Life Isn’t Everything
Mike Nichols, as Remembered by 150 of His Closest Friends
Ash Carter and Sam Kashner

Always Say Yes – My friend Ed Underhill gave me this book as a Christmas gift. It’s so good I’ve been sending copies to friends across the country.

“Life Isn’t Everything” is an oral biography of Mike Nichols, full of lessons about craft (the craft of directing plays, which also work for the craft of writing stories, too) and some fun show-biz anecdotes. I love, too, the book’s beautiful design by Chip Kidd; he’s among the best in the business and he gives Mike Nichols the first-class treatment Nichols deserves and always wanted.

My favorite anecdotes:

• Robert Redford, in “Barefoot in the Park,” complaining about not knowing what to do and feeling upstaged when he kissed Elizabeth Ashley on stage and she lifted her leg. “That’s easy,” Mike explained. “Lift your leg.
• How director John Frankenheimer was the original choice for the filmed version of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” But Frankenheimer wanted his name above the title. “Elizabeth Taylor was not going to have any of that.”
• After a private, pre-release screening of “Carnal Knowledge,” how Jackie Kennedy leaned between Mike and the powerful Cardinal who could choose to condemn (or not condemn) the film. Jackie purred: “Oh, Jack would have so loved your film.”
• Tom Stoppard questioning Nichols about why he so quickly chose one chair over another during rehearsal; what was the difference between the two chairs? “Nothing,” Nichols replied, “you just have to answer instantly. You can change your mind later.”
• Nichols explaining to Hank Azaria on “Birdcage” that his character is partially based on Judy Garland’s dresser.
• How everybody eats well on a Mike Nichols set.
• Diane Sawyer’s lighting. Designed by Mike’s best lighting experts.
• Upon their first meeting, Mike Nichols tells Tony Kushner he wants to keep the doubling of the actors in the film version of “Angels in America.” Kushner is relieved and asks why. “Because I want to see Meryl play all of these different parts.”

And, more important, the lessons:

1. Listen. Really listen.
2. Speak to each actor in a personal, tailored way.
3. How scenes have to build, even in comedy.
4. How characters, not just plots, have to have a beginning, middle and end.
5. Ask: Why is this character in this scene? There must be a reason.
6. Sometimes you just have to show me what you want – Orson Welles asked Mike to show him how to play a scene on “Catch 22,” Mike asked David Hare about how to play a scene on “Designated Mourner.”
7. Relationships. It’s all about relationships. As actors. As characters. And how do you build relationships – with time and through stories. So, take time to rehearse and take time to share stories.
8. Make it seem a little bit more as if it’s you that’s thinking these words, not the author.
9. Casting!
10. Scripts don’t need POV, CUT TO, etc. That’s what directors do.
11. Somebody makes a suggestion? Try it. “Let’s see what happens.”
12. Tony Kushner: “Failing at illusions is almost as important in theater as succeeding at it. It teaches you to look at things in a double way, and Mike understands that.”
13. Name it. Name the moment. This is the moment they fall in love. This is the moment she sees him as a fool for the first time. This is the moment she feels her lowest…Naming maps the trajectory.
14. Directors give actors confidence.
15. The obligation is to telling an effective story. Everything must service the story.
16. When in doubt, use what’s real. “What’s it really like when this happens or that is said?”
17. What’s the event of this scene? What’s the first, second, third, fourth thing to happen?