City Of Angels

Mike, do you feel that these days you can actually do bolder things on television than you can in film?

Nichols: I do, yes. It has to do with HBO, it's as simple as that. We love HBO and we love the freedom that there is on HBO, and the power. And what is that power? It's economic. You know, we're run by market forces--the fact that an outfit can make a billion dollars a year just sitting there collecting its subscriptions. It's an economic basis that affords us this freedom.

The budget was $60 million?

Nichols: Yes. But, that's like three movies--and with visual effects! So it's $20 million per movie--which is a lot for television. [Laughter] But look at the budget of any Disneyesque Cinderella movie where little sparkly things appear on the screen and there are fairies and so forth.

Thompson: You see a lot of these movies?

Nichols: Well, I have a granddaughter.