Alpha Dog is a 2007 American crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes, first screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2006, with a wide release the following year on January 12, 2007. The film is based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz and related events in 2000. It portrays the involvement of Jesse James Hollywood, a young middle-class drug dealer in California. The film stars Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Foster, Olivia Wilde, Amanda Seyfried, Anton Yelchin with Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone... and Bruce Willis. Alpha Dog is based on events that took place in 2000 and characters are given fictional names. The film is set in November 1999. It tells the story of Johnny Truelove , a young drug dealer in Claremont, California and his circle of friends, which includes Frankie Ballenbacher , Tiko "TKO" Martinez , and Elvis Schmidt . The film demonstrates internal gang dynamics and social context that contribute to the events leading to kidnapping and murder.
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