Brian Markinson Movies

Yellowstone National Park is a blazing inferno, and the only hope for the terrified tourists who are trapped in the flames is a team of firefighters who will risk their lives to ensure the safety of others in this sensationalistic made-for-cable disaster film starring Scott Foley and Richard Burgi. As thousands of sightseers enjoy the majestic beauty of North America's oldest national park, a fast-moving wall of flames transforms nature's beauty into an infernal nightmare. With no time to spare and the heat rapidly rising, firefighter Clay Hardy (Foley) and his brave team are faced the formidable task of rescuing the imperiled vacationers and dousing the fire before lives are lost and the awe-inspiring landscape is turned to ash. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The drama Chasing Freedom stars Juliette Lewis as a crusading lawyer who attempts to earn a foreign women citizenship in the United States in order to save her from a dangerous situation in her native country. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The title of this made-for-TV drama refers to a grim-visaged trio of women who were all raped by the same man. Forming a united front to help track the suspected rapist down are Jillian Hayes (played by Roma Downey, who also produced film), Carol Rossen (Jacqueline Bisset) and Meg Pesaturo (Lauren Lee Smith. Under intense pressure from both the "Survivors Club" and an outraged public, the authorities waste no time hauling in prime suspect Eddie Como (Darren Shahlavi), even though Eddie's wife Tawnya (Pamela Diaz) is confident to the point of smugness that Eddie is innocent. On the first day of his trial, Eddie is shot down and killed by an unseen sniper--whereupon Jillian, Carol and Meg all but dance in the streets, making shocking public comments of how thrilled they are about this instance of vigilante justice (and in the process arousing suspicion that they may have engineered the shooting) . It soon develops, however, that Eddie may not have been guilty after all. . .and that the real rapist may have ordered the hit. The one person who seems to hold the key to the mystery is one David Price (Brian Markinson)--who happens to be a serial killer! Based on the book by Lisa Gardner, The Survivors Club made its first CBS appearance on March 7, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The epic HBO miniseries Angels in America is directed by Mike Nichols and written by the play's author, Tony Kushner. This six-part drama is adapted from the two full-length award-winning plays (Part I: The Millennium Approaches and Part II: Perestroika) originally performed on Broadway in 1993. Set in New York City during the mid-'80s, the story follows the interconnected lives of several people affected by the AIDS crisis, intense spiritual experiences, and the Reagan Administration. Newcomer Justin Kirk plays Prior Walter, a young man dying of AIDS. Things are made worse when he's abandoned by his lover, Jewish court clerk Louis Ironson (Ben Shenkman). Then he's visited by an Angel (Emma Thompson), who keeps crashing through his roof and insisting that he's a prophet.
Meanwhile, conservative power monger Roy Cohn (Al Pacino) is also dying of AIDS, but he's in serious denial about it. While in the hospital, he's continually visited by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg (Meryl Streep), a woman he had sent to the electric chair. Roy's protégé is Mormon lawyer Joe Pitt (Patrick Wilson), who also tries to deny his own homosexuality. Joe's estranged wife Harper (Mary-Louise Parker) suffers from a Valium addiction and has an acute sensitivity to the world around her. Joe leaves her to start up a relationship with Louis, who works in his building. Jeffrey Wright reprises his stage role of the trusty friend and nurse Belize. Angels in America first aired in two parts on HBO during December of 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Liberty Wallace (Linda Fiorentino), the wife and business partner of wealthy weapons manufacturer Victor Wallace (Oliver Platt), is on her way to her regular assignation with her boyfriend, Russell (Martin Cummins), an actor who's about to go on-stage for the closing night of his hit play. Their plans are ruined by a mysterious gunman who calls himself Joe (Wesley Snipes). Joe straps Russell to a bomb in his dressing room, which will go off if he moves or speaks too loudly. Joe then calls Liberty on her cell phone and coerces her into chaining herself to a hot dog stand in a plaza outside the theater. The hot dog stand is rigged with a bomb, which will go off if Liberty hangs up her cell phone, or when it runs out of battery power. Joe also has a high-powered sniper rifle, her company's best gun, trained on Liberty. Joe doesn't make any demands at first, but it's clear that he has a problem with Liberty's weapons empire, which she inherited from her late father. He eventually tells Liberty that his young daughter was killed in a school shooting by one of the guns her company manufactured. Joe lets Liberty know that she's going to die, but she can die a hero if she exposes her company's shady business dealings and political connections before she's killed. As Joe monitors and records her every move, Liberty reveals secrets about her own past, and her business dealings. When Victor, who's also having an affair, finds out that his wife has been taken hostage, he's torn between following company protocol -- protecting himself and allowing his wife to be killed -- and going to help her. Liberty Stands Still was written and directed by Kari Skogland. The film premiered on Cinemax in July 2002. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

One of several government-espionage series unveiled during the 2001-2002 TV season, UC: Undercover detailed the exploits of the Special Operations Group, an elite five-person team answerable only to the Justice Department. Using up-to-date technology and advanced martial arts skills, the Group was dedicated to tracking down and capturing supercriminals and terrorists (though several episodes dealing with the latter were toned down in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedy). Described by several observers as the Wiseguy of the early 21st century, the series found its regulars adopting all manner of disguises and new identities in order to infiltrate the illicit organizations which they'd targeted for extinction. Originally cast as group leader John Keller, Grant Show was replaced in the second episode by new leader Frank Donovan (Oded Fehr); other regulars included Jon Seda as Jake, Vera Farmiga as Alex, Bruklin Harris as Monica, and Jarrad Paul as Cody. Executive produced by Steve Salerno (one of the writers of the movie hit Armageddon), UC: Undercover began its weekly, 60-minute NBC run on September 30, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Woody Allen immerses himself in the world of vintage jazz in this period mock-biography of a musician gifted in his art but a sad student in life. Emmet Ray (Sean Penn) is a 1930s jazz guitarist considered one of the finest musicians ever to touch a fretboard, second only to the legendary Django Reinhardt. For all the passion and sensitivity of his music, Emmet is a louse off-stage; he earned his living as a pimp before gaining fame, and he throws his money away on flashy clothes and big cars, going through women like guitar picks. He also has another charming hobby: shooting rats at the city dump. But when Emmet meets Hattie (Samantha Morton), a shy, mute woman who earns her living doing laundry, he discovers that she loves his music, and he promptly falls for her. However, his inability to be faithful, his arrogant conviction that a musician should never marry, and his belief that he can do better than Hattie eventually doom their relationship. Emmet later marries Blanche (Uma Thurman), a beautiful and refined woman with a career as an author, but she is no more interested in fidelity than he is, and in time he realizes how foolish he was to give up Hattie. Jazz guitarist Howard Alden plays Emmet's solos on the soundtrack, while several authorities on jazz discuss "Emmet's" music, including Nat Hentoff, Douglas McGrath, and one Woody Allen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Mike Nichols directed this Elaine May screenplay adapted from the 1996 bestseller by "Anonymous" (Joe Klein), who fictionalized Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. In the New Hampshire primary, Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta) convinces Henry Burton (Adrian Lester), grandson of a respected civil rights pioneer, to become his deputy campaign manager. Stanton's smart wife Susan (Emma Thompson) always comes through with public support for her philandering husband. The film's parallel for James Carville is Stanton's redneck advisor Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton), who knows every strategy and tactic but worries, "The woman thing, that's the killer." Sure enough, problems during the New Hampshire primary include charges of adultery. To get a handle on past peccadillos, Stanton's staff brings in an old family friend, lesbian Libby Holden (Kathy Bates), who knows how to clean up dirt. Stanton, a strong debater, moves on to Florida and New York. When one opposing candidate drops dead of a heart attack, he's replaced by Florida's Governor Fred Picker (Larry Hagman), but Holden holds the skeleton key to the skeleton in Picker's closet. Just how the Stantons put this information to use reveals whether they are ruthless politicians or inspirational leaders with ideals. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Michael Dorn directed this episode, which originally aired June 9, 1997. A depressed Sisko can't seem to shake his deep blue funk, especially when Kai Winn arrives on the station to negotiate with the Dominion. Hoping to lift his dad's spirits, Jake Sisko goes to herculean lengths -- including the depletion of Nog's life savings -- to purchase a mint-condition Willie Mays baseball card. This aptly titled installment was scripted by Ronald D. Moore, from a story by Trudy Clark and Scott Neal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this 90-minute conclusion of a two-part story, a homeless mute, who has been accused of a child's murder by the victim's father, has killed himself. Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Diane (Kim Delaney), convinced that the dead man was framed by the child's father (Brian Markinson), whom they believe to be the actual culprit, try to get to the truth by working on the mother (Annie Corley). As this sordid storyline works itself out, the squad investigates a possible case of health-benefit fraud involving a "good samaritan" doctor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide