, Iz, was based on a real person, despite some theorists suggesting she was added to the movie to create conflict.
Everything War Dogs Makes Up
Packouz & Diveroli Were Never Actually Involved In Dangerous Action
While War Dogs does get the essence of its story and characters correct, some creative liberties were taken to embellish certain things – namely, the drama. This is a common practice in onscreen adaptations of true crime stories. One notable difference: Diveroli shooting a gun off after a deal fell through, as seen in the film’s trailer and poster, did not occur. This is, of course, a moment that shows Diveroli’s obsession with money and power, but he wasn’t as reckless in real life.
Similarly, none of the action that takes place in War Dogs actually happened either. Packouz and Diveroli did find themselves in precarious situations, but it was mostly from behind a computer screen. Phillips makes their job seem far more dangerous than it ever was to heighten the story. When the pair went abroad, it was for gun shows and the like. They never came under fire for transporting arms and they never even went through Iraq’s infamous Triangle of Death either.
The novel
Arms and the Dudes
by Guy Larson was published on August 2, 2016.
Another notable moment that didn’t really happen in the War Dogs true story was when Packouz gets kidnapped by Henry Girard, played by Bradley Cooper in a supporting role. The sequence bookends War Dogs, but it was all fiction. Packouz wasn’t even the point man in Albania (where he gets kidnapped). Cooper’s Girard was also based on a real person, inspired by Swiss Army dealer Henri Thomet.
Though Thomet did try to rip them off and was cut from the big deal shortly thereafter as a result, no kidnapping and torturing of any kind occurred. Efraim and David are also said to be around the same age, which isn’t true. At the time they reunited, Efraim was 19 and David was 23.
War Dogs True Story: Where Are They Now?
Packouz Has Settled Down & Diveroli Write A Book On His Life
Though War Dogs portrays Packouz and Diveroli as best friends, the pair have cut ties in the years since their arms operation was shut down. Packouz’s life has changed direction, which recently is partly due to his involvement in the Todd Phillips film. In fact, Teller and Phillips directly consulted with Packouz about the project. He even visited the set and Miles Teller (via UPI) claims he had a cameo in the movie as a guitar player in the retirement home.
Diveroli sued the producers of
War Dogs
for stealing his story without consent.
Now, Packouz works as a musician and has his own company which sells electronic drum kits. He also often travels and raises a daughter. His days of gun-running are long behind him. Efraim Diveroli, on the other hand, is embracing his past differently. He wrote a memoir, “Once A Gun Runner,” documenting his life, and Diveroli sued the producers of War Dogs for stealing his story without consent. Notably, both Packouz and Diveroli avoided long prison sentences.
After being charged with fraud and conspiracy, Packouz only received seven months of house arrest for his cooperation. Diveroli was sentenced to four years in prison — which War Dogs also accurately portrayed. However, where Packouz was more collaborative on the project, Diveroli was anything but.
David Packouz & Efraim Diveroli’s Net Worth
Both Men Are Millionaires
|
War Dogs Real Life Net Worth |
|
|---|---|
|
David Packouz |
$2.9 million |
|
Efraim Diveroli |
$15 to $25 million |
David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli no longer have access to hundred-million-dollar contract opportunities, they’re still millionaires. Packouz is estimated to have a net worth of around $2.9 million thanks to his music business as well as his involvement in the production of War Dogs. Curiously, there’s less certainty regarding the real net worth of Efraim Diveroli, which could be anywhere between $15 to $25 million. This data is estimated from the apparent success of “Once a Gun Runner” as well as his various business ventures, and the discrepancies between these differing approximations are likely due to his multiple lawsuits.
Packouz and Diveroli are doing pretty well for themselves, all things considered. This is especially true when comparing Packouz and Diveroli’s fates to other high-level criminals with mysterious deaths, lifelong prison sentences, or those still being hunted by the authorities. Neither Packouz nor Diveroli is likely to score multi-million deals with the government anytime soon, but considering how they’re respectively worth around $2.9 and $15 million, it would seem that these former War Dogs are finally playing their cards right.
What David Packouz And Efraim Diveroli Said About War Dogs
Diveroli Sued Warner Bros. & The War Dogs Producers
Neither David Packoz nor Efraim Diveroli has said anything about the movie, but one thing gives away what they likely think of the biopic. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Diveroli has tried to sue Warner Bros. for defamation. Based on the lawsuit, Diveroli does not like how he’s depicted in the movie and claims that the film is totally fictional. The U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven wrote:
“The gravamen of the Amended Complaint is that Warner grossed more than $85 million by promoting
War Dogs
as Diveroli’s ‘true story’ when it was not the true story. The Amended Complaint identifies a number of allegedly false advertisements, including statements in movie trailers, social media posts, and promotional interviews with
War Dogs
’ director, Todd Phillips, screenwriter Stephen Chin, and stars Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, and Bradley Cooper.”
However, Warner Bros. has argued that Diveroli shouldn’t be allowed to sue because the truth of the story isn’t actually actionable, as the studio is protected by the First Amendment. The studio added that Diveroli also failed to allege the facts necessary to state a false advertising claim. Either way, for the most part, the movie might take some creative liberties and dramatize a few events, just as other biopics do, but it’s mostly faithful to the War Dogs true story.
Were The Changes Made A Good Or Bad Thing For The Movie?
The Movie Made Necessary Changes To Add Entertainment Value
The truth is that the changes made to the War Dogs true story were all needed to create a more entertaining motion picture. In the real-life story, the two men mostly sat behind a computer screen and conducted operations in their own little world. This could work in a more dramatic movie, but in this case, the film was meant to be a dark drama comedy movie, and the action added to the entertainment value of the final project. If the real story were kept intact, the film would have been a simple drama and nothing more.
War Dogs
attempted to do something similar to what Martin Scorsese did with
The Wolf of Wall Street.
There are times when just showing the facts creates a tense drama, such as in movies like Spotlight or All the President’s Men. However, even those movies added embellishments to make them more entertaining than watching a documentary. War Dogs attempted to do something similar to what Martin Scorsese did with The Wolf of Wall Street, taking a story that is already ridiculous in nature and making it even more so. While it didn’t reach the level of that movie, War Dogs at least took an interesting premise and made an action-packed dark comedy out of it.
