We began making THE DOG in 2002. A year earlier, we were watching DOG DAY AFTERNOON, and at the end, the film stated that the bank robber was sentenced to 20 years in prison. We counted wrong, and so, due to bad math, we mistakenly thought that the real-life bank robber, John Wojtowicz, was still in prison and would be released sometime that year.

We immediately thought that it would be interesting to find out what kind of a person he was, and we wanted to hear his story. A lot of great American films were made in the 1970s, but DOG DAY AFTERNOON was one of our favorites -- the story of an anti-hero, an outsider, a brazen New York character, brought to life on screen in an unforgettable performance by Al Pacino... We really wanted to meet the real-life person on whom it was based.

We looked up the name "Wojtowicz" and found John's mother, Terry, in Brooklyn. We told her we were doing some research and would like to speak with John. She was very sweet and told us she'd pass along the message. At about 2:00 am, the phone rang. This is the Dog calling. My mother told me you sounded sexy, so I'm calling you back. It wasn't the most professional beginning... but it was certainly memorable. We spent the next several hours on the phone with "The Dog."

John had been out of prison for years and was living in Brooklyn. We met in person soon after, and he recounted endless and bewildering stories about his life and lovers -- for about 8 hours straight. John made an impression immediately -- he was charismatic in his own way: hilarious, out of control, somewhat scary... and he seemed to speak his mind at all times.

Over the years, we became very close to "The Dog" and his mother Terry. There were many times that we visited them without a camera in hand, or with a camera but choosing not to shoot. The intimacy that comes across in the film was something that grew out of spending many days and evenings together, over a long period of time.

As outspoken as he was, it took some time for John to really open up and go beyond the immediate story of the bank robbery. And as we grew closer to him and his mother, we learned that there was much more to the story than what we were initially aware of. Had the film been made over the course of a year (which was the original plan), it  would never have had the scope or the complexity that it ended up having.

As proud as we are of the film, it was also an important life experience for us. We tried to create a film in which audiences would have the opportunity to experience The Dog as we did -- someone who would make you laugh, surprise you, offend you and test you, sometimes all in the same moment.

John also shared an incredible wealth of archival material that he had kept. This gave us the ability to illustrate his story in a much more personal and unique way; the movie ended up being something like an off-the-wall, Forrest Gump-like ride through his life. It was a challenge to track the whole story down and piece it all together. But it was fascinating. And we were also able to film many of the people who figured so prominently in John's life, including his mother Terry and first wife Carmen, who added whole other layers to the story.

It's not often that you find a subject matter that can keep you interested and passionate for over a decade. Making this film hasn't been a very easy task, and it's certainly been a financial struggle. But we always came back to THE DOG. We wanted to tell this story, and we wanted audiences to see it.

I guess you could say that at some point, we couldn't stop making this movie. At some point we knew that we had to finish what we started, and that we were the people who would really tell this story fully -- in all of its sex-crazed, unapologetic, shocking, hilarious and historically-significant glory. We hope you enjoy it.