A Graduate of the University of Iowa in theater and film, Nicholas has become one of Hollywood's most respected film writers and directors. Starting in the film industry as a publicist for Paramount, his novel Target Practice was published in 1974. He made the best seller lists with his second novel, The Seven-Percent Solution, which he later adapted into a screenplay and co-directed as a movie, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay Adaptation. He also wrote several bestselling novels before directing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. His impressive list of writing and directing credits include The Day After, an ABC movie deemed the most watched TV film in history, and nominated for 17 Emmy Awards. He has directed several other feature films, including: Fatal Attraction, Sommersby, Volunteers with Tom Hanks and John Candy, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, nominated for two Academy Awards, and The High Ground for Castle Rock and Tom Cruise. He is currently scheduled to direct Frequency, an original SciFi screenplay for New Line.