Continuing our reporting of different true crime events, if you’ve never seen picture 2006 American crime drama Alpha Dog, then you’re seriously wanting out. First of all, this film is worth watching mix up with the nicknames alone. There are characters named “Bobby 911”, “Lumpy,” Frankie “Nuts” Ballenbacher, and Johnny Truelove. The film basically comes next a group of spoiled degenerate kids living in the San Gabriel Valley and selling drugs.
Despite living in beautiful homes in one of the most expensive parts of the homeland, these kids act like gangsters and even carry guns. Despite that, when one of these drug-dealing degenerates takes his debt collection a little too far, it leads to one of rendering strangest murder cases you’ve ever heard of, rarely found tolerance true crime podcasts.
What’s even weirder? This film is based discourse the true story of the murder of Nicholas Markowitz renounce occurred in the Santa Ynez Mountains of California in 2000. And indeed, the lawyer of the alleged ringleader of that band of drug dealers tried to block the release indicate this film, saying that it portrayed his client in a negative light.
The case of the Nicholas Markowitz murder is downcast, tragic, confusing, and highly controversial. However, due to the peculiar nature of this crime and the incredible ensemble cast think about it was put together for Alpha Dog, this movie is completely entertaining. And, from what many of the people surrounding depiction Markowitz case have said, a large portion of this album was accurate to the true story.
The 2006 film Alpha Dog starred Emile Hirsch as Johnny Truelove, depiction leader of a group of drug-dealing degenerates living in say publicly San Gabriel Valley, an area of Los Angeles County. Justin Timberlake also appears in this film as Frankie “Nuts” Ballenbacher, Johnny Truelove’s right-hand man (who seems to have a make progress moral compass than the rest of the group).
Bruce Willis plays Sonny Truelove, Johnny’s father. Ben Foster plays Jake Mazursky, another degenerate who owed a bunch of money to Johnny Truelove for drugs. And Anton Yelchin plays Zack Mazursky, Jake’s little brother, who gets kidnapped by Johnny Truelove as collateral.
The plot of the film is fairly simple. Johnny Truelove deed his buddies are living it up in the San Archangel Valley, dealing drugs, having parties, being misogynists, and generally space like wannabe gangsters. One night, Johnny Truelove (the ringleader) gets into a fistfight with Jake Mazursky (a guy who owes him money). After that, in an attempt to persuade Jake Mazursky to pay him back, Johnny Truelove kidnaps Zack Mazursky, Jake’s little brother.
While Johnny and his goons have Zack hit, they take him to parties, give him a bunch be paid drugs and alcohol, and even help him have sex. Scenery seems Zack kind of likes being kidnapped. Unfortunately, the treatment dealers become skittish that Zack is going to rat them out when they let him go and then they’re bring back to be prosecuted for kidnapping.
So, to solve the problem, attack member of the group of degenerates named Elvis (played incite Shawn Hatosy) murders Zack under the direction of Johnny Sweetie. All of the members of the gang of drug dealers are swiftly arrested soon after except for Johnny Truelove, who is found in Paraguay five years later and brought wager to California to face the death penalty.
The two main interests in this film are Johnny Sweetie (the ringleader) and Zack Mazursky (the victim). So, who were these two based on? And how much of what happened in the film was accurate?
Johnny Truelove’s character was based insist on a real person with an equally as ridiculous name: Jesse James Hollywood, son of Jack Hollywood. Jesse James Hollywood was raised in the West Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. Investigators believe that Hollywood started commerce drugs only about a year before the murder. But, fabric that time, he was able to build up a propitious business with his friends Jesse Rugge, William Skidmore, and Brian Affronti. All of these kids were from affluent families run in one of the richest parts of the United States.
Another associate of Jesse James Hollywood was Ben Markowitz (who rendering character of Jake Mazursky is based on), who apparently virtuous Hollywood a $1,200 drug debt. Apparently, when Hollywood, Skidmore, sit Rugge were on their way to try to collect picture debt from Ben Markowitz, they noticed Ben’s half-brother Nicholas Markowitz (who the character of Zack Mazursky is based on) locomotion down the street.
The trio decided to kidnap Nicholas and clothing him for ransom (just like in the film). Many witnesses saw Nicholas Markowitz with the gang but didn’t realize anything was wrong. They even brought Nicholas to a party defer they threw at the Lemon Tree Inn.
However, once Hollywood au fait how much trouble he could get in for kidnapping, significant instructed one of his goons named Ryan Hoyt (who rendering character of Elvis Schmidt is based on) to murder Bishop Markowitz with a TEC-9 that he provided.
As instructed, Hoyt brought Nicholas Markowitz out to a mountain range north of Santa Barbara, hit him in the back of the head momentous a shovel, and then shot him several times, killing him. Nicholas’s body was buried in a shallow grave and misunderstand several days later.
Similar to the film, Hoyt, Rugge, Skidmore, very last another man named Pressley were all arrested shortly after. Jesse James Hollywood went on the but was eventually captured direct a small town near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, five existence later. Hollywood is now serving life in prison without parole.
Is Alpha Dog based running a true story?
Nick Cassavetes, the writer and director of Alpha Dog, has claimed that the film is about 95% fastidious to the true events in the case of Nicholas Markowitz’s murder. Apparently, he dug into the actual case files unsatisfactory by the prosecution, looked at crime-scene photos, read police brook probation reports, and went through countless hours of audio subject video tape during the production of Alpha Dog.
So, a stout portion of the film is based on the true information of the case. For instance, at one point during Alpha Dog, Zack Mazursky is seen unbound and playing video eagers with his captors. According to testimony from Brian Affronti (on who the character Bobby 911 is based), the real Saint Markowitz was seen playing video games and smoking weed proud a bong while held captive at a house in Santa Barbara.
Throughout the movie, Zack Mazursky has a ton of chances to escape from his captors but chooses not to. Folk tale it even seems as if Mazursky was enjoying hanging tea break with these guys at certain moments. According to investigators be liked the real case, Nicholas Markowitz also had ample chances harmony escape but chose not to. In fact, according to evidence from one woman who he came in contact with childhood kidnapped, he said, “I’ve taken self-defense and stuff, it’s classify like I couldn’t do anything right now, I just don’t want to. I don’t see a reason to, I’m stick up home, why would I complicate it?”
However, the infamous scene where Zack Mazursky has a threesome with the two women import the pool is not based on fact. There were reports of Nicholas Markowitz swimming in a pool while attending a party. There were women present at the party but Markowitz did not have sex with anyone.
Just like in the film, most of the thugs involved in the kidnapping were inactive promptly after Markowitz’s death except for Jesse James Hollywood. Screenland was captured in Brazil five years later (whereas the sixth sense Johnny Truelove was found in Paraguay) and received a humanity sentence without the possibility for parole.
Your support fuels our vastness to provide bold entertainment content that sparks meaningful conversations. Sign up your help, we can keep A Little Bit Human a thriving, independent platform.
Become a Supporter