“If You Censor Art You Will Lose Crime and Punishment But You Will Still Have Raskolnikov”

August 5, 2013 in Excerpts, Film, Videos | Permalink

Paul Schrader, Hollywood poet of the American underbelly, which often hides in plain sight, just did an Ask Me Anything at Reddit to promote his new film, The Canyons. A few exchanges follow.

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Question:

Any insights about John Hinckley and the Reagan assassination attempt? What was your reaction and those of other people involved with Taxi Driver?

Paul Schrader:

I was scouting locations for Cat People when the news came over the radio. I said to the driver, it’s one of those Taxi Driver kids. When I got back to the hotel, the FBI was waiting for me because Hinckley had mentioned the film. They wanted to know if he had tried to contact me. This is a very thorny moral question. My feeling is that if you censor art you will lose Crime and Punishment but you will still have Raskolnikov. But I also feel that there is a level of moral responsibility as well.

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Question:

Is there anything you’ve written that didn’t get produce for whatever reason that you were really bummed to see not be?

Also, did you ever do coke with Scorsese?

Paul Schrader:

Yes, I did one about the crime world in Quebec in the 70s. I did about Ayahuasca and the world of hallucinogens. Those are two that come immediatly to mind and there are more.

The answer to the second question is yes, Marty quit before I did. He had a very bad asthma experience in Rome and fortunately he was able to stop cold.

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Question:

Any chance of you writing for Marty again in the future?

Paul Schrader:

I did an HBO pilot for him but HBO passed. We have no other plans.

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Question:

The lead characters in Raging Bull and in Taxi Driver, played by Robert De Niro, were damaged individuals with serious problems dealing with women. In the case of Jake La Motta, he was a wife abuser, and Travis Bickle was essentially a stalker.

What was your approach to balance these flaws and still make the characters sympathetic to the audience?

Paul Schrader:

I think likability is an overrated quality in screen characters. What they need to be is interesting. If you put an interesting person in front of the viewer for 45 minutes and don’t give another perspective the viewer will begin to empathize with a character he or she previously though beneath empathy. That’s one of the ways art works.

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Question:

What is it like working with Bret Easton Ellis?

Paul Schrader:

It was a lot of fun with Bret. He was my partner as well as my collaborator. I don’t think we are necessarily on the same page but we are in the same book.

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Question:

I don’t really have a question, I just thought The Canyons was great, I really enjoyed it. All of the “issues” I’ve read about in various interviews really didn’t show on screen. (Example – not being able to film at the mall, issues with filming at dusk, etc.) So great job.

Paul Schrader:

Thank you. Many people confuse a troubled production with a troubled film, but in fact there is little interrelation. Many great films have had agonizing production problems and many harmonious/happy filmmaking experiences have resulted in stinkers.

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A couple of pieces of a Schrader interview from 1982, at the time of Cat People:

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