- Born
- Birth namePaul Joseph Schrader
- Height1.73 m
- Although his name is often linked to that of the "movie brat" generation (Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian De Palma, etc.) Paul Schrader's background couldn't have been more different than theirs. His strict Calvinist parents refused to allow him to see a film until he was 18. Although he more than made up for lost time when studying at Calvin College, Columbia University and UCLA's graduate film program, his influences were far removed from those of his contemporaries--Robert Bresson, Yasujirô Ozu and Carl Theodor Dreyer (about whom he wrote a book, "Transcendental Style in Film") rather than Saturday-morning serials. After a period as a film critic (and protégé of Pauline Kael), he began writing screenplays, hitting the jackpot when he and his brother, Leonard Schrader (a Japanese expert), were paid the then-record sum of $325,000, thus establishing his reputation as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters, which was consolidated when Martin Scorsese filmed Schrader's script Taxi Driver (1976), written in the early 1970s during a bout of drinking and depression. The success of the film allowed Schrader to start directing his own films, which have been notable for their willingness to take stylistic and thematic risks while still working squarely within the Hollywood system. The most original of his films (which he and many others regard as his best) was the Japanese co-production Mishima - une vie en quatre chapitres (1985).- IMDb mini biography by: Michael Brooke <michael@everyman.demon.co.uk> (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)
- SpousesMary Beth Hurt(August 6, 1983 - present) (2 children)Jeannine Oppewall(1969 - July 1976) (divorced)
- ChildrenMolly Johanna Schrader
- ParentsCharles A. SchraderJoan Fisher
- RelativesLeonard Schrader(Sibling)
- Usually writes and directs stories about men who fall into desperation as their world crumbles around them.
- His films are often set at night.
- Frequently casts Willem Dafoe in his films.
- Characters who are often times lonely, surrounded by the seedy side of sex. Hardcore, Taxi Driver, American Gigolo.
- Has frequently written about characters who are lonely, isolated, surrounded by the seedy side of sex. Hardcore, Taxi Driver, American Gigolo, etc.
- Based his screenplay for Taxi Driver (1976) on his own experiences of living in Los Angeles, away from his familiar surroundings, feeling completely isolated and struggling with severe depression and contemplating suicide.
- Credits movie critic Pauline Kael with helping start his career by writing him a recommendation letter for film school.
- Originally directed L'Exorciste : Au commencement (2004), but his final version was rejected by the producers for not being enough of a marketable mainstream horror film product. Schrader was replaced by Renny Harlin, who re-shot about 80% of the film. Schrader received no credit for that version. However, Morgan Creek Pictures did a limited release of Schrader's Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005) on May 20, 2005. The DVD was released on October 25, 2005. Now two radically different versions exist, that share some story elements, some footage and some cast members.
- Like François Truffaut, Peter Bogdanovich, Jean-Luc Godard, Wim Wenders or Olivier Assayas, Schrader began his film career as a film critic (for the L.A. Free Press and Cinema Magazine).
- Being raised on Calvinist principles and severe parentage, he saw his first movie, Monte là-d'ssus (1961), at age 17.
- What fascinates me are people who want to be one thing but who behave in a way contradictory to that. Who might say, "I want to be happy, but I keep doing things that make me unhappy".
- We believed in a very real hell and very real evil. My mother took my hand once and stabbed me with a needle. She said, "You know how that felt, when the needle hit your thumb? Well, hell is like that... all the time!".
- If you have made a film that has been shelved or discarded, nobody - not your wife or best friend - will ever believe it is any good, because they [Hollywood studios] don't discard $35 mill. investments.
- Every time you think the studios have fucked you every way they can, they come up with a new way.
- I killed more screen characters in the first four films I wrote than I have since. I realized I had to stop writing violence.
- Yakuza (1975) - $162,500
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content