Faculty Bio
 | Allan NichollsDepartment of Graduate Film |
Courses
Screenwriting
Biography
Allan Nicholls wrote the screenplays, A Wedding and A Perfect Couple with Robert Altman. They shared a much-coveted British Academy Award nomination and a Writers Guild Best Screenplay nomination for A Wedding. A Perfect Couple was honored as the closing film at the weeklong Altman's Films of the '70's retrospective at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993.Allan went on to write the film Dead Ringer, starring Meat Loaf in 1980 and Leonard Cohen's I Am a Hotel in 1983, for which he earned the Golden Rose and the Anik Award. In 1988, Allan produced the Tanner '88 series with Gary Trudeau and Robert Altman for HBO, which involved presenting a fictional presidential candidate to the entire country—the first reality television show. Allan also wrote material for the films The Player and Pret A Porter.
Allan worked on Saturday Night Live from 1989 through 1992 as the segment reel producer writing parody title sequences, commercials and short film inclusions for the live show. Allan has written a rock opera, McNulty, performed by the Canadian rock group, Mashmakhan and is currently completing an original screenplay Was That Me?
Other credits to Allan’s name include: a five-year Broadway career in several rock musicals including Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. He also starred in such films as Nashville, Slap Shot, and Welcome to L.A. Allan served as assistant director and associate producer on numerous films including The Player, Short Cuts and Dead Man Walking.
