DEFENDANT SUES OVER `ALPHA DOG' JESSE JAMES HOLLYWOOD SEEKS TO STOP PRETRIAL FILM.

Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW Staff Writer

Jesse James Hollywood sued Hollywood on Friday, seeking to block the release of a major motion picture about his case until the end of his capital murder trial.

The former fugitive sued Universal Studios to delay the opening of ``Alpha Dog,'' a movie closely based on the 2000 kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz of West Hills. If successful, even the movie's trailer would be enjoined.

The suit alleges that the film, written and produced with the help of a former prosecutor on Hollywood's case, would irrevocably taint a jury pool likely to see the film.

As such, Hollywood's civil lawsuit presents a classic constitutional case pitting the right of free speech against the right of a fair trial.

``Any time the defendant's right to a fair trial is destroyed, or the presumption of innocence is taken away from him, it's a tremendous drawback,'' said Hollywood's attorney, James E. Blatt of Encino.

``You have a prosecutor taking an active role obliterating his presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial.''

A spokeswoman for Universal Studios said that it was standard practice not to comment on pending litigation.

Arrested in Brazil in March 2005 as one of America's most wanted fugitives, Hollywood is accused of masterminding the abduction and execution-style murder of Markowitz, the 15-year-old half-brother of a pot dealer who had stiffed him for $1,200 in August 2000.

Hollywood, now 25, is expected to stand trial next summer in Santa Barbara County, where Markowitz was killed. He has pleaded not guilty.

``Alpha Dog,'' directed by Nick Cassavetes (``The Notebook,'' 2004) and starring Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone and Justin Timberlake, is slated for release in January.

Hollywood's complaint, filed in federal district court downtown, alleges that a Santa Barbara prosecutor acted as a major consultant to the film by furnishing non-public case files to Cassavetes while helping with the screenplay.

An appeals court in Ventura has since barred Santa Barbara Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen from prosecuting the death-penalty case.

``Prosecutors should try their cases in courtrooms, not in the newspapers, television, or in the movies,'' according to the appellate ruling this month.

Blatt said ``Alpha Dog'' differs from TV movies and newsmagazine segments based on the case because the movie is based closely on police files supplied by Zonen. He fears it could bias potential jurors across the state.

At least one constitutional law scholar doubted that Hollywood -- the defendant -- would be able to stymie Hollywood -- the industry -- from telling his story.

Eugene Volokh, a constitutional law professor at UCLA School of Law, said judges only rarely restrain publication prior to a trial.

In this case, he said, jurors could easily tell a judge that they hadn't seen the film or believed it to be a work of fiction.

``They usually consider it a highly distasteful remedy,'' Volokh said. ``This seems like a very, very weak case for an injunction.''

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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