What Rob and Nick Reiner said about their film inspired by Nick's substance abuse issues
In the wake of Nick Reiner's arrest on Sunday for the alleged murder of his parents, entertainer Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer, the father's and son's comments on their joint film project nearly a decade ago have reentered the spotlight.
Nick Reiner is currently being held without bail, according to authorities. The 32-year-old was taken into custody Sunday night, just hours after his parents were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home, according to law enforcement sources.
Ten years ago, Nick Reiner and his father, who famously directed classic American films such as "Stand by Me," "When Harry Met Sally..." and more, made a movie of their own together, inspired by the younger Reiner's struggle with substance abuse.
Watch the ABC News Special, "The Rob Reiner Story: A Hollywood Tragedy," on ABC at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT, Tuesday, and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
The film, "Being Charlie," details the story of a young, privileged son of a high-profile celebrity and prospective politician who is struggling with drug addiction and recovery.
The film was released in May 2016.
Nick and Rob Reiner spoke to ABC News that same year about the film, their relationship and more.
In the interview, Rob Reiner said Nick Reiner met his co-writer Matt Elisofon in a rehab facility and began writing iterations of the project once they got out.
"It was funny," Rob Reiner recalled of the pair's first scripts for the project -- initially conceptualized as a TV series -- adding that he thought "this subject really could go a lot deeper."
According to Rob Reiner, Nick Reiner and Elisofon then revised the project, turning it into an hour-long "comedy drama," before the three eventually settled on an idea for a film screenplay.
"We took from our experiences, but it was also a combination of other people that Nick and Matt had come across in their times in rehab," he added.
Rob Reiner said that when his son was "going through his roughest period" in his late teens, two books came out discussing a father's and son's perspectives on addiction, which piqued his interest.
"I had no idea how difficult it was for him, but I knew what I was going through, and I thought maybe there's something in that, in a story -- but then I kind of put it aside, because I thought, 'This is too raw, and it's too difficult,'" he said. "But I guess when we had a little distance on it, then we could kind of start looking at it."
Nick Reiner also opened up in that same interview about the portrayal of the father character in the film, saying he had wanted to spare his own father's feelings and was concerned his dad might believe he saw him that way as well.
"The father character initially was harsh on [his son in the movie], and I, believe it or not, was not wanting the character to be that villainous ... it was hard for [my own father] for a while to think that I thought of him that way, and to convince him that that's not how I felt, but that fathers do get in that mode sometimes when they're trying to help their kid who's in danger," Nick Reiner said.
Rob Reiner reflected on the father character as well, adding, "The father originally was written as very black-and-white bad guy, and I thought, 'Oh God, that's what Nick thinks of me?'"
"About halfway through the process, he said, 'You know, the father should be a little bit more dimensional, I mean, he's like too much of one thing,' and oddly enough, I took that as to mean 'Oh, he's feeling better about me now," he said.
Rob Reiner said while making the film, his relationship with his son changed, as they began to understand each other's perspectives.
"We didn't set out to say, 'OK, let's push through our difficulties, and this will be the vehicle by which we do that,' it just so happened to happen that way," he said at the time.
Both father and son also spoke in the interview about the humbling effects of substance abuse, which Rob Reiner said can impact anyone.
"What we wanted to show is that it doesn't matter," he said. "It doesn't matter if you have money, you don't have money, if you're, you know, have advantages [or you] don't. These problems can affect anybody."
Nick Reiner added, "If you keep doing drugs, you won't stay privileged for long. You end up roughing it out."
Rob Reiner said while his son was struggling with addiction, he was told he would need to be hard on his son. "They told us, 'You have to be tough, it has to be tough love,' which is not my nature, I'm not a disciplinarian," he recounted. "...I'm an actor, so I have to act. I'll act like a guy who, you know, is tough."
Elsewhere in the 2016 interview, Rob Reiner detailed points of contention between the two in the filmmaking process, adding that the disagreements were ultimately satisfying and yielded creative success.
"There were times we had fights, and you know, we went at each other, and that to me was, you know, at times, was difficult. It was very emotional, but it was also the most satisfying creative experience I've ever had," he said, noting the respect he had for his son for being able to challenge him and calling him "the heart and soul of the film.
Nick Reiner added that he simultaneously gained a new perspective on his dad's artistry during the process, saying, "I thought I knew everything at first when I went in to this, and then I realized I don't know anything, and I should probably just listen to what he has to say."
Rob Reiner, 78, and Singer, 68, married in 1989. In addition to Nick Reiner, the couple were parents to son Jake and daughter Romy.
Rob Reiner was also the adoptive father of actress Tracy Reiner, whom he shared with ex-wife Penny Marshall.
In the wake of Rob Reiner's and Singer's deaths on Sunday, the Reiner family issued a statement, saying, "It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time."
ABC News has reached out to the Reiner family for comment.
Watch the ABC News Special, "The Rob Reiner Story: A Hollywood Tragedy," on ABC at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT, Tuesday, and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
