Screenplays By Paul Schrader

"John Goodman as Larry"

"Ving Rhames as Marcus"

"Tom Sizemore as Tom Wolls"

"Marc Anthony as Noel"

"Cliff Curtis as Cy Coates"

"Mary Beth Hurt as Nurse Constance"

"Aida Turturro as Nurse Crupp"

"Phyllis Somerville as Mrs. Burke"

"Queen Latifah as Dispatcher Love (Voice Only)"

"Martin Scorsese as Dispatcher (Voice Only)"

"Why? Why? Why?...Why'd you do it? Why? You're so stupid...I'm not an animal. Why do you treat me like this? I'm not so bad."

"That reminds me of two friends of mines. One was married, one was single. The married guy tells the single guy: 'Oh, what's the matter with you? What's the matter with you? Look at me. And look at you. And look at me. And look at you. Let me get on with it. When I come home at night, my wife's at the door with a tall drink in her hand. And she gives me a nice hot bath. Then she gives me a nice rub-down. Then she makes passionate love to me. Then she makes me a nice dinner. What more could you ask for? You oughta try that.' The other friend says: 'Hey, that sounds great. When does your wife get home?'"

"That's the kind of girl that you want to bring home to your father - especially if he's a degenerate. Ah, seriously folks, it's a thrill to be standing here before you wonderful people tonight. Well, in fact, it's a thrill to be standing."

"It's over for me. Boxing's over for me. I'm through. I'm tired of worryin' about weight all the time. That's all I used to think about was weight, weight, weight. After a while, you know, you realize other things in life. I mean, I'm very grateful. Boxing's been good to me: I've got a nice house, I've got three great kids, I've got a wonderful, beautiful wife - what more could I ask for?"

"[After being beaten half to death by Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake is still standing.] Hey, Ray, I never went down, man! You never got me down, Ray! You hear me, you never got me down."

"I take the dive. What more do they want?...They want me to go down too? Well, I ain't goin' down, no, not for nobody."

"I'm gonna win. There's no way I'm goin' down. I don't go down for nobody."

"Who's an animal? Your mother's an animal, ya son of a bitch."

"[to Vickie] You ever think of anyone else when we're in bed?...You know, like when we made love?"

"[to Vickie] You know how beautiful you are? Anybody ever tell you how beautiful? Yeah, tell you all the time."

"Friends. They're in a huddle. Big business meeting. By the pool, they sit around and talk. Big deals. They make sure she can hear. Big Man. Get the fuck outta here. Big shot. Get 'em all in a back room, smack 'em around, no more big shot, without his gun. They're tough guys. They're all tough guys....Big Shot."

"I remember those cheers They still ring in my ears And for years they'll remain in my thoughts. Cuz one night I took off my robe And what'd I do? I forgot to wear shorts. I recall every fall, every hook, every jab; The worst way a guy could get rid of his flab. As you know, my life wasn't drab... Though I'd rather hear you cheer, When I delve into Shakespeare. "A Horse, a Horse, my Kingdom for a Horse," I haven't had a winner in six months. I know I'm no Olivier But if he fought Sugar Ray, He would say That the thing ain't the ring, It's the play. So gimme a stage Where this bull here can rage. And though I can fight, I'd much rather recite That's entertainment! That's entertainment.."

"He gave you the old good news/bad news routine. The good news is - you're gonna get the shot at the title. And the bad news is - they want ya to do the old flip-flop for 'em."

"[on the phone, not realizing it's his brother Jake who's called him] Salvy, this ain't funny anymore. Is it you? I know somebody's there. I can hear you breathin'. You listenin'? Your mother sucks fuckin' big fuckin' elephant dicks. You got that?"

"What are ya thinkin' about? Ya keep lookin'. Where the fuck you going? You're dead! You're married! You're a married man, it's all over. Leave the young girls for me."

"Irma: I'm not gonna be here when you get back, you fuckin' bunch of guineas, you're always hangin' out together. Why don't you fuckin' stop? You're not goin' on business. You're gonna suck each other off, right? Suck 'em, suck 'em baby. You fuckin' queer. Faggot."

"Tommy Como: [After Janiro fight] He ain't pretty no more."

"Vickie: [to Jake] I fucked all of them! What do you want me to say?...I fucked all of them - Tommy, Salvy, your brother! All of them! I sucked your brother's cock, what do you want me to say?...I sucked his cock and everybody else on the fucking street, too. What do you want? You're nothin' but a fat pig, selfish fool! [Jake viciously slaps her again] His fucking cock is bigger than yours, too!"

"Robert De Niro — Jake LaMotta"

"Joe Pesci — Joey LaMotta"

"Cathy Moriarty - Vickie Thailer"

"Lori Anne Flax — Irma"

"Nicholas Colasanto — Tommy Como"

"Frank Vincent - Salvy Batts"

"[Last lines, to himself] Go get 'em, champ. I'm da boss, I'm da boss, I'm da boss, I'm da boss, I'm da boss... I'm da boss, I'm da boss, I'm da boss, I'm da boss, I'm da boss, I'm da boss."

"Guy comes home, finds his wife in bed with another guy. The wife says, 'Look who's here. Big mouth. Now the whole neighborhood'll know.'"

"[in a note] Dear Iris: This money should be used for your trip. By the time you read this, I will be dead. Travis."

"[in an anniversary card to his parents] Dear Father and Mother: July is the month I remember which brings not only your wedding anniversary but also Father's Day and Mother's birthday. I'm sorry I can't remember the exact dates, but I hope this card will take care of them all. I'm sorry again I cannot send you my address like I promised to last year. But the sensitive nature of my work for the government demands utmost secrecy. I know you will understand. I am healthy and well and making lots of money. I have been going with a girl for several months and I know you would be proud if you could see her. Her name is Betsy but I can tell you no more than that...I hope this card finds you all well as it does me. I hope no one has died. Don't worry about me. One day, they'll be a knock on the door and it'll be me. Love, Travis."

"[looking in the mirror] Yeah. Huh? [draws] Huh? Huh? Faster than you, you fuckin' son of a...I saw you comin', you fuck. Shit-heel. [reholsters] I'm standin' here. You make the move. You make the move. It's your move. Huh? [draws gun from concealed forearm holster] Don't try it, you fuck. [reholsters] You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? [turns around to look behind him] Well, then who the Hell else are you talking- You talking to me? Well, I'm the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you're talking to? Oh yeah? Huh? 'kay. [whips out his gun again] Huh? (Listen you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. Who would not let- Listen you fuckers, you screwheads. Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is someone who stood up. Here is...) [draws his gun] You're dead."

"The idea had been growing in my brain for some time. True force. All the king's men cannot put it back together again."

"June 29. I gotta get in shape now. Too much sittin' is ruinin' my body. Too much abuse has gone on for too long. From now on, it will be fifty push-ups each morning, fifty pull-ups. There'll be no more pills, there'll be no more bad food, no more destroyers of my body. From now on, it will be total organization. Every muscle must be tight."

"Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man. June 8. My life has taken another turn again. The days can go on with regularity over and over, one day indistinguishable from the next. A long continuous chain. Then suddenly, there is a change."

"May 10. Thank God for the rain which has helped wash away the garbage and trash off the sidewalks. I'm working long hours now, six in the afternoon to six in the morning. Sometimes even eight in the morning, six days a week. Sometimes seven days a week. It's a long hustle but it keeps me real busy. I can take in three, three fifty a week. Sometimes even more when I do it off the meter. All the animals come out at night - whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. I go all over. I take people to the Bronx, Brooklyn, I take 'em to Harlem. I don't care. Don't make no difference to me. It does to some. Some won't even take spooks. Don't make no difference to me."

"I realize now how much she's just like the others - cold and distant, and many people are like that. Women for sure. They're like a union."

"I tried several times to call her, but after the first call, she wouldn't come to the phone any longer. I also sent flowers but with no luck. The smell of the flowers only made me sicker. The headaches got worse. I think I got stomach cancer. I shouldn't complain though. You're only as healthy, you're only as healthy as you feel. You're only as...healthy...as...you...feel."

"[talking on the phone to Betsy] Hello Betsy. Hi, it's Travis. How ya doin'? Listen, uh, I'm, I'm sorry about the, the other night. I didn't know that was the way you felt about it. Well, I-I didn't know that was the way you felt. I-I-I would have taken ya somewhere else. Uh, are you feeling better or oh you maybe had a virus or somethin', a 24-hour virus you know. It happens. Yeah, umm, you uh, you're workin' hard. Yeah. Uh, would you like to have, uh, some dinner, uh with me in the next, you know, few days or somethin'? Well, how about just a cup of coffee? I'll come by the, uh, headquarters or somethin', we could, uh... Oh, OK, OK. Did you get my flowers in the...? You didn't get them? I sent some flowers, uh...Yeah, well, OK, OK. Can I call you again? Uh, tomorrow or the next day? OK. No, I'm gonna...OK. Yeah, sure, OK. So long."

"I called Betsy again at her office and she said maybe we'd go to a movie together after she gets off work tomorrow. That's my day off. At first she hesitated but I called her again and then she agreed. Betsy, Betsy. Oh no, Betsy what? I forgot to ask her last name again. Damn. I got to remember stuff like that."

"May 26. Four o'clock p.m. I took Betsy to Charles Coffee Shop on Columbus Circle. I had black coffee and apple pie with a slice of melted yellow cheese. I think that was a good selection. Betsy had coffee and a fruit salad dish. She could have had anything she wanted."

"I first saw her at Palantine Campaign headquarters at 63rd and Broadway. She was wearing a white dress. She appeared like an angel. Out of this filthy mess, she is alone. They...cannot...touch...her."

"All my life needed was a sense of someplace to go. I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention. I believe that someone should become a person like other people."