THE DOG Captures Real-Life Persona of DOG DAY AFTERNOON Outlaw John Wojtowicz

One of the most memorable films of the ‘70s is the Al Pacino crime thriller Dog Day Afternoon, based on the real-life bank robbery by New York resident John Wojtowicz, who committed the crime to raise money for his lover’s sex change operation.

But the robbery attempt turned into a dramatic hostage situation, after which Wojtowicz was captured and sent to prison.

It was during a viewing of Dog Day Afternoon that filmmakers Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren saw the potential for a captivating documentary - which became The Dog - based on the bizarre circumstances of the case.

“The more that we researched, the more we realized what an unusual character he was,” said Allison, who explained that because of Wojtowicz’s unusual name, they were able to look up his mother and quickly make contact to their subject.

“He showed up with a paper bag full of nude photos of his various lovers, and the first thing he did was grab Frank’s crotch, and then I thought he was going to shake my hand, but he really just grabbed my hand and began sucking on one of my fingers. So that was sort of the beginning of the relationship,” Allison said.

The film reveals that Wojtowicz’s larger-than-life personality is only surpassed by his ever-raging libido, which became evident almost immediately when Frank was propositioned by the documentary’s lead character.

“One of the first things he told me was that, ‘You know I’m going to have to have sex with you.’ And I was like, “I don’t think so, but you know, let’s proceed.”

Frank explains that he believes this was Wojtowicz’s way of letting all parties know up front that he was going to pursue them sexually, and to give them the opportunity to back out if they weren’t comfortable with that.

“The first thing we did was a very long interview, which was basically the first half of the movie, that was day one,” Frank said. “And then it took another decade to get the rest of it. Because he could be extremely open, but he had to feel like he was somewhat in control, so he made everything very difficult.”

Allison reveals that while the initial hook was to create a portrait of the “real-life bank robber,” they discovered so much more captivating material to his story.

“Over time, what happened was, we didn’t realize his involvement in the gay rights movement, there were just all these different stages of his life that we realized we had such a richer story to tell.”

She also said that the more people they got to know who were close to Wojtowicz – including his mother, brother, George (his third wife), Carmen (his first wife) – the more they felt they needed to focus on these individuals over other more well-known people involved in the film, including Al Pacino. “The story were telling just became a lot more personal.”

One of the most ironic parts of the interview is when the filmmakers reveal that their subject was so enthusiastic about the financially challenged project that he even suggested that history could repeat itself to get the film made.

“Once you’re in his world, he will do anything for you. This was a self-funded film, which is part of the reason that it took so long, and he would offer to rob a bank for us, and I think he probably would have done it,” Allison jokes.

Watch the full interview to also hear the filmmakers discuss Wojtowicz’s complex contradictions relating to his views on sex and romanticism, as well as his public wedding in New York to a man in 1971.

Guest Bio

Coming of age in the 1960s, John Wojtowicz’ libido was unrestrained even by the libertine standards of the era, with multiple wives and lovers, both women and men. In August 1972, he attempted to rob a Brooklyn bank to finance his lover’s sex- reassignment surgery, resulting in a fourteen-hour hostage situation that was broadcast live on television. Three years later, John was portrayed by Al Pacino as “Sonny,” and his crime immortalized in one of the most iconic New York movies of all time, Dog Day Afternoon. The film had a profound influence on Wojtowicz (who pronounced his name “Woto-wits”), and when he emerged from a six-year prison term, he was known by his nickname: “The Dog.” Drawing upon extraordinary archival footage, the film shuffles between the 1970s and the 2000s. Touching upon the sexual revolution of the 1970s, we gain a first- hand perspective on New York’s historical gay liberation movement in which Wojtowicz played an active role. In later footage, he remains a subversive force, backed by the unconditional love and headstrong wit of his mother Terry. The hows and whys of the bank robbery are recounted in gripping detail by Wojtowicz and various eyewitnesses, and don’t necessarily always align with one another. Directors Allison Berg & Frank Keraudren began filming The Dog in 2002, and their long-term dedication pays off in this unforgettable portrait capturing all of the subject’s complexity. John is, by turns, lovable, maniacal, heroic, and self-destructive. To call him larger than life feels like an understatement. Passionate and profane, The Dog makes no apologies for being who he is: “Live every day as if it’s your last and whoever doesn’t like it can go fuck themselves and a rubber duck.”

Allison Berg is an award-winning filmmaker who directs and produces feature- length documentary films and television documentary series. Allison’s first film, Witches in Exile, focused on women accused of witchcraft and banished to remote villages in Northern Ghana. The film premiered at the 2004 SXSW Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature Film. Berg has received grants from such prestigious foundations as the Soros Documentary Fund, New York State Council of the Arts, Eastman Fund, Wellspring Foundation and Women in Film Foundation. Witches in Exile has screened at festivals throughout the world and has both international television and educational distribution. Recent television credits include Supervising Producer and Director on documentary series and specials for broadcasters such as Sundance Channel, MTV, Oxygen and A&E. Frank Keraudren is an award-winning filmmaker with directing and editing credits in both documentary and narrative film. Frank co-directed and edited “The Last Cigarette” (New Yorker Films), “Who wants to be president?” (TLC) and “Lust in Las Vegas” (FX) with co-director Kevin Rafferty. He then collaborated with Allison Berg on “Witches in Exile” (Special Jury Award, SXSW 2004), which he co-produced and edited. Editing credits include “The Drug Years” (Cine Eagle Award, IDA Award nomination), “I Think I Do” (Brian Sloan) and “Little Red Riding Hood” (David Kaplan). Keraudren received an MFA from NYU’ s Graduate Film program.