Rob Reiner’s friend and longtime collaborator Barry Markowitz said the filmmaker’s son Nick Reiner appeared to be doing well during his recent stay at the family’s Brentwood home, just weeks before Rob and Michele’s tragic murders.
In an interview with Page Six published Tuesday, the cinematographer said 32-year-old Nick, who has a history of addiction, was there doing his Nov. 14 stay along with sister Romy. He appeared “on the upswing,” Markowitz said, describing the jovial dynamic of the family as “one big love fest.”
“[We would] scream at the TV, we watched a movie and a basketball game. Played with the dogs. Family time. One big love fest,” Markowitz recalled. “He looked great. He was sitting and talking with the family … They eat dinner together, old school, and a lot of love, always a lot of love.”
Markowitz, who worked with Reiner as DP on several projects — including “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” (2023), “Shock and Awe” (2017), “LBJ” (2016), “Being Charlie,” the semi-autobiographical 2015 film co-written by Nick Reiner about his substance abuse — said he witnessed Nick in good spirits and performing every day activities with the family.
“He helped out, he took out the garbage, he watched TV, he washed dishes,” Markowitz, noting that nothing was “strange” about the troubled son’s behavior at the time. “He’d bring me something to drink. He was just normal in that sense.”
Over the course of the five nights that he stayed at the Reiners’ home, the cinematographer emphasized that nothing was amiss.
“I’m not here to judge anyone. L-o-v-e is the only thing I saw, and I don’t think it was fake,” Markowitz said. “They had a real bond.”
Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead in their Brentwood home Sunday evening, and Nick was arrested in South Los Angeles shortly after. He was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held without bail. Arraignment was delayed Wednesday.
