Originally, Nick Cassavetes (yes, John's son) thought he'd sidestepped the legal problems plaguing his film Alpha Dogs, Sundance 2006's closing night film. Based on the real-life story of suburban pseudo thugs who ended up committing a real-life murder, the helmer dumped an additional $500,000 on reshoots when it became clear his research had been a little too thorough.

But even so, defense attorneys for James Hollywood, who's on trial for the kidnapping and execution of then 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz, think the story, which stars Justin Timberlake and Bruce Willis, hits so close to home that it could sway the jury. The bottom line? They want it pulled at least until Hollywood is tried. (Ah, if only that sentence had multiple meanings!) Today's Times calls Cassavetes' struggle a "a cautionary tale for writer-directors thinking of tackling a breaking news story as their next subject." Maybe it's really just a cautionary tale about casting wannabe R&B singers as wannabe thugs.