Movie loosely based on Rob Reiner son’s life as he’s arrested following deaths of director and his wife

A movie was released which was loosely based on the life of Rob Reiner's son, who was recently arrested after the deaths of his parents.

Nick Reiner, 32, has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, on December 14.

The deaths of filmmaker Rob and Michele have drawn national attention, including public outcry at how President Donald Trump reacted to the tragedy on social media.

Now, a movie has re-emerged which takes a deep dive into some of the issues and challenges that Nick faced.

Back in 2016, Nick Reiner wrote a movie - which was directed by his father - called Being Charlie.

It's about the life of a young man who is wrestling with addiction, something which Nick has struggled with.

Speaking to PEOPLE at the time of the movie's release, Nick revealed that it had been loosely based on his own struggles with addiction and homelessness as he was growing up.

Rob Reiner died on December 14 2025 (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for TCM)

Nick previously spoke to PEOPLE back when the movie was released in 2016.

He told the outlet at the time: “That made me who I am now, having to deal with that stuff.

“I met crazy great people there, so out of my element. Now, I’ve been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in L.A. and being around my family. But there was a lot of dark years there.”

Nick revealed that he had been homeless in several places, saying: “I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas."

He added: “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”

Speaking at the time about how serious his addiction was, Nick said: “When I was out there, I could’ve died. It’s all luck. You roll the dice and you hope you make it.”

Sky News has reported that the day before the deaths of Rob and Michele, Nick had turned up at a party they were attending.

Rob and Nick Reiner (Rommel Demano/Getty Images)

It was alleged that Nick had embarrassed his parents with his behavior at the gathering.

Donald Trump has since been heavily criticized after posting a series of remarks about Rob and Michele Reiner on social media, suggesting that Rob had 'Trump derangement syndrome', which he often uses against his critics.

The president's remarks were met with outrage from many famous people, including Whoopi Goldberg, who wrote: "I don't understand the man in the White House. He spoke at length about Charlie Kirk and about caring, and then this is what he puts out."

She added: "Have you no shame? No shame at all? Can you get any lower? I don't think so."