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I’m Bringing Sexy Back / You Mother Fuckers Watch How I Attack
When you’re pitting Fair Trial Rights against the First Amendment, always bet on Justin Timberlake.
It’s that exact matchup currently being put to a California court after defense attorneys for notorious murder-defendant, Jesse James Hollywood, filed suit against Universal Studiosto stop the release of Alpha Dog, a fictional recounting of Hollywood’s alleged kidnap and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz.
Hollywood’s attorneys argue that the film — which stars Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, and Justin Timberlake — depicts their client in an “extremely negative light.” They fear that that its release will taint the opinion of potential jurors, who will assume that Hollywood is guilty.
Chances are, however, that Hollywood-the-industry will succeed against Hollywood-the-person in the case. Judges have historically sided with studios. Injunctions were denied, for instance, when attorneys attempted to block the airing of television films about the Menendez brothers, O.J. Simpson, and Joe Hunt. Although, there is no similar precedent for the theatrical release of a film, especially one in which the names are changed and the plot is only loosely based on the alleged events.
Jesse James Hollywood was one of the youngest people to ever appear on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. In 2000, Benjamin Markowitz — a frequent customer — accumulated a $1,200 debt, so Hollywood abducted his younger brother, Nicholas, after he was unable to find Benjamin. Once Hollywood learned (from his lawyer) that kidnapping carried a life sentence, Hollywood had his men take Nicholas out into the mountains and kill him.
Alpha Dog premiered at the Sundance Festival earlier this year and will be released wide in January 2007. And you may have already heard of the film’s run-in with this criminal case - the original district attorney on the case was forcibly recused after he served as an unpaid consultant on the film.
