Alpha Dog (STRONG LANGUAGE & ADULT CONTENT)

TheCentralScrutinizer · 16 Jul 09 :: 01:16

I kinda figured it would go that way. I just hope his life is miserable in the joint. And that he never gets parole.

Illinoisguy1 · 16 Jul 09 :: 01:26

At least he didn't get off, like I bet he and his father thought he would.

I wonder why they don't go after his father. Perhaps not enough evidence to get a conviction. Regardless, I think his father is guilty to some degree in connection with the entire thing. At least in helping him get out of the country.

But, overall it's good news for Nicks family who can now have some sort of closure.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 16 Jul 09 :: 01:31

Yeah, it was lack of enough evidence against Jack Hollywood. But he'll get his one day.

Warbee · 16 Jul 09 :: 01:45

I really only know this story from what was portrayed in the movie. But i do know that "based on true story" doesnt always mean documentary. It must have felt so drawn out for all the families involved.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 16 Jul 09 :: 01:57

The movie is, according to Nick Cassavetes, 95% accurate. And I've been reading about the case for three years now. It's really damn close. The names, dates and locations are the only significant differences. You have to really drill down and pay attention, but most of the facts of the case are laid out in the dialog in those interviews.

Illinoisguy1 · 16 Jul 09 :: 02:18

Speaking of Nick, does he even post on the Alpha Dog board anymore?

Perhaps I'm being cynical here, but it just seems that he hypes his current movie and then moves on. I see that he's been posting on the Sister's Keeper IMDB board quite a bit. I bet that once that movie runs his course, he'll stop posting there as well and move on to whatever his next movie is.

I don't know what to think of him overall. I mean back when he was posting on the AD board all the time I actually got the feeling that he cared about the movie and the actual victim. But since he hasn't even posted on their in a serious way for quite awhile, it just seems he was on there to hype up interest in the movie and that he just has lost complete interest in not only the movie but the actual people it's based upon.

Yeah, I know that it's all about the money and all, after all it is Show "Business". But I thought he was different.

Even today there are people who are just discovering the movie and have questions about it and the actual case. Some of these questions can only be answered by Nick. But since he doesn't even post on the AD board anymore, these questions either get unanswered or answered by others. Usually be Deb, even though she's good, only Nick can really answer them from his own point of view.

About the only thing I can think of is that perhaps there was some sort of gag rule put into effect because of the trial and that prevented him from answering any questions about the movie. But now that it's over, I wonder if he'll come back to the IMDB AD board at all. If not, then what I posted above still holds true for me.

Sorry, just had to post my thoughts on Nick.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 16 Jul 09 :: 02:48

He pops in once in a while, usually to correct a fact about the real case when someone misstates it, or if someone questions why he seems to have strayed from a real fact in the movie. He's a busy guy. And of course he's more concerned with what's current.

He's also a pretty good guy by all accounts, and by my dealings with him. I've had so many people who've worked with him tell me that he's a wonderful guy and they'd do anything for him, just like Chris said. Most recently, Lin Shaye, who played a nurse in the movie told me that when we talked about the movie over Facebook. She's also the sister of Bob Shaye, who founded and ran New Line Cinema. Nick has had a longstanding relationship with them, which almost fell apart over AD. He seems to be fairly happy with the way they handled MSK, as far as I've read. I think, like his dad, he strives to build and keep relationships in the industry. He's a good politician and also makes everything fun and comfortable. He has a bunch of AD cast in MSK, and some of them were in earlier movies too. That's always a good sign. I think he's building a troup. Wish Chris could get back in there.

taylor_27 · 18 Jul 09 :: 00:29

I just watched this last night, I thought it was a really good movie with once again another remarkable performance by Chris. I gotta say I was extremely surprised by Justin's performance, the guy can act. Ben Foster is always so great and devoted, he can play all types of characters. Anton Yelchin, I couldnt believe it was Charlie Bartlett and the guy from Fierce People, he's such a cutie and his performance was excellent as well. Emile Hirsch another incredible actor, overall I think the cast was perfection.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 18 Jul 09 :: 01:21

Couldn't agree more. I really love this movie and it's been quite an education for me supporting it as I have for the last three years... all the amazing people I've gotten to talk to about it. I think all the main cast was great. I love the way they used the music. And the climactic scene was just shattering. Also, I gotta say it's great to finally have some closure with Jesse James Hollywood finally being convicted for the murder and being sentenced to life over the last couple of weeks.

taylor_27 · 18 Jul 09 :: 03:32

Yea, finally.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 18 Jul 09 :: 03:41

Just in case you never saw it and might be interested, here's my review of the movie from way back when I first saw it...

THE TRUTH ABOUT ALPHA DOG
Rated R
Universal Pictures
W/D: Nick Cassavetes
Screening occurred on 11/14/06 at University Of Georgia's Tate Theatre with Nick Cassavetes in attendance.
The first images you see in this film are home movies of the characters as normal, little children. But you already know going in that what happens to them is not normal behavior. It's an interesting choice, made more interesting by the fact that some of the actors provided the director with their own actual home movies to use in the film. It's pretty hard not to recognize little Anton Yelchin as soon as you see his big, innocent eyes onscreen. The voice-over at this point tells you that most of these boys grew up together, played little league together. Their lives seem as average as anyone else's.
But cut to present day and you see that these young lives have gone off the rails. We enter a world where gangs of teenage boys live in big houses, drive expensive cars and have free reign to do as they please. The gang we meet --- led by Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) --- sells pot to finance their lavish lifestyle. There's no parenting, no adult supervision. Unless you count Johnny's father (Bruce Willis), their main weed supplier. Or Frankie's father, a weed-cultivating over-grown party boy.
Things get ugly for Johnny when he tries to call in a marker. Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) owes Johnny $1200 for a dope deal that went bad and he can't come up with it soon enough to suit Johnny. A fight ensues, threats are made and it becomes a battle of wills between these two headstrong, drug-addled characters.
Into this world, stumbles Jake's little brother, Zach (Yelchin). At 15, he's no stranger to the bong and he idolizes his dangerously troubled older brother. Even without what happens, it was probably only a matter of time before Jake and Zach's worlds would collide.
The feud between Johnny and Jake escalates when Jake breaks into Johnny's house, steals his TV and takes a dump on his living room carpet. Yes, you read that right. It wigs Johnny out to the point where he immediately packs up his stuff and moves out.
That afternoon, Zach slips out his window and takes off on his own, after a fight with his parents. And who should cruise by but Johnny and a couple of his boys, including Frankie (Justin Timberlake). They recognize Zach as Jake's brother and without giving it a moment's thought, they grab Zach up and throw him in their van. But they really have no idea what they're doing.
Having no home to go to anymore, Johnny parades Zach around from one lowlife crash pad to another, barely bothering to conceal the fact that the kid is a hostage. As Frankie puts it, when he tells his hanger-on buddy, Keith (Chris Marquette) what's going on, Johnny's holding the kid as a marker until Jake pays his debt.
While Johnny tries to find Jake and arrange a trade --- the kid for the cash --- Frankie and Keith introduce him to their favorite pastimes, getting stoned and partying with chicks. Zach takes to it all like a starving man at a feast.
Meanwhile, Zach's parents, and finally Jake, are desperately trying to find out where the kid went. They get the police involved, tack up missing posters. They even stop fighting with each other for five seconds in their worry about Zach.
And Johnny's beginning to get panicky about the situation, enough that he decides to consult his lawyer. Not too bright of the lawyer to tell his client that kidnapping means life imprisonment. From that moment on, the wheels are turning in Johnny's twisted mind. The kid has to be taken care of.
Despite the fact that Zach is having a blast partying with the guys and falling into a liaison with not one, but two girls (at the same time), Johnny thinks he's a liability. He asks Frankie, hypothetically of course, what he would do if Johnny offered him $2500 to kill the kid. Frankie is appalled. He has taken a liking to Zach and he's sure the kid would never rat them out.
Johnny pretends the whole thing is a joke, and Frankie accepts that. But as Johnny hits up his slavishly devoted lap-dog, Elvis (Shawn Hatosy) to do the deed, Frankie begins to express worry for Zach's safety and actually tries to let him go. Zach's having too much fun. He won't leave Frankie.
Before long, Elvis takes up the mantle for Johnny and begins organizing Zach's murder. He tricks Keith into helping and then dupes Frankie too, saying they're just going to drive the kid home.
It all ends up in a conflagration that finds Zach tearfully begging Frankie not to let Elvis hurt him, and Frankie tearfully trying to calm him down with assurances that it's all a game. Keith takes off, wanting no part in what's about to happen. Elvis coldly executes Johnny's wishes in a shocking moment that made the row of girls behind me in the theatre scream like they were watching a slasher film.
Zach's body is found the very next day, in a shallow grave right beside a jogging trail. Johnny goes on the lam with his girlfriend, Angela (Olivia Wilde) and they manage to elude the police for a while. But after a fight in a cheap motel room, Angela is busted while Johnny watches from across the street. As the others are arrested, Johnny flees the country. He will not be caught for five years.
It's well-known that Alpha Dog is based on the case of the infamous Jesse James Hollywood, the youngest person ever to make the FBI's most-wanted list. It is also well-known that since the capture of JJH, the courts have been trying to block the release of the film for fear that it might hurt Jesse's chances for a fair trial. These issues have stalled the movie for nearly two years but it is now getting a reasonably wide release from Universal Pictures --- 1,000 screens on 1/12/07.
There have been countless rumors about the film and its content. Most of outrageous and completely unfounded. Let's dispel a few of them here:
1) RUMOR: There is extensive full-frontal nudity by all the male stars of the film.
FACT: A few of the girls bare their breasts and Emile Hirsch and Anton Yelchin bare their butts. That is absolutely the extent of it.

2) RUMOR: There is endless, wall-to-wall drug use in the film.
FACT: There is a lot of pot-smoking and drinking, but you'll see more of that in an episode of Weeds than you do in this movie.
3) RUMOR: The film makes light of the murder of an innocent child by showing him partying with his captors.
FACT: The film never makes light of anything. It simply shows what happened and allows viewers to make up their own minds. And Stockholm Syndrome is a very real thing. So is the fact that the young man on which the kid is based was no stranger to drugs and alcohol before he ever met these guys.
4) RUMOR: There is constant, wall-to-wall hardcore sex in the film.
FACT: There are three brief sex scenes in the approximately two-hour length of the film. And while one of them is a bit disturbing, the participants are not even the "bad characters".
5) RUMOR: The violence and language are gratuitous and over-the-top.
FACT: Please. The language is no worse than your average R-rated crime drama and the violence is only gruesome at the climax, which is as it should be in order to show the horror of what really happened. If you've ever seen any Tarrantino film, this will seem like a Hallmark movie to you.
6) RUMOR: Justin Timberlake ruins the movie by being a non-pro actor.
FACT: I'm no fan. But he's actually very effective in the role of nice-guy, Frankie. You get the feeling that if he wasn't mixed up with these boys, he'd be an all right kid.
As for my personal impressions of the film, I think it's very well-made and the ensemble cast is very strong. It's a depressing film in the end as all roads lead to the inevitable. But it is also an energetic and fascinating look into a world most of us will never experience, thank God. I do plan to see it again.
I confess to being distracted by the presence of my favorite young actor, Chris Marquette. When he was onscreen no one else existed for me. So to be really fair in my assessment, I will have to see it again and try to focus more on everything else.
There's a great deal going on, too many characters to really keep track of, and the pace is very fast. If you miss something, too bad. You're not likely to have a chance to revisit it for an explanation later. Like a lot of films that take you inside a strange landscape, you're expected to know enough going in to be able to keep up. Chances are, there will be dialog that sails over your head, or events that happen too quickly to fully grasp. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's something to be said for movies that are so chock full of people and events that they require repeat viewing. Those are usually my favorite films, in fact. There's no doubt that I will one day own the DVD of Alpha Dog.

taylor_27 · 18 Jul 09 :: 04:04

I might have missed something in the movie but w/e happened to Jake?

TheCentralScrutinizer · 18 Jul 09 :: 04:11

They didn't show it, and they should have. It bugged everyone. In real life, after his brother's death, Ben Markowitz felt responsible, and he couldn't even go to the funeral because his stepmother didn't want him there and he was afraid he'd be an open target for Hollywood and his crew. Hollywood was on the lam and no one knew what to expect next. Eventually, Ben was arrested on an unrelated charge and spent something like 2 1/2 years in jail. I can't remember exactly. Since his release, he got his life together, got married and now has kids. He's working and trying to take care of his family. His parents have since repaired their relationship with him as much as possible, but it's still strained. He testified at Hollywood's trial and was very emotional at times. He feels the full weight of his actions in his former life.

When he was busted...

Ben%2BMarkowitz%2B-%2Bescrito.jpg

At the trial a couple of weeks ago...

taylor_27 · 18 Jul 09 :: 04:19

Oo ok I'm glad he got his life together. Thanks for the info.

BiggestChrisMarquetteFan · 18 Jul 09 :: 08:06

I really like your movie review, Deb. You should be a professional movie reviewer.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 18 Jul 09 :: 21:53

I couldn't be a pro reviewer because that'd mean I'd have to see everything and there are some movies I just won't watch. Ever.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 26 Jul 09 :: 03:03

Sorry guys, I forgot to post on here that they're going to update the Jesse James Hollywood case on America's Most Wanted tonight. Susan Markowitz says that she and Ben share share the screen, with love. That's great to hear. The show just started and they're on a different story right now, so you've still got time to tune in!

LeeseyGaGa · 04 Sep 09 :: 09:40

So, apparently they're going to be playing Alpha Dog on the USA Network on Monday, September 7th [11:05 pm] here on the east side. Now, who else besides me is excited to LMAO over all the HORRIBLE editing they're going to be doing, being that "F*ck" is used pretty much every 2 seconds in that movie? :rofl:
Definitely something I'll be tuning into for comedic relief.:lol:

TheCentralScrutinizer · 04 Sep 09 :: 15:28

Yeah, we talked about that here somewhere. Wish it wasn't gonna be on so late. I gotta work the next morning, but I'm usually up till midnight at least, so I'll definitely watch some of it. LOL!

LeeseyGaGa · 04 Sep 09 :: 20:47

I'm DVRing it just so I have something to laugh at. I have the tv version of GND, too, just so I can laugh at kelly saying "Okay, people! Lets make some 'lovie lovie'."

TheCentralScrutinizer · 04 Sep 09 :: 21:07

I think he says "loving loving", you know in lieu of "f**king f**king". Either way, it's ridiculously funny.

TeeJay · 05 Sep 09 :: 09:58

I watched My Sister's Keeper last night, and there were so many familiar faces: Heather Wahlquist, Chris Kinkade, David Thornton, Sofia Vassilieva, Matt Barry (who also did the casting). The woman from Bones was also in it. I love it how Nick Cassavetes always tries to put his favorite actors in his movies (I didn't see Shawn Hatosy, though). However, even if he would have wanted Chris in this one, there just wouldn't have been a role for him. All the male characters were either younger than 16 or older than 40.

The movie was wonderful. Very sad too. I cried a lot (which was to be expected). Great work, Nick! Sofia especially impressed me. That must have been a very hard role to play. She shaved her hair off completely for the role too. Wow.

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 05 Sep 09 :: 10:06

Yep. Beautifully said. I'm sure Nick would love to hear your thoughts.

TeeJay · 05 Sep 09 :: 10:15

Does he still hang out on IMDb? I don't remember what his username was. I'd probably even PM him if I knew how. I did PM Chris Kinkade who I found on Facebook, though.

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 05 Sep 09 :: 19:49

Yeah, he's ema521. He just posted on the Alpha Dog board last week because some idiot was blaming Nick Markowitz for his own murder again.

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