Your perception of the famous “Taxi Driver” scene might be forever changed after the renowned director shared some behind-the-scenes insights. Martin Scorsese revealed to Stephen Colbert that persistent producers were attempting to interrupt him while capturing one of cinema’s most memorable moments. (Check out the videos below for more context.)
During the recent episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert inquired whether it was accurate that producers were “pressuring you to edit” during the filming of Robert De Niro’s iconic “You talkin’ to me?” scene from “Taxi Driver” (1976). Scorsese confirmed, saying, “Yeah. We were behind schedule. We were in such trouble, and they were banging on the door. I had to open the door and say:
‘This is good. This is good! Wait, give me five, two ― two more minutes. … One more take, one more take!’ And he was improvising it.”
Scorsese elaborated on the peculiar circumstances, describing how he was at De Niro’s feet while the actor spontaneously delivered the famous line. The filmmaker disclosed that De Niro came up with “You talkin’ to me?” on the spot, corroborating an earlier statement by the actor. (Reports suggest that De Niro drew inspiration from rocker Bruce Springsteen or perhaps an underground comic.)
As Scorsese recalled, “I was like, ‘Do it again, do it again,’ and he was doing the thing with the moves and the gun. They were mad.” Colbert humorously remarked, “So if you had stayed on schedule, there would have been no ‘You talkin’ to me?’” To which Scorsese replied, “That’s right. And it wasn’t in the script either.”
The outcome was cinematic magic. De Niro’s increasingly paranoid character, Travis Bickle, practices his gun draw, repeating the iconic line “You talkin’ to me?”
This moment would go on to be ingrained in pop culture. Both Scorsese and De Niro, now in their 80s, have received Oscar nominations for their latest joint project, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
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