114 Quotes by Mike Nichols

We've all heard those fatal words in a relationship where someone says, 'Just tell me. I promise I won't be mad. I just want the answer,' ... Clive Owen asks his wife that question in 'Closer,' but he really doesn't want the answer because it's just a slide into great pain.

Whether something is a success or not has never had much to do with what you do next.

The producers want us to sell, sell, sell. That's my little joke. That's what we do by day; by night, we're artists.

My father wasn't too crazy about me. I loved him anyway. One of the things I regretted for a long time was that he died before he could see that he would be proud of me. I was actually more what he wished for than he thought.

Never let people see what you want, because they will not let you have it. Never let anybody see what you feel, because it gives them too much power. You're probably better off not showing weakness whenever you can avoid it, because they'll go for you.

I don't expect anything from reviews. Sometimes I am bemused by them.

I don't know that a political climate - as long as it's still a free country - makes much difference in the film world.

'Catch-22' was a nightmare to make, and everybody was unhappy except me.

I loved all movies, literally. I certainly loved 'Shane' and 'Roxie Hart.' Later on, when I was less of a kid, I loved 'L'Avventura' and 'Persona' and all Fellini movies and like everybody else I loved John Ford. Then and now, I loved Preston Sturges, maybe above anyone.