Robert Altman at the premiere of ' A Prairie Home Companion ' at The 56th Berlin Film Festival 2006 ( Berlinale ). Berlin, Germany - 12.02.06

The SHORT CUTS director is nervous about new offering A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION - which stars MERYL STREEP, LINDSAY LOHAN and KEVIN KLINE - hitting cinemas because negative reactions have always hurt him deeply.

The 81-year-old says, "I'm scared s**tless. I get very sensitive about reviews and what people have said.

"As long as I've been doing this, I still take it personally. I don't know why. I guess that's just my nature."