Mike Nichols and Jack O'Brien Discuss WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF and THE GRADUATE

Yesterday evening, Broadway's John Golden Theatre hosted directors Mike Nichols and Jack O'Brien. According to Deadline, they spent the evening discussing movies and filmmaking, specifically Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Graduate.

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Nichols recalled his first encounter Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, "I went to see Virginia Woolf and I was stunned, paralyzed. I'd never seen such a play. Two years passed, and I read that they'd hired Elizabeth Taylor to do Virginia Woolf." He then sent a message to the actress asking to direct the film, a proposal which she accepted. He then cast the lead actor, "I cast Burton - because they're already there. The people in the play loved each other, as they did. And they had issues..."

Nichols loved having filmed the play in black-and-white. He said that he relearned "how beautiful black-and-white is. It's not literal. It's a metaphor automatically, already saying, this is not life, it's about life. I was excited about that."

He then switched to talking about The Graduate and the spontaneity and luck that comes with creativity.

He commented, "That part of us that comes from the unconscious is what we have to nourish... It took me 50 years to realize that The Graduate is Phedre. These Ur-stories that we have from the Greeks and creep into our unconscious will come back. These stories are who we are."

This event was part of a conversation which is being filmed for HBO. An air date has not yet been announced.