Mike J. Nichols

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For the Academy Award winning film director, see Mike Nichols.

Mike J. Nichols is a film editor living in Santa Clarita, California and originally from Illinois.

Nichols has become a cult hero of sorts as "The Phantom Editor" who created an acclaimed yet controversial re-cut of George Lucas' Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, known as The Phantom Edit. According to the re-done scroll, the self-proclaimed "The Phantom Editor" [1] stated he re-edited a standard VHS version of "The Phantom Menace" into what he believed was "a much stronger version of the film" He also did an edit of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones called *Attack of the Phantom where he edited the movie into a much stronger film, and added commentary about why he made the cuts and edits that he did.

"This project began as a personal endeavor when I watched 'The Phantom Menace' as an audience, analyzed it with the care and attention of a Lucas team member, and carefully re-edited it, concentrating on creating the storytelling style that Lucas originally made famous." (quote from, "The Phantom Edit" - Salon.com, Nov 2001)

He currently works in Los Angeles as both an editor and a post production supervisor. His editing credits include the Style network's "Foody Call" (One of six new shows worth its Salt. - Time magazine, June 05) and the indie hit, My Father's House - (One of the truest, subtlest, best films I've seen in years. - Ray Carney, Author of Cassavetes on Cassavetes)

Nichols has been a post production supervisor on the DVD Extras for such Hollywood films as "Jarhead" and "Rent" and is noted as being one of the top experts in professional Final Cut Pro [2] post production for television and film.