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What's After the Movie?
Drama thriller

Neverwas (2005): Cast, Box Office & Plot

Neverwas (2005) movie poster

Neverwas is a 2005 drama thriller directed by Joshua Michael Stern, starring Aaron Eckhart as Zach Riley, Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange. It runs 1 hour 43 minutes and earned $11,246 worldwide.

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Neverwas (2005) movie poster
Released
Runtime
1h 43m (103 min)
Genres
Thriller , Drama
Original language
English
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is Neverwas About?

The premise of Neverwas without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

Zach Riley, a psychiatrist, leaves a prestigious university position to work at the private mental institution Millwood. Unbeknownst to his new colleagues, Millwood is the very facility where his late novelist father, T. L. Pierson, spent many years, linking Riley’s past to the haunting mysteries within its walls.

Neverwas Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags
  • mental institution
  • book
  • secret
  • novelist
  • children's book
  • one word title
  • childhood trauma
  • traumatic childhood experience
  • childhood flashback
  • fantasy reality crossover
  • fantasy versus reality
  • deceased father
+38 more
  • suicide of father
  • river
  • younger version of character
  • flashback
  • writer
  • woods
  • wine
  • voice over narration
  • therapist
  • sword
  • slow motion scene
  • sheriff
  • search
  • reading
  • pub
  • poem
  • paranoia
  • mother son relationship
  • montage
  • lunchbox
  • letter
  • kiss
  • insomnia
  • hanged man
  • hallucination
  • group therapy
  • graduate student
  • fort
  • forest
  • circular staircase
  • cigarette smoking
  • childhood friend
  • battering ram
  • bar
  • author
  • animated credits
  • alternate reality
  • suicide by hanging
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Cast & crew

Neverwas Cast & Characters

Aaron Eckhart leads the cast as Zach Riley, with Nick Nolte as T. L. Pierson and Jessica Lange as Katherine Pierson. Directed by Joshua Michael Stern; 27 actors are credited in all.

Also Starring in Neverwas

· 23 more
Show all 27 cast members
From the director

More from Joshua Michael Stern

More films directed by Joshua Michael Stern, best-rated first: Swing Vote and Jobs.

Full filmography
Plot

Neverwas Plot Summary

What happens in Neverwas from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 1-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

Zach Riley, Aaron Eckhart, is a psychiatrist who leaves a prestigious university to take a position at Millwood, a privately run mental institution overseen by William Hurt as Dr. Peter Reed. What he doesn’t reveal at the outset is that Millwood is the very place where his novelist father, Nick Nolte as T. L. Pierson, spent years battling depression. Pierson later wrote a popular children’s classic, Neverwas, about a child (based on Zach himself) who enters a hidden world to free a captive king. Riley arrives with a sense of personal history weighing on every decision, and the new job becomes a way to confront the past while tending to patients.

Full summary

The whole story of Neverwas, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Box office

Neverwas Box Office

Neverwas grossed $11,246 worldwide.

2005 box office

Worldwide gross

$11.2K

International
$11.2K
Videos

Neverwas Trailers & Videos

2 videos: 2 trailers.

Neverwas (2005) Part 1
  • Trailer Neverwas - Trailer
Quiz

How Well Do You Know Neverwas?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
  2. Question 2: not answered
  3. Question 3: not answered
  4. Question 4: not answered
  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

What is Zach Riley's profession?

Cars

Cars in Neverwas

5 cars on screen, including the 1974 BMW 2002 and the 2004 Land-Rover Discovery Series II.

All 5 cars
  • 1974 BMW 2002 in Neverwas 1974 BMW 2002 Main role
  • 2004 Land-Rover Discovery Series II in Neverwas 2004 Land-Rover Discovery Series II Important role
  • 1995 Ford Crown Victoria in Neverwas 1995 Ford Crown Victoria Minor role
  • 1988 Jeep Cherokee in Neverwas 1988 Jeep Cherokee Minor role
Details

Neverwas Also Known As

15 alternative titles, including “Neverwas - La favola che non c'è” and “El libro mágico”.

Also known as
  • Neverwas - La favola che non c'è
  • El libro mágico
  • Неудачник
  • Neverwas. La favola che non c'è
  • Страна Небывалия
  • Sohaország
  • Tam, kde jsem nikdy nebyl
  • מעולם לא
  • Geçmişin Peşinde
  • Минало незапочнато
  • 寻找梦幻乐园
  • 네버워즈
+3 more
  • O Segredo de Neverwas
  • Nigdylandia
  • A fost odata ca niciodata

Seen Neverwas?

FAQ

Neverwas FAQ: Cast, Box Office & Runtime

Runtime, release date, director, cast, box office and post-credit scenes of Neverwas, each answered in a sentence.

How long is Neverwas?

Neverwas runs 1 hour 43 minutes (103 minutes).

When was Neverwas released?

Neverwas was released on September 9, 2005.

Who directed Neverwas?

Neverwas was directed by Joshua Michael Stern.

More films by Joshua Michael Stern

Who is in the cast of Neverwas?

Neverwas stars Aaron Eckhart as Zach Riley, Nick Nolte as T. L. Pierson and Jessica Lange as Katherine Pierson, among 27 credited actors.

How much did Neverwas make at the box office?

Neverwas grossed $11,246 worldwide.

Does Neverwas have a post-credit scene?

No. Neverwas has no extra scene during or after the credits.

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