Paul Schrader

Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first became known for writing the screenplay of Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scorsese, writing or co-writing ''Raging Bull'' (1980), ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988), and ''Bringing Out the Dead'' (1999). Schrader has also worked extensively as a director: his 23 films include ''Blue Collar'' (1978), ''Hardcore'' (1979), ''American Gigolo'' (1980), ''Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters'' (1985), ''Light Sleeper'' (1992), ''Affliction'' (1997), and ''First Reformed'' (2017), with the last of these earning him his first Academy Award nomination. Schrader's work frequently depicts "man in a room" stories which feature isolated, troubled men confronting an existential crisis.

Raised in a strict Calvinist family, Schrader attended Calvin College before pursuing film studies at UCLA on the encouragement of film critic Pauline Kael. He then worked as a film scholar and critic, publishing the book ''Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer'' (1972) before transitioning to screenwriting in 1974. The success of ''Taxi Driver'' in 1976 brought greater attention to his work, and Schrader began directing his own films, beginning with ''Blue Collar'' (co-written with his brother, Leonard Schrader). Schrader has described three of his recent films as a loose trilogy: ''First Reformed'' (2017), ''The Card Counter'' (2021), and ''Master Gardener'' (2022). Provided by Wikipedia