Mike Nichols once gave his five rules for filmmaking…
- The careful application of terror is an important form of communication.
- Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for.
- There's absolutely no substitute for genuine lack of preparation.
- If you think there's good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.
- Friends may come and go, but enemies will certainly become studio heads.
And I believe the last time he won a Tony, he said in his acceptance speech that his philosophy was, "Cheer up. Life isn't everything." Quite apropos tonight.