MIKE NICHOLS: A LIFE Biography Optioned by Producer Peter Spears; Plans for Feature Film

According to Deadline, the Mike Nichols biography 'Mike Nichols: A Life,' written by Mark Harris, has been optioned by producer Peter Spears, with plans for a feature film.

Deadline reports that the film will "focus on a young Nichols as he journeys from Broadway to Hollywood to make his first film, 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, depicting his high-stakes collaboration with the film’s two married stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton."

The film will be developed by Spears's production company Cor Cordium. Spears's producing credits include Nomadland, Call Me by Your Name, Bones and All, and the upcoming On Swift Horses starring Jacob Elordi, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Diego Calva, and Will Poulter.

“Mark’s book captures the moment that a first-time filmmaker found himself thrust into a front-row seat for one of the most scandalous love affairs ever to rock Hollywood, indeed, the entire world, a time when Taylor and Burton were on the front page of every newspaper, and denounced on the floor of Congress and in the halls of the Vatican. In the rehearsal room, Mike Nichols told his stars, ‘It’s us against the world.’ All three of them felt they had something to prove, and they proved it in a moviemaking experience that turned out to be dramatic, funny, tempestuous, and moving,” Spears told Deadline.

Biographer Mark Harris noted: “I love and admire Peter’s work, and I couldn’t be happier to place this crucial moment in the lives of Nichols, Taylor, and Burton in his hands.”

Read the full article here.

Mike Nichols was a director of stage and screen for more than 40 years. His Broadway directing credits include Death of Salesman, Barefoot in the Park, Luv, The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Real Thing and Spamalot, for all of which he was awarded the Tony for Best Direction.

Film credits include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf; The Graduate (Academy Award for Best Direction); Catch 22; Carnal Knowledge; Silkwood; Working Girl; Postcards From The Edge; Regarding Henry; The Birdcage; Primary Colors; Closer and Charlie Wilson's War and for HBO "Wit" and "Angels in America."

Nichols died of a heart attack on November 19, 2014, at his apartment in Manhattan, nearly two weeks after his 83rd birthday.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride