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.