I was looking for people who didn't have any preconceptions about films, what I call the "post-rules" generation.

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

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.

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

There's no escape. I'm God's only man.

Those artists who say that somehow therapy or analysis will thwart their creativity are completely misinformed. It's absolutely the opposite: it opens closed doors.

All these teachers and [screenwriting] books mean you see movies that have been worked over by more committees wielding more rules, that all originality and authorship is lost. That's why you're seeing superstars like Brad Pitt in THE FIGHT CLUB and Tom Cruise in MAGNOLIA. They're desperately searching for people writing and directing off-formula movies.