''Becoming Mike Nichols'' is a 2016

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by

Douglas McGrath Douglas Geoffrey McGrath (February 12, 1958 – November 3, 2022) was an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Tony Award, and Primetime Emmy Awa ...

about the life of

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

. It premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

on January 29, 2016, and was later broadcast on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

on February 22, 2016.

Participants

* Jack O'Brien

Production

The film contains interviews between Jack O'Brien and Mike Nichols filmed in the months before the death of Mike Nichols in 2014. The interviews were held on two nights, one with an audience and one without. Both interviews were held at the

Golden Theatre The John Golden Theatre, formerly the Theatre Masque and Masque Theater, is a Broadway theater at 252 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1927, the Go ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where ''

An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May ''An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May'' is a live comedy album by Nichols and May. The album features selected pieces from the Broadway presentation of ''An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May''. The show opened October 8, 1960, in ...

'' premiered 54 years earlier.

Release

The film premiered at the

Egyptian Theater Egyptian-style theatres are based on the traditional and historic design elements of Ancient Egypt. The first Egyptian Theatre to be constructed in the US – which inspired many of the identically-named theatres that followed it – was Graum ...

on January 29, 2016, as part of the

. It was later broadcast on

on February 22, 2016.

Reception

Jeremy Kinser of

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...

called it a "thoroughly engaging film" that "explores Nichols unique creative process". Guy Lodge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it an "oddly truncated overview of his early career." Brian Tallerico of ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'' gave the film two and a half stars, writing that it "falls short of its potential beyond the clearly interesting source of trivia it provides". Kevin Crust of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote that "The real value of the documentary from Douglas McGrath lies in charting Nichols’ creative trajectory". Charles Kaiser of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' called the film a "fitting tribute to a great director". Todd McCarthy of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called the film "A short, funny and illuminating interview-based documentary that will leave theater and film mavens satisfied and hungry for more." Brandon Nowalk of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' called the film "this year's second best Mike Nichols doc". John Fink of thefilmstage.com gave the film a B+, calling it "brief and engaging".

References

External links

* {{Douglas McGrath 2016 television films 2016 films 2016 documentary films American documentary television films Documentary films about comedy and comedians Documentary films about film directors and producers Films directed by Douglas McGrath HBO documentary films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language documentary films