Zeljko Ivanek Movies
Possessing a near-perfect balance of everyman looks and tremendous talent on both stage and screen, actor Zeljko Ivanek has been a key supporting player in feature films since the early '80s. A native of Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), Ivanek's family moved to the United States in 1960 in order for his father to complete his doctoral research in electronic engineering at Stanford University. Briefly returning to Yugoslavia before settling in Palo Alto, CA, in 1967, it was only a few short years before young Ivanek was pursuing his higher education at Yale. Subsequently accepted at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he continued to refine his passion for acting and the summers of 1978-1980 found him honing his stage skills in the Williamstown Theater Festival in such efforts as Hay Fever and The Front Page. In 1983, Ivanek was nominated for a Tony award for his role in Brighton Beach Memories and it was around this time that he made his first film and television appearances. An early role as a telepathic killer in the 1982 thriller The Sender found Ivanek making a chilling impression, and strong performances in Mass Appeal (1984) and the AIDS drama Our Sons (1991) kept expectations high for the rising star. As his feature credits continued to build, Ivanek began appearing in such popular television series as L.A. Law, Law & Order, The X-Files, and Murder, She Wrote. Though the adjustment from stage to screen was initially daunting for the classically trained actor, once he got accustomed to the change of pace, he adjusted remarkably well. As the '90s rolled on, Ivanek's film credits included such A-list releases as Courage Under Fire (1996), Donnie Brasco (1997), and the John Travolta thriller A Civil Action (1998). It was also around this time that Ivanek embarked on a six-year stint as Governor James Devlin on HBO's acclaimed series Oz. As the millennium turned, so did Ivanek's onscreen career, and his resume seemed to be exclusively built of nothing but high-profile efforts in both film and television. In addition to appearing in Dancer in the Dark (2000), Hannibal (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001), Unfaithful (2002), and Dogville (2003), memorable roles on The Practice and The West Wing kept television audiences glued to their sets. He reteamed with Lars Von Trier for the director's drama Maderlay, and continued his film career in projects such as The Hoax, In Bruges, and Tower Heist, while maintaining a presence on the small-screen with appearances on Damages, Heroes, and Big Love. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Previously fired from his job as manager of "Emerald City," the experimental unit set up at Oswald Correctional Facility, Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) has been reinstated by the time Oz's fifth season gets under way. The season begins with an accounting of the damage caused by the gas explosion at the end of season four. Not long afterward, "Emerald City" has new facilities, and a whole new crop of inmates -- all from solitary, having been relocated due to ventilation problems. In another development, a bus accident kills the relatives of several Emerald City inmates; among those devastated by the loss is wheelchair-bound Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.), who makes a dangerous choice when he tries to console himself. Elsewhere, convict Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) puts his life on the line to reassert his control over the prisoners; inmate Rebadow (George Morfogen) is cheated out of a two-million-dollar lottery prize; and the prisoners put on a variety show. Season five ends with an overabundance of cliffhanger situations involving (among other things) a comatose convict and a capital murder conviction. There is also a devastating loss at season's end -- even more devastating than the one incurred at the outset of the season. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, (more)
Although Oz's longtime narrator, wheelchair-bound prison inmate Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.), was killed at the end of the series' fifth season, he is still very much in attendance at the beginning of season six -- albeit from beyond the grave. Hill is, in fact, one of several ghostly prisoners, all of them victims of past tragedies occurring at the experimental "Emerald City" unit at Oswald Correction Facility, who show up to narrate the eight episodes in this, the series' final season on the air. Undaunted by previous failures and setbacks, unit manager Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) remains steadfast in his belief that the prisoners living within "Emerald City" can be rehabilitated if given freedom of movement, extra privileges, and a sense of responsibility and self-worth. Unfortunately, he may not get the chance to carry out his reforms this season, inasmuch as several prisoners have become violently ill due to faulty building substances used to renovate the unit. In another disturbing development, Emerald City's most famous "resident," charismatic Muslim leader Said (Eamonn Walker), is murdered. On a more satisfying note, the ruthlessly ambitious Governor Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek), who for six years has opposed the efforts by McManus and Warden Glynn (Ernie Hudson) to improve prison conditions, may finally be called to account for all of his crooked and underhanded dealings in the past. Oz's climactic episode, running 100 minutes, not only serves up just desserts for Devlin, but also charts the ultimate destinies of two other long-term series regulars, convicts Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) and Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen). "There's no place like home." ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
Rachel River is a small town in Minnesota. When local "looney tune" Aileen Cole dies, the town comes to the slow realization that the reclusive Cole has in fact touched the lives of virtually every citizen--and nearly always in a positive manner. That realization is so slow because, immediately after Cole's demise, everyone is more concerned with scrambling to recover a buried treasure rumored to be on the old woman's property. The very thin plotline is fleshed out by individual episodes involving some of the town's more visible denizens: Cole's slobbish nephew Craig T. Nelson, Nelson's viper-tongued sister Jo Henderson, elderly Viveca Lindfors, local radio personality Pamela Reed, covetous undertaker James Olson, and "village idiot" Zeljko Ivanek, whose top billing in the opening credits is justified as the story develops. Rachel River premiered in June of 1989 as a PBS American Playhouse telecast, then enjoyed a brief theatrical distribution. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Zeljko Ivanek, Pamela Reed, (more)
- 2000
- G
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This miniseries details the complex real-life relationship between Thomas Jefferson (Sam Neill), author of the Declaration of Independence and his slave Sally Hemings (Carmen Ejogo). Fuelled by recent DNA evidence of the Hemings-Jefferson relationship, the miniseries sidesteps much of Jefferson's political life and instead focuses on the love story. Though she acquired her freedom at age 16 while traveling with Jefferson to France, she faithfully remained with her lover throughout his life in spite of emotional consequences to both her brother and her children -- who were doomed to be sold as slaves. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sam Neill, Carmen Ejogo, (more)
An assemblage of young Hollywood actors poised for stardom marked this tale of anti-Semitism at a 1950s prep school. Brendan Fraser stars as David Greene, a working-class Jewish quarterback from Scranton, Pennsylvania, who is offered a senior year scholarship to a prestigious New England academy. It's David's ticket to an Ivy League education and a way out of his Rust Belt hometown, but there's one condition: the school's elders ask him to be discreet about his religion. At first willing to do so, David struggles with his silence about his faith as his popularity grows. David strikes up a friendship with his roommate Chris Reece (Chris O'Donnell) and a possible romance with Sally Wheeler (Amy Locane), a student at a nearby girls' school. When jealous classmate Charlie Dillon (Matt Damon) learns David's secret at an alumni party, he exposes the school's new gridiron hero, and David faces the full force of religious intolerance from the prejudiced WASP institution. Also featuring early performances from Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp, and Cole Hauser, School Ties was loosely based on the real-life experiences of producer Dick Wolf, creator of TV's popular series Law & Order. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, (more)
Nine years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a small town in the Pacific Northwest still struggles with the troubling legacy of U.S. policies against Asian-Americans. In December 1950, just off the shores of San Piedro Island in Washington, a Japanese-American man named Kazuo Miyamoto (Rick Yune) stands accused of murder after his close friend Carl Heine (Eric Thal) is found drowned in icy waters. As the trial gets under way, with Alvin Hooks (James Rebhorn) prosecuting Kazuo and Nels Gudmundsson (Max Von Sydow) defending him, reporter Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke) covers the proceedings for the local newspaper. It's difficult for Ishmael to view the trial objectively, as his first love was a Japanese-American girl named Hatsue (Youki Kudoh), who later married Kazuo. Now, Ishmael has discovered that, when the Japanese-American residents of San Piedro Island were sent to internment camps during World War II, Carl's mother used their incarceration to scuttle a land purchase by Kazuo's family. This could suggest a motive for murder, but Ishmael is reluctant to step forward with the story. Snow Falling on Cedars was based on the best-selling novel by David Guterson, adapted for the screen by Ron Bass and writer/director Scott Hicks. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ethan Hawke, James Cromwell, (more)
Tex represented the first film adaption of a novel by "teen angst" specialist S. E. Hinton. Matt Dillon stars as Tex McCormick, an Oklahoma farm boy who drifts into bad company and a dangerous lifestyle after his mother dies and his father deserts him. His older brother Mason (Jim Metzler) struggles to keep his sibling on the straight and narrow, but he too has a cross to bear: his crippling lack of self-worth. Surprisingly, the film was produced by the Disney company, which heretofore had painted a more upbeat portrait of teen-age life. Dillon would go on to appear in two more Hinton adaptations, while Tex supporting player Emilio Estevez would show up in an additional three. S.E. Hinton herself appears in the small role of Mrs. Barnes, a schoolteacher. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Jim Metzler, (more)
In this comedy, a woman discovers that it's impossible to get ahead in business without a man to guide her -- so she invents one. Laurel (Whoopi Goldberg) is an expert financial analyst with a top Wall Street brokerage; however, she keeps getting passed over for raises and promotions, and she's convinced that no one at her firm takes her seriously because she's a black woman. Frustrated, Laurel and her loyal assistant Sally (Dianne Wiest) open a new firm, but Laurel discovers that her fears were based firmly in reality: male clients don't want to take financial advice from women, especially women of color. So Laurel invents a white man, Robert S. Cutty, to be the firm's top adviser. Speaking on Cutty's behalf, Laurel passes along the fictional man's advice, which her new clients find to be quite sound, and when they stop by to see him, he always manages to be out of the office (and why wouldn't a man so successful be busy?). The ruse seems to work, and soon Laurel's business is going great guns, but an increasingly large number of her clients want to see Cutty face to face, which won't be easy to pull off. However, with the help of a drag queen, Laurel tries to remake herself into Cutty for a night in order to keep her firm afloat. The Associate was based on a novel by author Jenaro Prieto. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Dianne Wiest, (more)
Director Lasse Hallström offers a brisk account of the scam that shook the literary community with this semi-comic biographical drama starring Richard Gere as the man who sold a fraudulent biography of Howard Hughes to publishing giant McGraw Hill. The year was 1971; the Vietnam War was raging and protestors filled the streets. Clifford Irving (Gere) was a struggling author with bold ambitions, and the determination needed to see them through. When Irving's attempt to sell his latest novel to McGraw Hill via his in-house publisher, Andrea Tate (Hope Davis), falls through at the last minute, the frustrated author loudly proclaims that his next novel will be "the book of the century." Upon returning to his wife Edith's (Marcia Gay Harden) makeshift studio, the humiliated author catches a glimpse of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes on a magazine cover. Later, almost jokingly, Irving and his best friend Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina) begin to fantasize about a scenario in which the author convinces his publishers that he has been personally selected by Hughes to pen the billionaire's memoirs. The revenge fantasy becomes a complicated reality, however, when Irving and Suskind approach skeptical McGraw Hill heavy Shelton Fisher (Stanley Tucci) with a series of forged letters presumably written by Hughes himself and offering unwavering support for the project. His credibility continually questioned as the ante is upped at every turn, Irving is forced to maintain the increasingly difficult charade as he strong-arms McGraw Hill to pay "Hughes" an unheard-of one million dollars for the rights to his life story, acquires a the illegally procured documents that will provide the foundation for the book, and works around the clock to meet his publisher's deadline. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, (more)
Shot in 33 days, this $9.6 million biographical drama of behind-the-scenes interactions within the Rat Pack group of Frank Sinatra (Ray Liotta), Dean Martin (Joe Mantegna), and Sammy Davis Jr. (Don Cheadle) is set against the political backdrop of the '60s, establishing links of singers, gangsters, actors, and politicans (sometimes brushing shoulders in the same rooms). The film also explores Sinatra's relationship with John F. Kennedy (William Peterson). Deciding to support Kennedy, Sinatra patches up his feud with Peter Lawford (Angus Macfadyen), since Lawford's wife, Pat (Phyllis Lyons) is JFK's sister -- and a Sinatra-Kennedy friendship soon follows. However, when Joe Kennedy (Dan O'Herlihy) decides Sinatra's nightclub, mob and commie connections are a no-no for JFK, the patriarch's interference angers Sinatra. Meanwhile, Sammy Davis Jr. enters into an interracial liaison with May Britt (Megan Dodds), and the dynamics of the situation are visualized in an imaginative musical fantasy sequence in which Davis sees himself singing and dancing for an unresponsive line of white supremacists. Broadway's Savion Glover stepped in with the film's choreography. Substitute singers featured the voice of Michael Dees for Sinatra and Mantegna duplicating Dino. Also covered here are the events that led to the filming of Ocean's Eleven (1960). For an actual Rat Pack stage performance, see The Rat Pack Captured (1965). Filmed in LA, the TV movie premiered August 22, 1998 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna, (more)
After being pulled from CBS amid a flurry of controversy, The Reagans was finally aired on Showtime and went on to earn Golden Globe nominations for its stars, James Brolin and Judy Davis. Directed by Robert Allan Ackerman (Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows) and based on a book by Carl Sferrazza Anthony, the film offers an intimate and some may say scathing look at the family behind one of the 20th century's most hotly debated presidencies. Also starring John Stamos and Zeljko Ivanek, the made-for-television biography is unrated. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Judy Davis, James Brolin, (more)
A suicidal patient is placed in a mental hospital for observation. A psychiatrist realizes that the fellow contains telepathic powers with which he's capable of transferring his own fear-filled nightmares into the minds of others. When he directs his ephemeral madness into the minds of the doctors and patients around him, the hospital turns into a nightmarish melee. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Kathryn Harrold, Zeljko Ivanek, (more)
- 1982
- R
Soviets steal a cache of plutonium leaving one rogue super CIA agent to steal it back and save the world. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ken Wahl, Klaus Kinski, (more)
- 1984
This television miniseries derives its plot from The Sun Also Rises, the 1926 novel by Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). Set in France and Spain, the miniseries follows the lives of several expatriate Americans and their acquaintances in the decade after World War I. These expatriates -- part of the so-called lost generation of Americans bitter about the war and disillusioned by prevailing U.S. values -- drink, roam, ruminate, and chase women. The central character, journalist Jake Barnes (Hart Bochner), pals up with fellow countrymen Bill Gorton (Zeljko Ivanek), an amiable war veteran, and Robert Cohn (Robert Carradine), a novelist and college-trained boxer, to enjoy Paris night life. Barnes runs into beautiful and sophisticated Lady Brett Ashley (Jane Seymour), whom he romanced in England while she was a volunteer nurse and he was recuperating from a war wound that left him impotent. She is soon to divorce her husband to marry Mike Campbell (Ian Charleson), a hard-drinking Scot. Still smitten by her, Barnes follows her everywhere. So do Gorton and Cohn. Cohn falls hard for her. But Lady Brett says she wants to live happily ever after with many men, not just one, in spite of her betrothal to Campbell, a liaison with Cohn, and her affection for Barnes. Such is the scope of her appetite for men. For a new diversion, bullfighting, all of the principals -- including Campbell -- go to Pamplona, Spain. There, matador Pedro Romero (Andrea Occhipinti) whets Lady Brett's appetite all over again with his derring-do in the bullring. After Cohn discovers her in bed with Romero, he beats the bullfighter livid. It is all for naught. To Lady Brett, Cohn is an interesting toy, nothing more. The story reaches its conclusion when Romero -- purple with Cohn's bruises -- enters the arena to challenge a bull. Will Romero survive? Will Lady Brett choose him over Barnes? Will she marry Campbell? ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
The workers at a posh Central Park condominium plot to steal back their pensions from the thieving Wall Street billionaire who's about to get away with the ultimate white-collar crime in this heist comedy starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy. Financial giant Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) has just been placed under house arrest in his luxury New York City penthouse for cleaning out his investors to the tune of two billion dollars. Meanwhile, on the complete opposite end of the financial spectrum, Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) earns a modest living as the manager of The Tower -- the luxurious building where Shaw resides. Upon learning that the building staffers who entrusted Shaw with their retirement funds are about to lose their life savings, and that the thief will likely get off scot-free, Josh convinces a small group of Tower employees and a downtrodden former resident that Shaw has stashed a million-dollar safety net somewhere in his opulent penthouse, and that it's theirs for the taking if they can just slip past security. With dim-witted concierge Charlie (Casey Affleck), under-educated electrical engineer Enrique (Michael Peña), safecracking maid Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe) and downtrodden former resident Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick) to back him, Josh recruits crafty swindler Slide (Eddie Murphy) to help get their money back. Although the security in Arthur's condo is unusually tight, between Josh's knowledge of the building and Slide's sleight of hand, this ragtag gang of thieves just might have what it takes to get the job done. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, (more)
- 1990
This drama fictionalizes certain apects of the life of the pioneer filmmaker Fritz Lang (Jurgen Morch). As the filmmaker tells his life story to a young Hollywood writer, it appears on the screen in flashbacks. In this film, Lang is introduced to filmmaking by a lawyer in a small Baltic town during World War One. There, he makes his first film, and becomes romantically and professionaly involved with some very high-strung people. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vlado Novak
Diane Lane is a wayward wife and Richard Gere is her suspicious husband in Adrian Lyne's Unfaithful. Connie (Lane) leaves her suburban home on an errand, venturing into Manhattan during a wicked windstorm. On a trash-strewn Soho street, she literally runs into Paul Martel (Olivier Martinez), a handsome young Frenchman carrying a huge stack of books. Connie has a bad scrape on her knee, and is unable to get a cab, so Paul invites her up to his apartment. Paul is quietly flirtatious as he gives Connie some ice and a bandage for her knee. Connie phones home and explains to her son, Charlie (Erik Per Sullivan), that she's running late. Before she leaves, Paul gives her a book of Persian poetry, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. She mentions the encounter in passing to Edward (Gere), her husband, but it's clear that she's obsessing about Paul, and soon she's back in the city, with a pretext for calling him up. Soon, they are lovers, and they grow bolder and bolder in their passion. Edward begins to suspect, and eventually gets a private investigator (Dominic Chianese of The Sopranos) to follow Connie. His worst fears confirmed, Edward decides to confront Paul, a decision that will come to haunt him. While the screenplay for Unfaithful is credited to Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People) and William Broyles Jr. (Cast Away), the inspiration for Lyne's film came from Claude Chabrol's acclaimed 1969 film La Femme Infidele. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Diane Lane, (more)
Based on a true incident from 1960, White Squall is the story of the tragic sinking of the Albatross, a prep school educational two-masted schooner, during a Caribbean storm. Screenwriter Todd Robinson wrote the script after meeting one of the tragedy's survivors, Chuck Gieg. In the film, Gieg (Scott Wolf) is the narrator. He and his fellow students, whose parents have paid handsomely for their schooling, which combines classroom work with real-life adventure, are introduced to their grizzled seafaring captain, Christopher Sheldon (Jeff Bridges). Gieg is initially skeptical of Sheldon's authority, but he gradually comes to see the captain as a model of manhood. The other boys aboard include Frank Beaumont (Jeremy Sisto), a self-absorbed snob; Dean Preston (Eric Michael Cole), a troublemaker and bully; Tod Johnston (Balthazar Getty), a returning student; and the naïve Tracy Lapchick (Ethan Embry). John Savage plays the pompous English teacher aboard the ship. Various incidents establish the boys' insecurities and relationships with the authorities -- and foreshadow their eventual fate. The killer squall comes up quietly but soon turns deadly, and the boys are forced to go beyond their privileged upbringings and deal with real danger. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall, (more)
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