He aided in the kidnapping and execution of Nick Markowitz, and was sentenced to seven years to life, but was granted parole and released in 2013. [22], Susan Markowitz attempted suicide three times. Nov 17, 2014 - We pit the Foxcatcher true story vs. the movie. Despite the seclusion of the spot, Zack's body is eventually found. Also featuring Bruce Willis as Johnny's father, Alpha Dog was based on the real-life story of Jesse James Hollywood, who at the age of 21 became one of the youngest people to ever appear on the … Jesse James Hollywood, who inspired 'Alpha Dog,' gets life in prison for Nicholas Markowitz murder. Jesse Rugge is the real person Frankie Ballenbacher us based off of. In 1999, Johnny Truelove is a young drug dealer living in the San Gabriel Valley, in Southern California. Retrieved from " https://alpha-dog.fandom.com/wiki/Jesse_Rugge?oldid=149 ". It was first screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2006, with a wide release the following year on January 12, 2007. I fixed the info on the post. "Alpha Dog" was released in theaters on Jan. 12, 2007. Tickets are $35. Add more and vote on your favourites! I am in love with your house and OMG would die for a tour! Writer-director Nick Cassavetes fiddles with some names, dates and locations, but essentially Alpha Dog follows a real-life drama that played out in West Hills, California in August of 2000. When Elvis and Keith return to the hotel, Elvis and Frankie go outside to talk. my god, this house is incredible. While Frankie runs off, Elvis goes inside and introduces himself to Zack. The role was played by Anton Yelchin. In real life, the Ballenbacher residence is known as the Koerner House and it boasts 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 4,224 square feet of living space, and 1.1 acres of land. After the screening, she embraced Sharon Stone, who played Olivia (Susan). The film is set in November 1999. The best trivia for Alpha Dog (2006). [19][20], Justin Chang of Variety wrote: "Writer-director Nick Cassavetes' sprawling dramatization recklessly blurs the line between reconstruction and reality in ways that are admittedly interesting, if more than a little artistically suspect. I have frequented your blog and have always loved it and never noticed these alpha dog posts until recently. However, the next day after a threatening phone call with Jake, and a phone conversation from his lawyer who tells him he could face life in prison for the kidnapping, he decides the risk of ending up dead or in jail is too great to let Zack go. My partner Henry and I are the owners of the Koerner Residence in Palm Springs. . this is one of my all time favorite movies! Alpha Dog is based on events that took place in 2000 and characters are given fictional names. Alpha Dog was released on DVD on May 1, 2007. And while the house is pretty darn incredible, it was actually the backyard area, which appeared quite frequently in Alpha Dog, that I became so enamored of. . Categories: . Justin Timberlake as Frankie "Nuts" Ballenbacher: The house is on a Palm Springs Modernism tour this weekend on 2/25/2017. Tiko is convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to nine years in prison; Keith is convicted of second degree murder for digging Zack's grave and remains at the California Youth Authority until the age of 25; Frankie is convicted of aggravated kidnapping of special circumstances and receives a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 7 years; Elvis is convicted of kidnapping and first degree murder, and is currently on Death Row in San Quentin State Prison. Taking place in southern California, 'Alpha Dog' is based on the 1999 kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz (here named Zack Mazursky). Zack and the others arrive at the grave site. There are three specific actors that I think of that all play very different roles. As you can see above, the home is pretty darn incredible! Yelchin was praised as "able to bring all of the conflicting emotions of Zack," and conveying all of it beautifully. The leader, or the " alpha dog". As I have expressed a few times before on this blog, I was not at all a fan of the 2006 flick, which was based on the real-life kidnapping … This is based on 15 year old Nicholas Markowitz being kidnapped and helpd hostage over a drug deal gone wrong. [12] After the delay, Hollywood's trial started May 15, 2009, with the defense's opening statements saying Hollywood was not involved with the murder. DVD sales gathered $12,324,535 in revenue from 743,036 units sold. Frankie and his friends still believe Zack will be returning home that night and throw a raucous going away party at a hotel. Alpha Dog is a 2006 American crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. Alpha Dog (DVD) : Based on the real-life case of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer in California's San Gabriel Valley who, in 2000, became one of the youngest men to appear on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Alpha Dog is a 2006 crime drama based on the true story of low-level drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood and his involvement in the kidnapping/murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. Hi Allan, thank you so much for sharing! The epilogue shows the aftermath of the crime. We are in the company of young dope dealers, a group of wannabe gangsters who ultimately are way out of their depth, whose decisions are so moronically misguided they form the basis for what is the tragedy of this story. Add more and vote on your favourites! Add something Log in / sign up. Thank you, Scott! Zack begins to break down and begs them to let him go. Elvis arrives at the hotel and he and Frankie begin to argue when he reveals Johnny sent him there to kill Zack. [15] It was released on the Blu-ray format on July 13, 2010. So a couple of weekends ago, while out visiting my parents in Palm Springs, I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk the place. How would any loving parent feel about a Hollywood movie that glamorizes their son's death and allows celebrities to cash in on a brutal, evil murder? anyway, the locations i think personally make the movie- well, that and Justin! "[17] On Metacritic the film has a score of 53% based on reviews from 30 critics. As stated yesterday, Alpha Dog is based on the harrowing true story of the kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz, whose brother, Ben, owed $1,200 in drug debt to infamous West-Hills-area marijuana dealer Jesse James Hollywood. Yankele is a Yiddish [German-Hebrew] affectionate version for Yaakov, or Jacob, since Zack is Jewish. I’m from the UK id love to have a tour of the house. While driving to stalk the Koerner House, the GC and I spotted several open house signs and, thinking that it might just be the Koerner House that was open and that I might just have the opportunity to go inside and see that amazing backyard in person, I almost had a full-blown heart attack! Playing like an extended recreation of Crimewatch in which everyone knows whodunnit, Alpha Dog is a fictionalised recreation of the real-life August … One location that I have been on the lookout for for what seems like forever now is the home belonging to Frankie Ballenbacher’s (aka Justin Timberlake’s) father, Juergen Ballenbacher (aka Chris Kinkade), in the ultra-dark and depressing movie Alpha Dog . During the three-day-long ordeal, which more closely resembled a vacation than a kidnapping, Markowitz hung out and partied with Hollywood’s … At the Mazursky home, Olivia and Butch find Marijuana in Zack's possession and confront him, but Zack decides to sneak out and run away from home. Meanwhile at Johnny's place, Frankie takes a liking to young Zack, who already admires his brother's high-flying lifestyle, and introduces the kid to the joys of grown-up partying, which he takes to with dangerous zeal. In honor of the film's 10th anniversary, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at what its stars are up to now! So Palm Springs-y! Frankie meets with Johnny and grows nervous when Johnny tells him that they could get in serious trouble for the kidnapping. Feb 05, 2010 at 8:30 PM . The abode was originally designed in 1955 by legendary mid-century modernist architect E. Stewart Williams, the very same man who constructed the Kenaston Residence in Rancho Mirage – the dwelling where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie posed for their now-infamous July 2005 W Magazine photo shoot. It tells the story of Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), a young drug dealer in Claremont, California and his circle of friends, which includes Frankie Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake), Tiko "TKO" Martinez (Fernando Vargas) and Elvis Schmidt (Shawn Hatosy). Frankie returns to the hotel and offers Zack a final opportunity to escape, but believing that he will be returning home soon, Zack prefers to continue watching a movie. Elvis then knocks Zack into the grave with the shovel and shoots him to death. Olivia, now suffering from obesity and depression, talks candidly to Finnegan about her suicide attempts and the loss that she has experienced from her son's death. It was first screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2006, with a … [25][26], For the term relating to dog behavior, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, California Court of Appeal for the Second District, Gran Premio Internazionale del Doppiaggio, Il Festival Nazionale del Doppiaggio Voci nell'Ombra, "Jesse James Hollywood convicted of murder, kidnapping", "Longtime fugitive Jesse James Hollywood captured in Brazil", "No Hollywood ending; The true-crime 'Alpha Dog' becomes a part of the teen murder case it depicts", "Deputy DA removed from Jesse James Hollywood murder case", "Jesse James Hollywood appeal turned down by the Supreme Court", "DEFENDANT SUES OVER 'ALPHA DOG' JESSE JAMES HOLLYWOOD SEEKS TO STOP PRETRIAL FILM", "Jesse James Hollywood called coward at trial", "Kidnap-murder trial opens for Jesse James Hollywood", "Alpha Dog (2007) - Financial Information", "Alpha Dog - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes", "Box office champ "Stomp" a hit with young women", "Alpha Dog soundtrack information at Milan Records", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alpha_Dog&oldid=1003264081, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from January 2021, All Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2016, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Loris Loddi (for the dubbing of Ben Foster), "Let's Chill" (Mic Holden, Maya & Reneé Rogers), "Dragonfly" (Miredys Peguero & Paul Bushnell), "LA LA Land" (Tech N9ne feat. Prosecutor Ron Zonen hoped the publicity around Alpha Dog would help the public spot the real-life Johnny, named Jesse James Hollywood, who was still on the lam despite being one of America’s Most Wanted. Alpha Dog Ripped from the headlines and hurled to the screen with more hopped-up energy than insight, pic is tabloid fare pimped out as a serious true-crime saga. Also featuring Bruce Willis as Johnny's father, Alpha Dog was based on the real-life story of Jesse James Hollywood, who at the age of 21 became one of the youngest people to ever appear on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list. Jesse James Hollywood in real life. lol. Would the owner be willing to give me a tour. Jesse James Hollywood in real life. Sadly though, it was in fact a neighboring residence that was hosting the open house, so I guess, for the time being at least, I will just have to settle for looking at aerial views of the property. Hollywood was convicted on July 8, 2009 for ordering the kidnapping and murder of Nick Markowitz and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole;. me and you have the same mind! Big THANK YOU to Scott Trimble, from the STS Locations website, for finding this location for me! And even though he had only worked on the portion of the movie that was filmed in Los Angeles and was therefore unsure of where the Ballenbacher home was located, he was instrumental in finally helping me to find it. Alpha Dog is a movie that is a true story. I am a neighbor to one of Troy Bankord’s creation. The vast majority of the movie was filmed at the dwelling and both the exterior . You can follow Scott on Twitter, and learn all about his many location scout adventures, here. Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought Frankie, reluctant because of the friendship he has formed with Zack, finally relents when Elvis tells him they could face life in prison, in addition to problems with Jake and Johnny, if Zack goes free. Jake goes to his parents’ home in Claremont and makes a failed attempt at borrowing money from his father Butch and stepmother Olivia, who themselves are dealing with their other rebellious son: Zack Mazursky, Jake's younger half-brother who looks up to him. [13] In his opening statement, Lynn described Hollywood as "a ruthless coward. By The Associated Press. With family links to organized crime, Johnny Truelove is on the warpath against Jake Mazursky, a sleazebag addict who owes him money. Places to see in Palm Springs, Twin Palms – Frank Sinatra’s Former Palm Springs Estate | IAMNOTASTALKER, The Hartunian House from “Alpha Dog” | IAMNOTASTALKER. Lindsay. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Marquette, Olivia Wilde, and Amanda Seyfried with Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone, and Bruce Willis.[3]. ... At Frankie's house, when some girls visit during the daytime, Frankie turns to Zack and calls him 'Yankele'. Wanting a break from his home life, Zack makes no effort to escape. Then on June 1st, fellow stalker/location manager Scott Trimble, of the STS Locations website, wrote a comment on my post about the Caliente Tropics Resort, the motel featured in Alpha Dog, stating that he had actually worked on the movie. Alpha Dog is a 2006 American crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. I think of Zack (the kid that was kidnapped), Frankie… The film was originally to be distributed by New Line Cinema, however, the company they sold the film to Universal Pictures after they requested edits to the film that director Nick Cassavetes didn't want to make. He had recently fled his home before his parents could talk to him about a bit of trouble he was in from the night before. Based on a book of the same name that documents author J.R. Ackerley’s real-life relationship with his dog, Tulip, the cast includes the voices … One location that I have been on the lookout for for what seems like forever now is the home belonging to Frankie Ballenbacher’s (aka Justin Timberlake’s) father, Juergen Ballenbacher (aka Chris Kinkade), in the ultra-dark and depressing movie Alpha Dog. Like Rebel… every time I watch that movie (or any movie, honestly) I always wonder where these locations are, I wish i could go in them, & I wish they would pan over just a little bit more & give us a tour and some history! Johnny calls Elvis and offers to erase his debt if he kills Zack, giving him a submachine gun. I am not a stalker either, but I appreciate mid-century architecture and I love to see how people live. The biggest mistakes you never noticed in Alpha Dog (2006). Tiko, Keith, and Frankie are all arrested, convicted, and are given their respective sentences. Wow I’m so in love with the landscaping, especially the perfect lawns. Zack is not aware of what's going on but grows suspicious when a saddened Keith tells Frankie he can't go through with it. Your definitive source to filming locations and all things Hollywood! : Justin Timberlake Without that it’s a nice house, like many others in the area. The alpha dog in the real-life case, according to prosecutors, is a young man named Jesse James Hollywood--a name too good to be true, really, signifying a life destined for the movies. Emile Hirsch as Johnny Truelove, the leader, or the " alpha dog." What an absolutely amazing piece of property! your blog is a life saver. Frankie calms Zack down and proceeds to tie Zack up with duct tape. now i will be googling these addresses all night to get a closer look or to see whats down the street. Meet the real John du Pont, Mark Schultz, Dave Schultz and his widow Nancy. Gina Cassavetes), "Cookie Monster" (Paul Graham & Paul Bushnell), This page was last edited on 28 January 2021, at 04:34. Thank you so much for commenting! The Alpha Dog true story confirms that Jesse James Hollywood (Johnny Truelove in the movie) and two friends, Jesse Rugge and William Skidmore, snatched up Nick Markowitz while he was walking along the side of the road in the late morning. Inspired by Jesse James Hollywood. and the interior of the property were used in the flick. His father, Sonny, supplies him with marijuana, which Johnny distributes to his gang of friends, which include Frankie Ballenbacher, Johnny's right-hand man; Tiko Martinez, the muscle of the group; Elvis Schmidt, a ridiculed member of the group who is indebted to Johnny; and Jake Mazursky, a short-tempered junkie who is also in debt with Johnny. Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone chew the scenery, while Justin Timberlake gives a noteworthy performance. The party soon ends and everybody happily says good-bye to Zack and leave Zack, Frankie, and Keith at the hotel. (Honorable mention goes to ''Melkor,'' the name of Diesel's real-life Dungeons & Dragons character, which is inked across Cage's stomach.) 20 years old at the time. The film also makes note of the multiple witnesses—ranging from onlookers, partygoers, friends, and family members—that saw Zack in between his initial kidnapping and eventual murder, which total up to 38. [8][9] The California Supreme Court subsequently reversed that holding,[10][11] but Zonen was replaced as lead prosecution attorney by Deputy District Attorney Joshua Lynn. "[24] Nonetheless, both Susan and Jeff attended the film's premiere, and Susan stated she was moved by Anton Yelchin's portrayal of Zack (Nick). Just a small correction to your blog, the house is situated on 1.1 acres not a quarter acre as written. But I did absolutely fall in love with the mid-century-modern-style abode where the teenaged kidnap victim, who was named Zack Mazursky (aka Anton Yelchin) in the movie, spent the majority of his imprisonment. When Johnny has a falling-out with one of his customers, Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), who owes him money, all hell breaks loose. Until 2019, there had been very little word from Frankie save for a few Youtube community posts, but, out of nowhere, Frankie posted a community message that linked to an unlisted video that teased episodes of his Arma 3 series, although this video has since been removed. [23], A soundtrack was released by Milan Records on January 9, 2007. Actor Role in story Role Real-life counterpart Notes; Emile Hirsch: Leader, the "alpha dog"Johnny Truelove: Jesse James Hollywood: Hollywood was convicted July 8, 2009 of the kidnapping and murder of Nick Markowitz and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; 20 years old at the time. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), my post about the Caliente Tropics Resort, can follow Scott on Twitter, and learn all about his many location scout adventures, here, 1275 South Calle De Maria in Palm Springs, Things to See in Palm Springs. You’re absolutely right- It’s a great house no doubt, but the lush, mature landscaping really makes it what it is. . Hollywood was convicted on July 8, 2009, for ordering the kidnapping and murder of Nick Markowitz and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; He was 20 years old at the time of the murder. Driving by, Johnny spots him on the side of the road and impulsively orders the gang to kidnap him with the intent of holding on to him until Jake pays his debt. Huge fan of the movie!! "[14] On July 8, 2009, Hollywood was convicted of simple kidnapping and first-degree murder with special circumstances and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[4]. The reason Frankie gave in this post for not updating the community more often was "Because I don't w… As you can see above, because it is so strikingly beautiful, it was rather difficult for me to narrow down which screen captures of the backyard to post. Happy Stalking :), [18] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale. That Alpha Dog feels like inspired pop sociology reminds us that the granddaddy of dangerous youth films, 1955's Rebel Without a Cause, was based on a disguised real-life case study. well, maybe im not going to die without it……but you never know! That night, a fight breaks out between Jake and Johnny when the former tries to pay Johnny only part of his debt. In the film, the character modeled after Markowitz was named Zack Mazursky. The next day, Zack ingratiates himself with Frankie's friends Keith, Julie, Sabrina, and Susan; although the latter is the only one who seems concerned. In Alpha Dog, drug-dealing kingpin Johnny Truelove (aka Emile Hirsch) orders his friend Frankie to take Zack, whom Johnny is holding as a marker for a $1,200 debt Zack’s brother has incurred, to Frankie’s father’s house in Palm Springs to hide out for a few days. Not only does director Nick Cassavetes focus on the obvious ripped from the headlines story, he also zooms in and sheds light on another aspect. Great view of the mountain behind the house too. Zack stays with Frankie at his father's house and the two develop a friendship over drinking, smoking, and doing chores around Frankie's house. I started looking for the Ballenbacher residence pretty much immediately after first watching the film and, even though I knew it was located somewhere in the Palm Springs area, try as I might, I just could not seem to find it. I toured the Deep Well area on a walking tour for Modernism Week yesterday & we stopped in front of your house. Big Fan Of the movie !!! In popular culture The feature film Alpha Dog, based on the events leading up to the murder of Nicholas Markowitz and directed by Nick Cassavetes, was released in 2006. Elvis then takes Keith out to help him dig a grave in a secluded part of the nearby mountains. [16] The film closed on February 22, 2007 after grossing $15,309,602 domestically, and totaled $32,145,115 worldwide over its six-week release. Frankie tells Elvis one last time that they shouldn't do it, but Elvis insists on following through. lol! Cast. Frankie suggests they pay Zack to keep quiet about the kidnapping upon returning home; Johnny agrees. The leader, or the " alpha dog." Stalk It: The Koerner House, aka Frankie Ballenbacher’s home from Alpha Dog, is located at 1275 South Calle De Maria in Palm Springs. Zack has a good time at the party, and later goes skinny dipping with Julie and her friend Alma, which leads to a romantic threesome in the pool. After back and forth escalating retaliation, Johnny brings Frankie and Tiko to go and confront Jake in person, but when they arrive at his apartment he is nowhere to be found. Johnny flees the city as far as Albuquerque and arrives at the house of an old classmate, who drives him to Cosmo's house, where he enters and is not seen again. The group drives down to Palm Springs with plans to party for the next few days. If the invitation is still open, I would love to tour your home, Allan. Since Frankie's final upload on youtube, there have been many rumors of him returning to the platform, usually from streams with Sadaplays. Yes. I could reciprocate by showing you Blue Skies Village. . most of all, I wish they would just give me the house but that is clearly a dream. The last thing that either of us want is to see this picture. Alpha Dog is a filmic interpretation of the real life Jesse James Hollywood/Nicholas Markowitz case of 2000. It includes a DVD/HD DVD combo package where both forms are included in one box. [citation needed], Hollywood's attorney, James Blatt, tried to block the release of the film. Cheers! Finnegan interviews Sonny and Cosmo, asking Sonny how his son was able to escape authorities for four years without help, but Sonny assures him he doesn't know where his son is. [2], On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received mixed reviews; out of 144 critics, 54% of them were positive with the consensus being, "a glossy yet unflinching portrait of violent, hedonistic teenagers. After Hollywood was captured in Saquarema, Brazil, and subsequently returned to the United States, his defense lawyer claimed Zonen had a conflict of interest; the California Court of Appeal for the Second District ruled on October 5, 2006, that Zonen should be recused from further involvement in prosecuting Hollywood because of his disclosure of the files and work on the film. It was first screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2006, with a wide release the following year on January 12, 2007. "[21] On screen text reveals that in 2005, after over five years of being on America's most wanted list, Johnny is finally found and arrested in Paraguay. ... At Frankie's house, when some girls visit during the daytime, Frankie turns to Zack and calls him 'Yankele'. As I have expressed a few times before on this blog, I was not at all a fan of the 2006 flick, which was based on the real-life kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz by Jesse James Hollywood and his group of drug-dealing cronies, as it was far too disturbing for my taste. Alpha Dog is a 2006 American crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. Johnny is in California awaiting trial, and, if proven guilty, faces the death penalty. Zonen prosecuted Hollywood's co-defendants and was poised to prosecute Hollywood. It stars Emile Hirsch as Johnny Truelove, an impulsive and cocky Psychopathic Man Child marijuana dealer living in the late '90s Southern California. Johnny leaves Frankie to watch Zack and he offers Zack a chance to leave, but Zack declines, not wanting to cause any problems for his brother. Elvis is caught while trying to secure a ride out of town. California prosecutors allege that drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood ordered the kidnapping and slaying of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz after the boy's older brother failed to pay a $1,200 debt to Hollywood. Hollywood was convicted on July 8, 2009 for ordering the kidnapping and murder of Nick Markowitz and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; 20 years old at the time. [23] Jeff Markowitz elaborated, "She is so tortured by what happened that she has tried to take her own life. Susan angrily confronts Frankie over Zack's death and goes to the authorities. Alpha Dog was first screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2006 as the closing film. We would be happy to give the author of this blog a tour of our home! During its opening weekend, Alpha Dog grossed $6,412,775 and was #7 at the box office. The film's release was delay by a year to January 12, 2007. Justin Timberlake as Frankie "Nuts" Ballenbacher: Alpha Dog transpires in the late 1990s and focuses on drug dealer Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) and his posse, which includes jokester Frankie Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake) and gofer Elvis Schmidt (Shaun Hatosy). During filming, Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Ronald J. Zonen provided copies of many documents on the case and served as an unpaid consultant to the film, citing his desire to have Hollywood captured. So I immediately wrote to him and enlisted his help in tracking the place down. Meanwhile, Sonny, Cosmo (Johnny's godfather), and their lawyer confront Johnny, who stubbornly refuses to call off the hit, even when they present him the offer to spend a minimal amount of jail time with a plea deal. Certain parts of the film are intercut with scenes from interviews, conducted by detective Tom Finnegan, of people connected to Johnny and his group. Thanks for the correction on acreage, too. ... in real life, Jesse (the one Nick's brother owed money to) had decided to let Nick go home.