For the longest time Nick Cassavetes‘ crime drama Alpha Dog has sat on the shelf over at New Line and after it missed its planned Spring 2006 release it was a wonder if it would ever see the light of day as NL seemed to be pulling a Miramax move.
Well, it turns out it wasn’t a Miramax move, it was a move to a new studio as the Dog has walked on over to Universal Pictures, apparently due to a disagreement between the studio and producer as to how widely the film should be released, with Sidney Kimmel arguing for a wider release than the studio proposed.
Universal is rumored to be ready to put the film in 1,000 theaters, although that was not immediately confirmed.
Alpha Dog is a story inspired by actual events, revolving around a mid-level drug dealer from the San Gabriel Valley whose thirst for power led him to become, at 19, the youngest man ever to appear on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Emile Hirsch stars as teenage suburban drug dealer Johnny Truelove, an ambitious young man whose lifestyle is a mecca for guns, sex and drugs. When a “client” cheats Johnny and a deal goes bad, he devises a plan to get his money back by kidnapping the client’s younger brother – but it’s not a typical kidnapping when it turns out that everyone knows and likes the kid. So what now? Things take an unexpected twist as Johnny and his crew get caught up in the dangerous and violent world they once idealized. Featuring a strong ensemble cast that includes Emile Hirsch, Bruce Willis, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone, Dominique Swain and Justin Timberlake.
