You Don't Make Pictures For Oscars.

The Most Important Thing Is The Script.

I’m Not Interested In A Realistic Look, Not At All, Not Ever. Every Film Should Look The Way I Feel.

I Think If You Think Of Yourself As Religious And If You're Given A Gift, Some May Not Think It's That Great A Gift - Some Critics. But Others Might, You Know. So You Say, Look - Whether It's Good, Bad Or Indifferent, This Is What I Do.

It’s Also True That I Might Have Never Made Taxi Driver [1976] Were It Not For The Success Of Alice [doesn’t Live Here Anymore, 1974]. The Question Of Commercialism Is A Source Of Worry. Must One Make A Choice, Must It Be A Matter Of Either Setting Your Sights On Winning An Academy Award And Becoming A Millionaire, Or Making Only The Movies You Want To Make And Starving To Death?

Always Get To The Set Or The Location Early, So That You Can Be All Alone And Draw Your Inspiration For The Blocking And The Setups In Private And Quiet. In One Sense, It's About Protecting Yourself; In Another Sense, It's About Always Being Open To Surprise, Even From The Set, Because There May Be Some Detail That You Hadn't Noticed. I Think This Is Crucial. There Are Many Pictures That Seem Good In So Many Ways Except One: They Lack A Sense Of Surprise, They've Never Left The Page.