Entertainment

LOS ANGELES – On the big screen, Alpha Dog focuses on the kidnapping and murder of a Southern California teen that were inspired by actual events.

Off-screen, the movie is creating some drama of its own.

Not only is the film facing a legal challenge that could block its Jan. 12 release, but an appeals court chided a deputy district attorney for turning over confidential files to the movie's producers.

Alpha Dog stars Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone and Justin Timberlake, and premiered Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Attorneys for Jesse James Hollywood are trying to block the distribution of Alpha Dog because Mr. Hollywood is awaiting trial for events depicted in the movie.

Despite having the characters' names changed, Mr. Hollywood is shown in a bad light throughout the movie, attorney James Blatt said, and a jury pool could be tainted, infringing Mr. Hollywood's right to a fair trial.

Universal Studios argued that prohibiting the public from seeing the film would violate the First Amendment.

Last month, a federal judge refused to stop the film's release, but Mr. Hollywood appealed the decision. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule in the coming days.

Alpha Dog is based on the kidnapping and slaying of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz seven years ago. Prosecutors believe Mr. Hollywood, portrayed in the movie by Emile Hirsch, was the mastermind behind the murder plot. The teen's body was later found in a remote Santa Barbara County camping area.

Mr. Markowitz was killed as part of a feud Mr. Hollywood had with the victim's older half brother over a $1,200 drug debt, prosecutors said. Four others have been convicted in connection with the murder.

Mr. Hollywood fled after being charged with murder and was captured in Brazil in 2005. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Also pending is a decision by the California Supreme Court, which could reverse a lower court's ruling to remove Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen from handling Mr. Hollywood's trial.

In October, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ordered Mr. Zonen removed from the case because he shared probation reports, police files and other materials with Alpha Dog producers. He also served as an unpaid consultant on the film.

Mr. Zonen's "actions allowed show business to cast an unseemly shadow over this case," Presiding Judge Arthur Gilbert wrote in the court's decision Oct. 5.

Mr. Blatt, who has seen the film, said that Mr. Zonen's involvement in Alpha Dog gives the public a slanted view of what happened.

"It looks like a major conflict of interest," Mr. Blatt said. "They are making a motion picture and at the same time trying to take my client's life. It's like being hit with a double-barrel shotgun."