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 A heavily tattooed Justin Timberlake plays Frankie, a morally bankrupt wannabe gangsta. |
NEW YORK -- Justin Timberlake brings his posse with him to a press conference here at the Regency Hotel -- only in this case, the posse is made up of his co-stars in Alpha Dog, a controversial new film from Nick Cassavetes that's opening here Friday. Timberlake is giving a press conference along with Emile Hirsch, Shawn Hatosy, Anton Yelchin and Ben Foster. Why this group of young actors is doing one, unwieldy media scrum to promote the film is a question we can't answer, but it's tough not to think about what would be lost to the screen if a bomb fell on the hotel. Quelle catastrophe.
Maybe it's a group press conference because there's safety in numbers. Maybe none of the actors has enough conversation to do a whole interview all by himself. Maybe there's a concern that Justin Timberlake, having the highest profile, will get the lion's share of media attention, which is exactly what happens. So at least the other actors get to be ignored and humiliated together.
Alpha Dog is a hugely engaging film about a pack of kids living large in a moral vacuum located in the San Fernando Valley. The film, which also has Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone in the cast, is based on true events involving teenagers who got into something stupid and turned it into something tragic.
Emile Hirsch plays Johnny, a weak and indulged teenager with a wannabe thug life. Johnny sells drugs and has a gang of followers, which includes characters played by Justin Timberlake and Shawn Hatosy. Johnny is at war with Jake (Ben Foster), and one day, on a lark, Johnny grabs Jake's younger brother (Anton Yelchin) and keeps him for a few days, just to scare everybody.
Trouble is, Johnny can't figure out what to do with the kid once the fun is over ...
Alpha Dog is distinguished by an edgy script and performances to match. In what could be considered his first real role, Timberlake is very good; so are the performances from Hatosy, Foster, Hirsch and Yelchin.
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Timberlake plays Frankie, the good-natured follower in the gang. He's bright, he's friendly and his instincts are good, but he's not quite strong enough to stand up to Johnny. By doing nothing to change the outcome of the prank kidnapping, Frankie is, in the end, a worthless character.
And Timberlake wasn't worried about playing this morally bankrupt person?
"The point was to show the truth of what was happening in the story," says Timberlake, who will be 26 at the end of January.
"There was so much information on the characters, and all of us felt morally responsible for portraying that ...it's a tough movie to watch, but this is as close to what happened as we could make it."
But was it risky to play such a repellent character?
He smiles and says, "My only stipulation for the movie was that I wanted to crack a couple of jokes here and there. For me, it was attractive to just be involved with great actors and a great director and great material. That's what led me to this film."
Timberlake has been famous for a decade, courtesy of his music career both with NSYNC and as a solo artist.
The Grammy Award- winner (best pop vocal album for Justified; best male pop vocal performance for Cry Me A River) decided to make a serious move into acting and currently has five movies under his belt, including the upcoming Black Snake Moan, with Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci, Southland Tales and a vocal role in Shrek The Third.
Tomorrow, meanwhile, Timberlake begins the 2007 FutureSex/LoveShow worldwide music tour with the first of 34 North American dates. It all starts in San Diego; he plays Toronto Jan. 30 and Montreal Jan. 31. He'll be making a stop at the Grammy Awards in February, one assumes, where he has four nominations.
The Memphis native has been in front of major audiences since he was an 11 year old contestant on TV's Star Search. Timberlake was a Mickey Mouse Club regular along with his future girlfriend, Britney Spears and future bandmate, JC Chasez; he joined NSYNC when he was 14 and his career took off from there. Big time.
Despite his role in the "wardrobe malfunction" with Janet Jackson at the 2004 SuperBowl, Timberlake has mostly ducked the bad-behaviour coverage dished out by the tabloids.
On the romantic front, he was named "Most Eligible Bachelor" in America after his breakup with Spears in 2002, and he and Cameron Diaz have been a couple for the last few years. (However, rumour has it the duo went their separate ways in early December. The speculation was ignited after the two spent Christmas apart.) Once he was free of both Spears and NSYNC, Timberlake was finally able to shed the "teen idol" image of his past.
These days, he's a busy guy. In addition to handling everything that comes with FutureSex/LoveSounds, his overwhelmingly successful second solo album, Timberlake also has a hit clothing line and a couple of restaurants on the go. Right now he's involved in a talent search that lets unsigned singers compete for a chance to perform with him on stage at the Grammy Awards next month. And he continues his work for conservation and environmental issues and with the Justin Timberlake Foundation, which supports music education and the arts in public schools.
Timberlake has said in recent months that his music career comes first, but at the Alpha Dog presser he says vaguely of his double career, "We'll have to see. I haven't thought that far ahead."
He continues, "In creating music, you are the writer, director, producer, you sort of create it from scratch. Obviously, in taking a role in film, you take guidance and you put your trust in the director and the writer. Also, I find it even more collaborative with a project like this. You come into it and trust the people you're in front of the camera with. Which was easy. I was just a sponge, watching all of them," he says, indicating the cast members seated around him. "Except Emile. Just kidding."
ALPHA DOG
Starring Justin Timberlake, Emile Hirsch, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Foster, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Marquette
Directed by Nick Cassavetes
Opens Friday
Rating 14A
Inspired by true events, Alpha Dog follows three fateful days when the lives of a group of Southern California teens suddenly dead-ended.
alphadogmovie.com