Mike Nichols Is A Nice Guy

Veteran director Mike Nichols (Primary Colors, The Graduate) says we shouldn't read too much into the reported tensions between him and star Garry Shandling on the set of What Planet Are You From?

Nichols admits there was flare-up on the set of the new comedy, but nothing of the magnitude implied in a recent New Yorker profile. "We had an angry moment between us which was fixed, I would say, within 10 minutes," he tells TV Guide Online. "I apologized and he understood why I'd been pissed and then it was really over. We had a good collaboration and I think it shows in the movie."

Not that we're surprised to hear of friction on the set. Shandling, if we're to believe the accusations made by ex-manager Brad Grey during their nasty 1998 split, is not the easiest guy in the world to work with. As for Nichols, the director himself admits to having had a reputation as a tough guy on the set.

"You know, it's not all sunshine and singing songs when you're working on a movie," says the 68-year-old auteur. "Long ago I was tough on the set. I'm much, much better than a lot of guys I know.

"The New Yorker thing is just all part of business," he adds. "It doesn't bother me. The best thing about it, having had those things at intervals during my 40 years of being in the business, is that it's forgotten in a month."