In a 2017 interview with The Film Stage, Paul Schrader discussed the origins of the screenplay for Taxi Driver. He said that he was inspired by two events: the Attica Prison riots of 1971 and the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981. Schrader was struck by the fact that both events seemed to point to a growing sense of anger and alienation in American society. He wanted to explore these themes in a film, and he felt that the character of Travis Bickle would be the perfect vehicle for this exploration.
Schrader began writing the screenplay in 1981, and he finished it in 1982. He said that he drew on his own experiences as a young man living in New York City in the 1970s to create the character of Travis. Schrader also said that he was influenced by the films of Martin Scorsese, particularly Mean Streets (1973) and Raging Bull (1980).
How Driver Almost Happened
In the same interview, Schrader revealed that Taxi Driver almost didn't happen. He said that the studio was hesitant to make the film because they thought it was too dark and violent. Schrader eventually convinced them to make the film, but he had to agree to certain compromises. For example, he had to cut down the violence in the script, and he had to add a few scenes that would make the film more palatable to mainstream audiences.
Despite these compromises, Schrader was still able to make the film that he wanted to make. Taxi Driver was a critical and commercial success, and it is now considered one of the greatest films of all time. The film's dark and violent depiction of urban life has influenced countless other films, and it has helped to shape the way that we think about mental illness and violence in society.