Cher, Michael Douglas & More Pay Tribute to Director Mike Nichols

ET's Mark Steines joined a host of A-listers including Cher, Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford as the American Film Institute honored Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols with its annual Life Achievement Award in L.A. on Thursday night.

Cher said Nichols gave her some unforgettable advice on the set of 1983's 'Silkwood': "He said you have to risk looking like an ass. You have to put it all out there because you never can be great unless you’re prepared to look stupid… He was so wonderful to me."

Douglas, last year's AFI Life Achievement Award recipient, joked: "The American Film Institute in particular, when you look at the roster of people you're surrounded with, obviously they set the bar kind of low last year." He added, "Now we’re getting back up to where it should be: someone like Mike Nichols."