Peter Cameron

Paul Schrader, whose name is included in the generation of filmmakers like Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, Lucas, and De Palma, is considered one of the most important screenwriters of today. Forbidden from watching films until the age of 18 due to his Calvinist parents' beliefs, Schrader made up for lost time by taking film courses at Columbia University. Influenced by Bresson, Ozu, and Dreyer (author of *Transcendental Style in Film*), Schrader worked as a film critic for a time before turning to screenwriting. As fate would have it, he won the jackpot on a slot machine playing with his brother, receiving a $350,000 prize. By then, Schrader's name had already been written among Hollywood's most important screenwriters with *Taxi Driver*. The film's extraordinary success led him to direct his own films. Of course, he didn't feel very comfortable in Hollywood, a place where different styles and approaches aren't easily embraced or risked, but he didn't give up directing. Many consider his best film to be the 1985 Japanese co-production *Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters*. Schrader's characteristic features include writing and directing stories about hopeless men whose worlds have fallen apart and who are at odds with life and order.