Mike Nichols
Tidbits
A new week and a new batch of mini news items for you guys to snack on. - Let's kick things off with a scene scene clip from Knight…
Interview Round-up
Okay, let’s try and chip away at some of the outstanding Natalie content.
This Deadline interview has some great insight into TOLAD, Natalie admitting that she’s got a very busy period of acting coming up, and this interesting quote about producing.
It’s more about being able to create things for myself. It’s complicated when you’re just an actor, you’re subject to waiting for something good and for someone interesting to offer you something interesting. I’ve worked long enough to know there are certain waves and periods you don’t have the opportunities you’d like to so it really was born out of that. I am hoping to create things I’d be interested in, and makes me less passive in the process. I don’t believe my job as producer is to control. I have strong beliefs in the authority and leadership of the director. I really believe in the importance of that hierarchy.
This Variety interview has some talk of her new projects (Planetarium is up first and will be, at least in part, in French) and talk of the directors who helped her along the way.
Darren Aronofsky was great about reminding me to remember my reason for making it throughout the entire process, which was really helpful to always have the voice I had [from the beginning]. Terry Malick was very supportive, reminding me not to listen to anyone who was trying to make it more conventional. He said, “Don’t listen to people who tell you to have a three-act structure.” And Mike Nichols was very supportive. I had my dream team of people I was calling and asking for help.
Red Magazine Scans
What Mike Meant To Natalie
NY Mag has a piece featuring actors talking about what the late Mike Nichols meant to them. Natalie has a lot to say and wow, I was quite taken aback at one very honest story in particular. An emotional moment in Natalie’s life that, given the timeline, probably refers to the end of her relationship with Gael Garcia Bernal. It’s clear to see why Nichols held such a big space in her heart.
“I remember Meryl Streep took us all to this Russian place to celebrate the opening [of The Seagull in Central Park]. Mike turned to me and said, “You know, someone at this table almost died of a drug-induced heart incident in the ’80s. Can you guess who it is?” And I was like, Chris Walken? No. John Goodman? No. Phil Hoffman? No. And I went around the entire table—Meryl?!—and he said, “It was me.” [Nichols spoke publicly about his addiction to the sleep aid Halcion.] He was so open about his flaws and his mistakes. I think it was part of his mentorship. Oftentimes, people are so ashamed of their mistakes they want to hide them and pretend to be perfect. He was the opposite. He was perfect, and he had to humanize himself.”
Memorial
Natalie flew into NYC and paid a visit to the home of Diane Sawyer yesterday. The occasion was a sombre one as friends and family gathered to pay their…
Natalie Releases Nichols Statement
Those fans who have been around for awhile will know how important Mike Nichols was to Natalie, so it's no surprise that Natalie has released a statement about the…
RIP Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols, the brilliant director of Closer, has passed away at the age of 83. Our deepest condolences to the Nichols family, his friends, and of course Natalie.