The filmmakers and studio behind the release of "Alpha Dog" have gone through great pains not to mention the real life people the movie is based on because of possible legal action, but actor Emile Hirsch has no problem with it. Who does he play exactly?

"Jesse James Hollywood," Hirsch says as we sit down for a chat. "I know. It's like a weird legal thing, whatever."

In the movie, his character goes by Johnny Truelove, but the parallels to the notorious Hollywood are still there. Truelove is the leader of a group of drug dealing, San Fernando Valley, California, teenagers who get in over their heads and end up kidnapping the younger brother of one of their crazy clients. Truelove's stupidity then leads to tragic consequences for everyone involved. The real-life Hollywood disappeared after the incident and the FBI spent years looking for him. While he was still missing, Hollywood's father bizarrely ended up becoming a consultant on the film (especially since rumors are that he helped hide his son outside the country).

"He definitely didn't want me to just see Johnny as this cold-blooded kind of guy," Hirsch says. "He wanted to remind me that even though awful things went down with everybody, these were kids and you could meet them and think they were nice."

No one was more surprised than Hirsch when Hollywood was captured in Brazil in 2005, right after filming had wrapped.

"It was funny because I was sitting at home and a friend calls me and she says, 'You're doing that movie about Jesse James Hollywood right?' And I'm like 'Yeah.' 'Turn on the TV, they just caught him.' I totally thought she was razzing me. And I call up [director Nick Cassavetes] and I'm like, 'Um, they just caught Jesse James Hollywood.' And he was like, 'What? What? I'll call you right back.'"

Hirsch immediately knew that the movie's ending would have to be changed.

"I think part of me knew ...there would be some sort of repercussion," Hirsch says. "His being caught was going to have a monumental effect on the film and what people thought about [it]. And as soon as they caught him, there was going to be this whole tabloid hysteria that it's turned into."

Hysteria may be a stretch, but Hollywood's lawyer's attempt to delay the release hasn't hurt publicity (Although it may have been one of the causes for the long delay in "Dog's" release.) The chances of the movie not opening are few and far between, and, for the families of Hollywood's victim, there is some justice in getting the story out there as a warning for other parents. Hirsch has moved on, having recently shot "Into the Wild" for director Sean Penn. And Hollywood? He's awaiting trial and most likely, lots and lots of prison time.

"Alpha Dog" opens nationwide Jan. 12.