Ep100 - Paul Schrader, Screenwriter 'Taxi Driver,' 'Raging Bull,' & 'First Reformed' by Creative Principles Podcast published on 2018-06-26T21:58:34Z While attending film school at UCLA, Paul Schrader saw the film, 'Pickpocket' (1959), which essentially formed the path of his career. During his stay at the university, Schrader thought there was a major difference between critics and filmmakers, but this film helped him understand the artistic view of each. “I looked down on them,” he said about his time as a critic. “I’m sure they looked down on me. But, I thought what they were doing was trivial. I thought what I was doing was superior to what they were doing. But, when I saw this film Pickpocket, it hit me for the first time that there could actually be a place for me.” “I could make that film,” he thought to himself in the theater. “I saw that there was a bridge between my theological upbringing and my current love of the movies,” said Schrader. In the film, a man commits crimes and then goes and writes about those crimes in his diary. “Two years later, I wrote Taxi Driver, which is exactly that film...” In addition to this audio format, the print interview for this conversation is available on Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s website. Stay up-to-date on other creative advice and watch our weekly YouTube series at www.creativeprinciples.live Genre Podcast