Mike Nichols' unrealized projects

The following is a list of unproduced Mike Nichols projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American filmmaker Mike Nichols has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

The Public Eye
In January 1964, Nichols was announced to make his feature film debut as director with a film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's play The Public Eye, after the rights were bought by producer Ross Hunter. He was still attached to direct the film by December that year when he agreed to direct Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which would become his debut instead.

Barefoot in the Park
In December 1965, Nichols was in talks to helm the screen version of Neil Simon's stage play Barefoot in the Park for Paramount Pictures, but was reluctant to repeat the same projects in a new medium, as he had already directed it for stage. The following year, Gene Saks signed on to make his feature directorial debut with the film.

The Exorcist
In the 1970s, Warner Bros. chief John Calley wanted Nichols to direct the film adaptation of William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist, and Nichols told both Elaine May and David Geffen that missing the opportunity was his biggest regret.

The Last Tycoon
Nichols was the first director Sam Spiegel hired to take on directing duties for an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished novel The Last Tycoon. In Nichol's version, the character of Monroe Stahr was to have been played by Al Pacino. He worked for a year and a half on the film before dropping out due to editing duties on The Fortune. "I think [Nichols] knew that he had an unsuccessful picture," Spiegel commented. "And he was in a state of depression. He wanted me to postpone the picture for a year. I wouldn't dream of it." Instead, Spiegel hired Elia Kazan to direct The Last Tycoon, who cast Robert De Niro as Stahr.

A Star Is Born
Nichols was writers John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion's second choice to direct their musical remake of A Star Is Born, centered in the rock world. Warren Beatty was also linked to the film, but Frank Pierson would direct it.

Just Tell Me What You Want
After Nichols departed from the production of Bogart Slept Here, by November 1975, he reportedly agreed to produce and direct Jay Presson Allen's Just Tell Me What You Want for Warner Bros. Nichols would not remain with the project however, and Sidney Lumet would sign on to helm instead.

Swing Shift
Around 1976–77, actress Julie Christie, producer David Susskind and Nichols expressed interest in Swing Shift, an original screenplay by Nancy Dowd for Paramount. At this stage, the story focused on the central characters of "Lucky Lockhart" and "Rosie", who was later rewritten as "Hazel Zanussi" following several rewrites over the years, overseen by Bo Goldman and Ron Nyswaner. In the 1980s, Jonathan Demme signed on to direct the film for Warner Bros., which starred Goldie Hawn.

Annie
Following the 1977 staging of the musical Annie on Broadway, the writers asked $5 million for film rights, and requested for Nichols to direct the adaptation. By December, Columbia Pictures acquired the property. John Huston would direct the film instead, released in 1982.

A Chorus Line
In 1978, Nichols spent several months working on the film adaptation of A Chorus Line for Universal Pictures with screenwriter Bo Goldman, who were both concerned about how to widen its plot and make it more visual without destroying what made the original stage production so affective. Goldman's finished screenplay did not satisfy Universal head Ned Tanen and their version was ultimately scrapped after Nichols could not receive a larger projected budget than $16 million, which he deemed "impractical". The project eventually landed at Columbia Pictures, and Richard Attenborough was selected to direct the film, in 1985.

The French Lieutenant's Woman
Nichols was one of several directors who tried and failed to conquer the complicated narrative of John Fowles' epic romantic novel The French Lieutenant's Woman, before the adaptation was eventually produced in 1980 by British director Karel Reisz.

Sophie's Choice
In 1979, Nichols and Miloš Forman expressed interest in dividing directorial duties of the NY and European scenes, respectively, for Sophie's Choice, which Alan J. Pakula had signed on earlier to produce and direct.

Betrayal
A week after the New York stage opening of Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, Nichols agreed to direct a film version for producer Sam Spiegel. They wanted Meryl Streep to play the heroine, but she changed her mind after her role in The French Lieutenant's Woman, which was also set in England, left her away from her family. After Streep's departure, Nichols too left the project, and David Jones was signed to replace him.

Innocent Blood
In 1981, it was reported that 20th Century-Fox was financing Nichols's film of mystery writer P. D. James's Innocent Blood, a novel about a woman's search for identity. Tom Stoppard worked on the screenplay for the film, and Frank Yablans was set to produce.

The Longshot
In 1985, Nichols was preparing to direct The Longshot, having received the offer from Harvey Korman. After rehearsing with the actors in Los Angeles and making script suggestions, Nichols left the project as he was otherwise committed to directing Heartburn with Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. Instead, he agreed to serve as executive producer on the film.

Frankie and Johnny
In 1988, it was reported that Paramount Pictures optioned Terrence McNally's two-character play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune for Nichols to direct as a film. At the time, Dianne Wiest and Richard Dreyfuss were likely to star under Nichols' direction, but all three would eventually depart from the production. The film, which debuted in 1991, instead starred Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino, and was directed by Garry Marshall.

Kind Hearts and Coronets remake
In 2000, it was reported that Universal was moving toward a fall start for production on a Nichols-directed remake of the 1949 black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. Nichols had been developing the script with Elaine May before they were officially given the greenlight. Robin Williams, who had starred in Nichols' The Birdcage, reportedly expressed interest in the project and in working with him again.

Untitled Edie Sedgwick biopic
Nichols and actress Natalie Portman considered doing a film about Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick, but decided to collaborate on a film version of Patrick Marber's play Closer instead, which was released in 2004.

Skinny Dip
In July 2004, Nichols acquired the rights to direct and produce the film adaptation of Carl Hiaasen's novel Skinny Dip, but would later lose the rights and not get involved in other adaptation attempts.

Seven-Year Switch
In September 2004, Nichols was in discussions to direct Julia Roberts in the rom-com Seven-Year Switch, with Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher producing for Columbia Pictures and Red Wagon.

High and Low remake
In 2008, Nichols was set to direct a remake of the Akira Kurosawa film High and Low, with David Mamet to write the script and Scott Rudin to produce the film for Miramax. In 2010, Chris Rock was set to write a new screenplay for Nichols.

Deep Water
In 2009, Nichols was set to direct a film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's Deep Water for 20th Century Fox, with Joe Penhall writing the screenplay. A 2022 adaptation of the same novel was eventually directed by Adrian Lyne.

One Last Thing Before I Go
In 2013, Nichols was in talks to direct the film adaptation of Jonathan Tropper's novel One Last Thing Before I Go, with Tropper writing the screenplay, J. J. Abrams producing through Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures distributing. The project was likely shelved after Nichols death in November the following year.

Master Class
In 2014, Nichols was announced to direct the TV movie adaptation of Terrence McNally's play Master Class for HBO, with Meryl Streep set to star as Maria Callas. Nichols was still working on the project at the time of his death.