WHAT WENT WRONG Taxi Driver
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Apr 20, 2026 A deep dive into how Taxi Driver nearly never reached the screen and the tense studio battles that almost stopped it. Stories about controversial casting decisions and Jodie Foster’s protected arrival on set. Behind-the-scenes grit: guerrilla New York shoots, De Niro getting a cab license, and Scorsese almost walking away before a Spielberg intervention.
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Script Born From Schrader's Nighttime Spiral
- Paul Schrader conceived Taxi Driver after a month-long spiral of drinking, isolation, and hospitalization for an ulcer.
- He realized the taxi was the perfect metaphor for urban loneliness and wrote the first two drafts in under two weeks.
Fame And Pay Cuts Made The Film Possible
- Taxi Driver only got made because Scorsese and De Niro rose in profile after Mean Streets and The Godfather Part II, turning the package into a bankable offer.
- Every major player took steep pay cuts (De Niro $35k, Scorsese $65k) to keep the budget at $1.3M.
Jodie Foster Cleared After Psychiatrist Interview
- Jodie Foster, then 12, faced a Board of Education refusal for her work permit to play Iris and underwent a four-hour psychiatric interview to get cleared.
- The set had a welfare worker daily and older sister Connie doubled for any more explicit moments.
