Following directions: Mike Nichols’ beginnings as an improv comedian in 1950s Chicago informed his long career as a film and theater director. He shepherded numerous Neil Simon plays to Broadway success, and drew brilliant performances from Robert Redford, Elizabeth Taylor, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Tim Curry, among many others. In 1967 alone, he had four hit plays running simultaneously, while racking up 20 Academy Award nominations for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate. Mark Harris will discuss his new biography, Mike Nichols: A Life, during the Virginia Film Festival’s next installment of Beyond the Screen, in partnership with the Virginia Festival of the Book.
Tuesday 3/23, Free, 4pm. Zoom required. virginiafilmfestival.org.