'Taxi Driver' wasn't autobiographical in terms of the actual events, but I did draw on my own mental state.

That's just my disposition - to create a situation where you have to come up with something.

Don't ever let the viewer settle in and get ahead of you.

Screenplays are not works of art. They are invitations to others to collaborate on a work of art.

You know, when you're in your twenties you use a great deal of symbolism. You somehow think that a character standing beneath a cross is more interesting than a character standing underneath a billboard, but when you get a little older you realize that there's not much difference.

Now I see it clearly. My whole life has pointed in one direction. I see that now. There never has been any choice for me.

One of the things that I do like about filmmaking is that you find out how to solve new problems.