Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles WELCOME BACK EVERYBODY. MY NEXT GUEST IS A JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR. HIS LATEST BOOK IS A BIOGRAPHY ENTITLED "MIKE NICHOLS: A LIFE." PLEASE WELCOME TO "A LATE SHOW," MARK HARRIS! MARK, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. >> THANKS SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. >> Stephen: NICHOLS IS A MONUMENTAL CULTURAL FIGURE OF THE LAST 60 YEARS. I GOT TO MEET HIM ONCE. I WAS SAYING HELLO TO MERYL STREEP AT THE KENNEDY CENTER, AND SHE SAID, "OH, MIKE WANTS TO MEET YOU." WHEN I FOUND OUT MIKE WANTED TO MEET ME, I COULDN'T HEAR ANYTHING HE SAID TO ME. I WISH SOMEBODY COULD TRANSCRIBE WHAT HE SAID. I KEPT SAYING, "IT'S MIKE NICHOLS. IT'S MIKE NICHOLS. REMEMBER WHAT HE'S SAYING." FOR THOSE NOT FAMILIAR WITH WHAT AN ENORMOUS FIGURE HE WAS, HOW DO YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION, "WHO WAS MIKE NICHOLS?" >> I WOULD SAY YOU TAKE THE GUY WHO HAD A 50-YEAR CAREER AS A MOVIE DIRECTOR MAKING FILMS THAT RANGED FROM "THE GRADUATE," AND "WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF?," TO "SILKWOOD" AND IMAGINE HE HAD A PARALLEL 50-YEAR CAREER AS THIS GROUNDBREAKING STAGE DIRECTOR WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING FROM "THE ODD COUPLE" TO "SPAMMALOT," AND CONSIDER BOTH OF THOSE YEARS WERE PRECEDED BY A REALLY BIG-DEAL CAREER AS A PERFORMING ARTIST THAT KIND OF CHANGED THE NATURE OF IMPROV COMEDY. SO YOU ADD THAT UP AND YOU GET A REALLY UNIQUE FIGURE. >> Stephen: AND REALLY HELPED-- HE WAS ONE OF THE FIGURES THAT HELPED DEFINE WHAT IMPROV COMEDY WOULD BE AS, YOU KNOW, AS SOMEONE WHO WORKED WITH THE EARLY EDITIONS OF THE "SECOND CITY," THE COMPASS PLAYERS, IN THE EARLY "SECOND CITY," ALONG WITH ELAINE MAY. I HAVE ONE OF THEIR EARLY ALBUMS FROM THEIR BROADWAY SHOW. EXPLAIN TO THE PEOPLE HOW THIS CHANGED COMEDY. >> I THINK THAT THAT SHOW, WHICH WAS THE CULMINATION OF A SIX, OR SEVEN, OR EIGHT-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WAS KIND OF THE "HAMILTON" OF ITS MOMENT. IT WAS JUST THE TWO OF THEM ON STAGE EVERY NIGHT, REALLY DEFINING A NEW KIND OF OBSERVATIONAL, SHARP, PRECISE COMEDY THAT HADN'T REALLY BEEN SEEN BEFORE. AND THEY WOULD END EACH PERFORMANCE WITH AN IMPROVISATION, WHERE THEY WOULD INVITE THE AUDIENCE TO PROVIDE A FIRST LINE ASK A LAST LINE, AND A LITERARY STYLE THAT THEY WANTED THE SKETCH PERFORMED IN. IN THE COURSE OF THAT RUN ON BROADWAY, THEY DID I THINK SOMETHING LIKE 95 DIFFERENT LITERARY STYLES. SO THEY WERE REALLY UNIQUE. >> Stephen: I UNDERSTAND YOU KNEW MIKE NICHOLS. HOW DID YOU GUYS BECOME FRIENDS? >> WELL, I GOT TO KNOW HIM BECAUSE MY HUSBAND, TONY KUSHNER, WROTE "ANGELS IN AMERICA." AROUND 2001, MIKE AND TONY STARTED WORKING TOGETHER ON THE HBO MINISERIES VERSION OF IT. SO THE FIRST TIME I EVER GOT TO SEE MIKE WAS AT WORK ON THE SET. AND THEN AFTER THAT, MY FIRST BOOK WAS IN PART ABOUT THE MAKING OF "THE GRADUATE," SO THAT'S WHEN I GOT TO SIT DOWN AND INTERVIEW HIM AND TALK TO HIM ABOUT HIS CAREER FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHICH WAS JUST ENDLESSLY FASCINATING. >> Stephen: YOU MEAN, YOU DID 250 INTERVIEWS, OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES, FOR THIS BOOK, AGAIN, MIKE NICHOLS: A LIFE." BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO INTERVIEW YOUR OWN HUSBAND ABOUT HIS PART IN MIKE NICHOLS: A LIFE." WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS LIKE WARTS AND ALL. YOU'RE A JOURNALIST REPORTING ON SOMETHING. WHAT'S IT LIKE TO INCLUDE YOUR HUSBAND IN THE REPORTING? >> WELL, I WOULD SAY HE WAS NOT ACTUALLY THE EASIEST PERSON TO NAIL DOWN. IF I HADN'T HAD THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING ABLE TO SORT OF LOCK HIM IN THE APARTMENT, I'M NOT SURE I WOULD HAVE NECESSARILY GOTTEN THE INTERVIEW. BUT ONCE WE SAT DOWN, IT WAS GREAT. IT WAS A LITTLE STRANGE INTERVIEWING MY OWN HUSBAND ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I HAD EXPERIENCED. BUT I KIND OF FALL INTO THAT JOURNALISTIC RHYTHM, AND HE BECOMES JUST ONE MORE PERSON TO GET INTERESTING INFORMATION OUT OF. >> Stephen: WAS THERE A SUBJECT FOR THIS THAT WAS MOST INTIMIDATING TO TALK ABOUT? >> I WAS VERY, VERY INTIMIDATED BY ELAINE MAY, PARTLY BECAUSE I KNEW WHAT AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW THAT WAS. THERE WAS NO ONE WHO KNEW MIKE BETTER PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY DURING THAT CRUCIAL PERIOD OF HIS LIFE. AND PARTLY BECAUSE SHE'S ELAINE MAY, SHE'S A COMPLETE GENIUS IN HER OWN RIGHT. SHE STARTED THE INTERVIEW-- THE FIRST THING SHE SAID TO ME WAS, "I WANT TO TELL YOU RIGHT UP FRONT THE ONLY THINGS I CAN REMEMBER IS THE THINGS I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU." SO THAT TERRIFIED ME. IT WASN'T REALLY TRUE. SHE TOLD ME A GREAT DEAL AND SHE WAS FANTASTIC TO TALK TO. >> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK. WE'LL BE BACK WITH MORE WITH MARK HARRIS.
A2 TheLateShow nichols stephen elaine husband comedy "The Hamilton Of Its Moment" - Mark Harris On Mike Nichols In "An Evening With Nichols And May" 1 0 林宜悉 posted on 2021/02/04 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary