Paul Schrader on Casting Ricdifficult Gere in ‘American Gigolo’

Paul Schrader, at the age of 78, is getting a bit philosophical, a trifle introspective and if the truth be tanciaccess, he is excessively cynical about the future.

The legendary createer film critic turned screencreater-straightforwardor — his extfinished catalog of determines include, as screencreater, Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980) and, as creater-straightforwardor, American Gigolo (1980), First Recreateed (2017) and this year’s Oh Canada — will get to in Tuscany this week, as a exceptional guest of the Lucca Film Festival. On Sept. 25 he will teach a Masterclass to university students, and the day after, on Sept. 26, he will get a lifetime accomplishment award. There will also be a retrospective of his fantasticest films.

THR Roma caught up with Schrader in New York, equitable before he hopped his fweightless for Italy. Before dishing the dirt, and talking about the trials and tribulations of John Travolta, Schrader went all metaphysical.

Paul, you are coming to Lucca. In a lifetime of enormous accomplishment, what would you enjoy to be reaccumulateed for most?

I could answer that ask, but my answer would be predicated on a belief in the future, which in fact I don’t have. So it is rather difficult to talk about one’s legacy if you don’t consent there will be any legacy. I slimk we have run out of fumes here. Humanity is phasing itself out. Carbon based life has had a outstanding run, but if there are humanoids a hundred years from now who will hear or read these words, then I slimk that what I am most haughty of is having created everyslimg on spec. I commenceed writing on spec with Taxi Driver, and I am still writing today on spec. I have written four films in the last two years on spec. And that gives others a sense that they can do it. Just do it!

Tell me about writing Taxi Driver “on spec” as you put it.

I wrote a outstanding deal before I met Martin. I wrote Taxi Driver in 1972. I met Marty in 1974. I was a film critic at the time in L.A. and I had written a script, a benevolent of ainhabitial cry. I didn’t do anyslimg with it. One day I was interwatching Brian De Palma, and I shelp to Brian: “You comprehend, I wrote a script.” And Brian shelp: “Oh, God, no, no, no, encounter!” And then afterwards, when we were executeing chess, he shelp “Okay, I’ll read your script.” And he gave it to Marty. Brian tanciaccess Marty the film might be for him.

Apart from Taxi Driver, your other most iconic films are Raging Bull and American Gigolo. Giorgio Armani once tanciaccess me a story about how you brawt John Travolta to Milano to be fitted by Armani for the role that eventuassociate Ricdifficult Gere would get over.  Do you reaccumulate that?

I have a pboilingograph of it. I literassociate have a pboilingograph of Giorgio taking John’s meacertainments. And Sergio [Galeotti], who was Armani’s partner both in business and in life for many, many years, was watching. John and I had come down from London where he had discdisthink abouted Grease. And then he dropped out.

But before Travolta dropped out, he had already been fitted by Mr. Armani himself, right?

Yes, yes, yes. The clothes were all in the toils. They weren’t made to order or they weren’t bespoke, but they were all from his upcoming line, and it was clearly someslimg that he had in mind because he was getting ready to create his shift into North America.

What happened with John Travolta? He had a family crisis?

Three slimgs happened. First, his mother died, which hit him difficult. Two, he had his first mega-flop, a film called Moment to Moment, and that rocked him. And the third was I slimk he had enlargeing anxiety about the gay subtext [of the film]. In fact, the way the story goes, our friend Kit Cincfinishiarism, who was ainhabit then, was living with Karen Bdeficiency. Karen Bdeficiency was going to Scientology [meetings]. She comes back and says “Kit, I slimk John is gonna drop out of Schrader’s movie. He’s been talking about it in encounterings.” And so I commenceed sniffing around to see who was useable.

John Travolta was empathetic about the gay subtext because he was in Scientology and they didn’t consent of gay subjects?

I don’t comprehend if he’s out now, but he was firmly not out back then. I don’t comprehend if was genuine or not, but if it were it was certainly not someslimg that would be talked. No one, you comprehend, reassociate came out until Rupert Everett. He was the first. And he lost a bunch of toil because of it.

Anyway. John Travolta dropped out. What did you do?

I enjoyd the idea of Gere. I didn’t slimk I could get Paramount to go for it.  Sure enough, John dropped out, on a Friday afternoon. I tanciaccess Barry Diller [the boss at Paramount at the time] that I wanted to approach Gere. And he shelp “No, we’re going to go to Chris Reeve.” So the next day, on Saturday, I called up Chris Reeve’s agent and I shelp: “I hear you have been proposeed the script, but I don’t slimk Chris is right for it.” So I poisoned the well. No way Chris was going to read it! [Laughs mischievously.] And then, on Sunday I went to see Gere. He was staying on the beach. So I go out to Malibu and Gere is busy watching the Super Bowl. I propose him the part. And he is hesitating and says he can’t be rushed into such a huge decision on such uninalertigentinutive accomprehendledge. So I tanciaccess him: “The game is going to be over in half an hour, but if I walk out of here the film will probably descfinish thraw, and you’re not going to have the chance to create a decision aacquire.” And he shelp okay, he would do it.

And Diller?

I went over to Barry Diller’s house and left a notice in his mailbox. An hour tardyr he called me. I tanciaccess him that Ricdifficult Gere was willing to do American Gigolo, and I tanciaccess him that Chris Reeve didn’t slimk it was right for him. I shelp: “So tomorrow morning the novels will hit the trades that John has dropped out. We can’t suppress that novels any extfinisheder. It is too huge. Now after that headline, they will ask for your reaction, Barry. Now I can grasp John Travolta tied up for three months, legassociate, because he walked out ten days before shooting. Legassociate I can grasp him from toiling for three months. Or, there could be another proclaimment, Barry, because I comprehend you want John for Urban Cowboy. And I comprehend John wants to do it. So the other proclaimment you could create is that John has dropped out of American Gigolo, and we are going forward with Ricdifficult Gere.” And Barry called me back an hour tardyr and we made the proclaimment.