Mike Nichols to receive AFI's Life Achievement Award

Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols has been selected by the American Film Institute to receive the 38th annual AFI Life Achievement Award.

AFI Board of Trustees Chairman Howard Stringer said, "Genius is a word oft overused in our world, but surely not in the case of Mike Nichols," Stringer said. "His artistry has spanned the mediums of modern storytelling -- movies, television and the stage -- and his gifts across five decades continue to inspire artists and audiences alike."

The 77-year-old filmmaker joins a long list of AFI Life Achievement Award recipients including Sean Connery, Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Taylor and directors John Ford, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese.

Nichols' first Oscar nomination was in 1966 for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and the following year, he won for "The Graduate."

Nichols, one of only ten individuals who have won the esteemed Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy awards, said in a statement, "I am surprised and pleased. The AFI award is truly an honor. I feel very blessed. I was watching 'The Graduate' on my BlackBerry last week and it really holds up."

Nichols will receive the award at a gala tribute next summer in Los Angeles.