jesse james hollywood Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's been almost a year since Alpha Dog first premiered at Sundance, and since then it's had to face a very real battle inside the courtroom as lawyers and criminals fought hard to block its theatrical release. On the surface, Alpha Dog presents itself as an ensemble gang-bang full of pretty faces, sexy bodies and hard drugs. Dig a little deeper and you'll find a painful real-life story that's almost impossible to believe and, at times, just as impossible to sit through, save for dazzling performances from Ben Foster and -- whaddya know -- Justin Timberlake.

Remember that warning your parents would always give you whenever a situation was just about to spill over into punishment land? It went something like, "Keep horsing around and someone is going to get hurt." Well that never applied to Johnny Truelove (Emil Hirsch) and friends, as horsing around and getting hurt were one in the same. Rich punks with rich parents, all caught up in the world of selling dope as if it were the perfect after-school job for a kid trying to make something of himself. Although that something always amounted to nothing, yet it's hard to see that when every day is a rowdy party -- complete with sex, drugs and just a twist of violence -- enough to whet the appetite of any moviegoer on a cold winter's night.

Despite attempted legal injunctions and less than stellar festival reviews, it looks like nothing is going to stop Alpha Dog from clawing its way to the big screen. Most of the details about the movie are pretty familiar by now: The film was inspired by the story of legendary drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood, who was infamous for being one of the youngest criminals wanted by the FBI. Names and details might have been changed for the film, but the actual defense team for Hollywood claimed the film could prevent their client from getting a fair trial. They even tried to get an injunction against the release of the film.

It would seem that the complaints were in vain, as Universal has just launched the official site for Alpha Dog promising a release on January 12th, 2007. The site offers video clips, production history, pictures of the principal leads -- including plenty of shirtless shots of Justin Timberlake, and the obligatory tie-in with MySpace. So if the idea of an Alpha Dog skin for your MySpace page appeals, then today is your lucky day. Since early previews met with mixed reactions -- with some of the shots directed at Timberlake's acting abilities, I'm just glad that after a year of reading about his movie, at least now we'll get to see what all the fuss has been about.

[via JoBlo.com]

Alpha Dog sways the court! No, no, it hasn't yet. I don't want to be spreading rumors here -- although the defense is afraid it might. Nick Cassavetes' film Alpha Dog is based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood. Hollywood is strikingly singular in Los Angeles and criminal history. He is -- or rather, was -- one of the wealthiest and youngest drug dealers ever. He set records -- although not an impressive one -- by being the youngest individual, only 20 at the time, to be wanted by the FBI. The young man reportedly abducted the younger brother of a career-threatening client. Later, instead of serving life in prison for kidnapping he had the 15-year old young man shot to death. Go figure. And the new film Alpha Dog -- based on Hollywood's life and crimes -- may actually face a court injunction blocking it from release. ...

The film changes Jesse James Hollywood to the fictional character Johnny Truelove, played by Emile Hirsch. In fact, all the characters are changed although the story is strikingly similar to the real-life happenings of Mr. Hollywood's frightening choices. Although fiction, the defense still is concerned that there isn't enough separation from truth to not sway a jury. Therefore the judge will view the film before it receives wide release in January 2007. The film has already had its U.S. debut last January at Sundance to less than desirable reviews.

I can understand where the defense is coming from. After rewatching Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy just recently I found myself terrified by director Alex Cox's choice in crafting the ending. It's well known that the relationship between Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen was a volatile one but there was never any solid conclusion as to who actually murdered her. According to close confidants in the book Please Kill Me it is believed that it was a drug dealer that did her in, and not her beloved Sid in a heroin haze. It is also believed that if the police thought Nancy to be a positive member of society, they would have found that out on their own.

Unfortunately, Sid died of an overdose before anything would ever be resolved. But perhaps if he were alive and Alex Cox were able to make the film during Sid's trial his defense would ask for the release to be halted as well. And, by God, I would beg for them to grant it! It's not because I like my men corrupt, heroin addicted and bloody it's because everyone deserves the right to a fair trial...right?

I knew I should have caught Alpha Dog at Sundance. If it feels like we've reported more on the controversy surrounding the film than on the film itself, well, we probably have. While the movie was filming, Jesse James Hollywood, otherwise solid citizen who just happened --oops! -- to end up on the FBIs Most Wanted List as the suspected ringleader in the kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz, was tracked down in Brazil. Hollywood is fictitiously portrayed in the film by Emile Hirsh. Hollywood, living up to his name, promptly made headlines for considering legal action to stop the film's distribution on the grounds that it might portray him in a negative light. I don't know about you, but I hate it when I kidnap and murder someone and then people take that the wrong way.

Then there was the whole drama around distrib, with New Line wanting to roll the film out slowly, and director Nick Cassavetes wanting the big-time treatment any film starring Justin Timberlake surely deserves, and taking the film to Universal instead. Now, just a little over a week after the full trailer for the film was released, comes word that one of Hollywood's attorneys last Friday filed a lawsuit against Universal in federal court, seeking a court order that the film not be released until after Hollywood's trial.

The suit raises interesting legal questions, pitting Hollywood's right to a fair trial squarely against the First Amendment. Lawyers of murder defendants have tried unsuccessfully in the past to block made-for-television films from airing before their client's trials. Heck, you'd think Hollywood would be grateful -- O.J. Simpson and the Menendez brothers only had made-for-tv movies to complain about; his is getting a theatrical release starring a former boy-band frontman. Geez. Hollywood's attorney, James Blatt, says, "I've seen this movie, and it depicts Mr. Hollywood in an extremely negative light." Well, duh. Would you expect a film about the murder and kidnapping of a teenager to portray the alleged bad guys as misunderstood Boy Scouts? Hollywood and his attorney might worry more about the actual quality of the film -- it didn't get glowing reviews at Sundance.

What do you think about all this controversy around Alpha Dog? Does it make you want to see the film that much more? Chances are good you'll still get to see it in early 2007; it's pretty unlikely that a federal judge is going to block it. But how do you feel about movies being made about murder cases that haven't gone to trial yet? If Alpha Dog does, in fact, create the impression that Hollywood isn't a good guy, is that unfairly judging him before his trial, effectively painting him as guilty without benefit of a trial?