HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Alpha Dog'' is a 2006 American
crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combi ...
written and directed by Nick Cassavetes based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Anton Yelchin,
Christopher Marquette Chris Marquette (born October 3, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in such films as ''The Tic Code'', ''Freddy vs. Jason'', ''The Girl Next Door (2004 film), The Girl Next Door'', ''Just Friends'', ''Alpha Dog'' and ''Fanboys ...
, Olivia Wilde, Amanda Seyfried, Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone, and
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series '' Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero ...
. ''Alpha Dog'' was first screened at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
on January 27, 2006, and had a
wide release In the American motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across the country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical r ...
the following year on January 12. It grossed $32 million worldwide on a budget of $9 million.


Plot

In 1999, Johnny Truelove is a young drug dealer in the
San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...
. His father, Sonny, supplies him with
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...
, which Johnny distributes with his gang of friends: Frankie Ballenbacher, Johnny's right-hand man; Tiko Martinez, the group’s muscle; Elvis Schmidt, who is ridiculed for being in debt to Johnny; and Jake Mazursky, an addict also in debt with Johnny. Jake attempts to borrow money from his father and stepmother, while his younger half-brother Zack looks up to him and longs to escape his home life. A fight breaks out when Jake tries to pay Johnny only part of his debt, leading Johnny to get Jake fired, and Jake to retaliate by breaking into Johnny’s apartment. Johnny brings Frankie and Tiko to confront Jake, but he is nowhere to be found. Spotting Zack on the side of the road, Johnny impulsively orders the gang to kidnap him, planning to hold him until Jake pays his debt. Wanting a break from home, Zack makes no effort to escape, and they drive to
Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...
. Frankie is left to watch Zack, and offers him a chance to leave, but Zack declines, not wanting to cause problems for his brother. Staying at Frankie’s father’s house, Zack bonds with Frankie and ingratiates himself with his friends Keith, Julie, Sabrina, and Susan, though only Susan is concerned by his abduction. Frankie suggests to Johnny that they pay Zack to keep quiet about the kidnapping, and Johnny agrees. However, after a threatening phone call with Jake, and learning from his lawyer that he could face life in prison, Johnny offers to forget Elvis’ debt if he kills Zack, giving him a submachine gun. Believing Zack will be returning home that night, Frankie and his friends throw a raucous party at a hotel. Zack goes swimming naked with Julie and her friend Alma, leading to a threesome. Everyone happily says goodbye to Zack, and Elvis arrives, arguing with Frankie over Johnny’s plan to kill Zack. While Frankie runs off, Elvis introduces himself to Zack, then takes Keith to dig a grave in the nearby mountains. Frankie returns and gives Zack a final opportunity to escape, but Zack declines, oblivious to the danger he is in. Elvis and Keith return, and Frankie relents when Elvis explains they could face life in prison. Sonny, Johnny's godfather Cosmo, and their lawyer confront Johnny, who refuses to call off the hit. Zack is brought to the grave, and despite his and Frankie’s pleas, Elvis insists on following through. Frankie calms Zack and ties him up with duct tape, before Elvis knocks Zack into the grave and shoots him dead. Zack's body is soon discovered. The story is intercut with interviews conducted by detective Tom Finnegan with people connected to Johnny’s gang, and with some of the 38 witnesses who saw Zack between his initial kidnapping and eventual murder. Zack’s mother Olivia, now suffering from obesity and depression, talks candidly about attempting suicide after her son's death. Susan angrily confronts Frankie and goes to the authorities. Elvis is caught trying to secure a lift out of town. Johnny flees to
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...
where an old classmate then drives him to Cosmo's house. Tiko is convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to nine years in prison; Keith is convicted of second degree murder and remains at the California Youth Authority until the age of 25; Frankie is convicted of aggravated kidnapping of special circumstances and receives a life sentence; Elvis is convicted of kidnapping and first degree murder, and is currently on
Death Row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ( ...
in
San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is th ...
. Asked how his son was able to escape authorities for four years without help, Sonny claims not to know. In 2005, after over five years on the FBI’s most wanted list, Johnny is arrested in Paraguay, and is now in California awaiting trial, facing the death penalty.


Cast

* Emile Hirsch as Johnny Truelove, the leader, or the " alpha dog." Inspired by Jesse James Hollywood. Hollywood was convicted on July 8, 2009, for ordering the kidnapping and murder of Nick Markowitz and sentenced to
life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
without the possibility of parole. He was 20 years old at the time of the murder. * Justin Timberlake as Frankie "Nuts" Ballenbacher, Johnny's right hand man and best friend, who becomes friends with Zack when he is assigned to watch him. Inspired by Jesse Rugge. Rugge was acquitted of 1st degree murder, but was charged with aggravated kidnapping with special circumstances. He was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
after seven years. His petition for parole was denied in 2006. On July 2, 2013, Rugge was granted parole, and on October 24, 2013, he was released from prison after serving 11 years of his life sentence. He was 20 years old at the time of the crime. * Ben Foster as Jake Mazursky, Zack's older brother. Inspired by Benjamin Markowitz. Markowitz was 22 years old at the time of the crimes against his half-brother and served three years in prison for robbery but has since been released. * Shawn Hatosy as Elvis Schmidt, the lowest member of the gang and the shooter. At the beginning of the story, he is in debt to Johnny. Inspired by
Ryan Hoyt Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elect ...
. Hoyt is currently on death row at San Quentin for the murder of Nick Markowitz. He was 21 years old at the time of the crime. * Anton Yelchin as Zack Mazursky, the victim. Inspired by Nicholas Markowitz. Markowitz was murdered by Ryan Hoyt, a member of Jesse James Hollywood's crew; he was 15 years old when he died. Hollywood has since been tried and convicted for the kidnapping and his role in the murder. * Sharon Stone as Olivia Mazursky, Zack's mother. Inspired by Susan Markowitz. Susan is Nick Markowitz's mother; she later authored a book called ''My Stolen Son: The Nick Markowitz Story'' *
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series '' Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero ...
as Sonny Truelove, Johnny's father and marijuana supplier. It is implied that he has Mafia connections. Inspired by John "Jack" Hollywood. Hollywood is Jesse James's father. He was arrested in 2005, the same day son Jesse James was captured in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, for manufacturing GHB, but the charge was later dismissed. Jack remained in custody on an outstanding 2002 warrant for a marijuana-related charge and later received 18 months in an
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...
prison. He has since been released. *
Chris Marquette Chris Marquette (born October 3, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in such films as '' The Tic Code'', '' Freddy vs. Jason'', '' The Girl Next Door'', '' Just Friends'', '' Alpha Dog'' and '' Fanboys''. He is also known for h ...
as Keith Stratten, a friend of Frankie who digs Zack's grave but is not present for the murder. Inspired by Graham Pressley. In July 2002, he was tried as a minor and in October 2002 as an adult. Served eight years at the California Youth Authority until he was released in 2007 at the age of 25. Age 17 at the time. * Dominique Swain as Susan Hartunian, a friend of Frankie's who is concerned about Zack's well-being. Inspired by Natasha Adams-Young. Adams-Young was given immunity in exchange for her testimony. Friend of Rugge and Pressley. After reading in the paper that Nick was murdered, she confronted Rugge and asked if he had anything to do with it. Despite Rugge explaining that he didn't, she knew he was lying and told her father, a lawyer, what happened. In turn, called the police. Age 19 at the time. * Alex Solowitz as Bobby "911" Kaye, a member of the gang. Inspired by Brian Affronti. Affronti joined Hollywood and the crew minutes after they had kidnapped Nick. 20 years old at the time. * Fernando Vargas as Tiko "TKO" Martinez, a member of the gang and muscle of the group. Inspired by William Skidmore. Skidmore served nine years in state prison for kidnapping and robbery out of a plea bargain and was released in April 2009. 20 years old at the time. * Olivia Wilde as Angela Holden, Johnny's girlfriend. Inspired by Michelle Lasher. Hollywood's girlfriend. She was arrested while on the run with him and charged with harboring a fugitive. 19 years old at the time. * Amanda Seyfried as Julie Beckley, Zack's girlfriend. Inspired by Jeanine, Nick's girlfriend. 17 years old at the time. * Vincent Kartheiser as Pick Giaimo, a member of the gang whose car was used in the murder. Inspired by Casey Sheehan. Sheehan was one of Hollywood's friends. His vehicle was used in the murder of Nick Markowitz. Arrested, then bailed out; 20 years old at the time. *
Lukas Haas Lukas Daniel Haas (born April 16, 1976) is an American actor and musician. His acting career has spanned four decades, during which he has appeared in more than 50 feature films and a number of television shows and stage productions. Early life ...
as Buzz Fecske, Johnny's childhood friend who drives him back to Los Angeles after he escapes the police in New Mexico. *
Heather Wahlquist Heather Wahlquist (born May 23, 1977) is an American film and television actress. She was married to director/writer Nick Cassavetes and has appeared in several of his films. Wahlquist was raised in Oklahoma, where she graduated from Seminole Hi ...
as Wanda Haynes, Jake's girlfriend, a waitress at a steakhouse. * Harry Dean Stanton as Cosmo Gadabeeti, Johnny's godfather. Implied he has connections to the Mafia. Inspired by Jon Roberts. Roberts was a Hollywood family close friend. His van was used in the kidnapping of Nick Markowitz. * David Thornton as Butch Mazursky, Zack and Jake's father. Inspired by Jeff Markowitz. Markowitz was Nick and Ben Markowitz's father. * Charity Shea as Sabrina Pope, Frankie's girlfriend. Inspired by Kelly Carpenter, Rugge's girlfriend. Carpenter was given immunity in exchange for testimony; 16 at the time. * Holt McCallany as Detective Tom Finnegan, police officer. Finnegan was the officer looking for Hollywood; he arrested the crew as well as interviewed witnesses. * Amber Heard as Alma, a friend of Julie who hooked up with Zack. *
Alex Kingston Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston (born 11 March 1963) is an English actress. Active from the early 1980s, Kingston became noted for her television work in both Britain and the US in the 1990s, including her regular role as Dr. Elizabeth Corday in ...
as Tiffany Hartunian, Susan's mother.


Legal issues

During filming,
Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...
Deputy District Attorney Ronald J. Zonen provided copies of many documents on the case and served as an unpaid consultant to the film, citing his desire to have Hollywood captured. Zonen prosecuted Hollywood's co-defendants and was poised to prosecute Hollywood. After Hollywood was captured in Saquarema, Brazil, and subsequently returned to the United States, his defense lawyer claimed Zonen had a conflict of interest; the California Court of Appeal for the Second District ruled on October 5, 2006, that Zonen should be recused from further involvement in prosecuting Hollywood because of his disclosure of the files and work on the film. The
California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
subsequently reversed that holding, but Zonen was replaced as lead prosecution attorney by Deputy District Attorney Joshua Lynn. Hollywood's attorney, James Blatt, tried to block the release of the film. After the delay, Hollywood's trial started May 15, 2009, with the defense's opening statements saying Hollywood was not involved with the murder. In his opening statement, Lynn described Hollywood as "a ruthless coward." On July 8, 2009, Hollywood was convicted of simple kidnapping and
first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...
with special circumstances and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.


Release

''Alpha Dog'' was first screened at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
on January 27, 2006 as the closing film. The film was originally to be distributed by
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...
, however, the company sold the film to
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
after they requested edits to the film that director Nick Cassavetes didn't want to make. The film's release was delayed by a year to January 12, 2007.


Home media

''Alpha Dog'' was released on DVD on May 1, 2007. It includes a DVD/
HD DVD HD DVD (short for High Definition Digital Versatile Disc) is an obsolete high-density optical disc format for storing data and playback of high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to ...
combo package where both forms are included in one box. DVD sales gathered $12,324,535 in revenue from 743,036 units sold. It was released on the
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...
format on July 13, 2010.


Reception


Box office

During its opening weekend, ''Alpha Dog'' grossed $6,412,775 and was #7 at the box office. The film closed on February 22, 2007 after grossing $15,309,602 domestically, and totaled $32,145,115 worldwide over its six-week release. In the United States, ''Alpha Dog'' was released on January 12, 2007 along with '' Stomp the Yard'' & '' Primeval''.


Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, ''Alpha Dog'' received a positive review from 54% of 144 surveyed critics. The consensus states, "A glossy yet unflinching portrait of violent, hedonistic teenagers. Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone chew the scenery, while Justin Timberlake gives a noteworthy performance." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film has a score of 53% based on reviews from 30 critics. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. Justin Chang of Variety wrote: "Writer-director Nick Cassavetes' sprawling dramatization recklessly blurs the line between reconstruction and reality in ways that are admittedly interesting, if more than a little artistically suspect." Yelchin was praised as "able to bring all of the conflicting emotions of Zack," and conveying all of it beautifully.


Markowitz family reaction

Susan Markowitz attempted suicide three times. Jeff Markowitz elaborated, "She is so tortured by what happened that she has tried to take her own life. The last thing that either of us want is to see this picture. How would any loving parent feel about a Hollywood movie that glamorizes their son's death and allows celebrities to cash in on a brutal, evil murder?" Nonetheless, both Susan and Jeff attended the film's premiere, and Susan stated she was moved by Anton Yelchin's portrayal of Zack (Nick). After the screening, she embraced Sharon Stone, who played Olivia (Susan).


Accolades


Soundtrack

A soundtrack was released by Milan Records on January 9, 2007. ''Alpha Dog'' soundtrack information at AllMusic/ref> # " Over the Rainbow" (
Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first albu ...
) # "Enemy and I" (Lazarus) # "Bullet & a Target" ( Citizen Cope) # "Jake Breaks In" (Paul Bushnell) # "Caribou Lou" (
Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two ...
) # "Revolving" (Paul Bushnell) # "Slither" (Tech N9ne) # "Liar" (Miredys Peguero & Paul Graham) # "Winner" (Paul Bushnell) # "Let's Chill" (Mic Holden, Maya & Reneé Rogers) # "Dragonfly" (Miredys Peguero & Paul Bushnell) # "LA LA Land" (Tech N9ne feat. Gina Cassavetes) # "Pool Party" (Mic Holden) # "Never Give Up" (Mic Holden) # "At the Site/Driving to the Site" # "We Are The Lost" (Lawrence Faljean) # "Basketball" (Lowd) # "Cookie Monster" (Paul Graham & Paul Bushnell) # "Elvis Arrested" # "Weightlifting" (Lowd) # "Marco Polo" (Lowd & Cassie Simone) # "Night and Day" (Tech N9ne) # "Say Goodbye Hollywood" (
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alpha Dog 2006 biographical drama films 2006 crime drama films 2006 films 2006 independent films American biographical drama films American crime drama films American independent films American nonlinear narrative films Crime films based on actual events 2000s English-language films Films about drugs Films about kidnapping Films about murder Films directed by Nick Cassavetes Films produced by Sidney Kimmel Films scored by Aaron Zigman Films set in 1999 Films set in 2000 Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in Los Angeles Sidney Kimmel Entertainment films Universal Pictures films 2000s American films