About this episode
The episode discusses the making of 'Taxi Driver' and its relevance 50 years after its release.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of 'Taxi Driver', which is somehow even more relevant now than it was in 1976. But the truth is 'Taxi Driver' almost didn't make it to the screen. This week, Chris and Lizzie break down how Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader fought to make a dark, deeply uncommercial script on a shoestring budget, that made the studio nervous from the start. Discover why the Board of Education nearly blocked Jodie Foster's controversial casting, and how Robert De Niro stepped in as her de facto acting coach on set. Plus find out how Scorsese wound up as a last minute replacement for one of his own actors, and why the production almost drove him to go full Travis Bickle on the studio execs... until Steven Spielberg talked him down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Hosts: Chris, Lizzie
Topics covered
- film history
- Taxi Driver
- Martin Scorsese
- casting controversies
- production challenges
Keywords
- Taxi Driver
- Martin Scorsese
- Paul Schrader
- Jodie Foster
- Robert De Niro
- film production
- casting
- 1976
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Taxi Driver
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