1 00:00:03,990 --> 00:00:06,890 Speaker 1: Happy Monday, everyone out there in Hollywoodland. It's the good Dr. 2 00:00:06,950 --> 00:00:09,770 Speaker 1: Zeth Lundy here, welcoming you to The Working Week, which 3 00:00:09,830 --> 00:00:12,230 Speaker 1: means another peek into our archive of stories at the 4 00:00:12,289 --> 00:00:15,340 Speaker 1: intersection of Hollywood and true crime. Today, we've got our 5 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: fully scripted and sound design episode on Jodie Foster, whose 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,820 Speaker 1: breakout role in the movie Taxi Driver happened 50 years 7 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:27,160 Speaker 1: ago in 1976. Some who saw that film at the 8 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,250 Speaker 1: time of its release weren't able to separate fiction from fantasy, 9 00:00:31,310 --> 00:00:34,599 Speaker 1: like this guy John Hinckley Jr., who became obsessed with 10 00:00:34,620 --> 00:00:37,449 Speaker 1: the movie, watching it over and over in the theater, 11 00:00:37,690 --> 00:00:41,370 Speaker 1: ultimately fixating on Jodie Foster, whom he believed, in his 12 00:00:41,409 --> 00:00:44,890 Speaker 1: twisted mind, needed saving, just like Travis Bickle and her 13 00:00:44,930 --> 00:00:48,129 Speaker 1: character in the film, and furthermore, that he was the 14 00:00:48,270 --> 00:00:51,090 Speaker 1: one to do it. Foster was still the object of 15 00:00:51,130 --> 00:00:53,489 Speaker 1: John Hinckley Jr. 's fantasy when a few years later 16 00:00:53,580 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: he attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. 17 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,300 Speaker 1: I hope you dig this episode on Jodie Foster, and 18 00:01:00,340 --> 00:01:02,380 Speaker 1: as you listen, see if you can catch all the 19 00:01:02,460 --> 00:01:06,069 Speaker 1: nods to Taxi Driver's script and its score. I hope 20 00:01:06,090 --> 00:01:08,429 Speaker 1: you'll join me here again on Wednesday for the wrap party, 21 00:01:08,470 --> 00:01:10,290 Speaker 1: where I'll respond to your messages, and then again on 22 00:01:10,410 --> 00:01:13,430 Speaker 1: Friday for a new installment of The Screening Room, in 23 00:01:13,450 --> 00:01:16,090 Speaker 1: which I'll do a deep dive into the 1991 Jonathan 24 00:01:16,110 --> 00:01:17,890 Speaker 1: Demme film, The Silence of the Lambs. 25 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,320 Speaker 2: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 26 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 2: Please check the show notes for more information. Hollywoodland is 27 00:01:28,420 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 2: a production of Double Elvis. J. 28 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,870 Speaker 3: Wilkes Booth. He moves down the aisle he had measured 29 00:01:35,050 --> 00:01:41,289 Speaker 3: once before. He passes Lincoln's bodyguard, a-nodding at the door. 30 00:01:41,890 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 3: He holds a dagger in his right hand, a pistol 31 00:01:45,620 --> 00:01:49,020 Speaker 3: in his left. He shoots poor Lincoln in the temple 32 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 3: and sends his soldier ass. 33 00:01:52,620 --> 00:01:57,260 Speaker 2: The stories about Jodie Foster are insane. She was nominated 34 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,590 Speaker 2: for an Academy Award for playing a child prostitute when 35 00:02:00,650 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 2: she was only 12. She gave up acting to go 36 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,630 Speaker 2: to college, where that Oscar-worthy performance made her the target 37 00:02:07,710 --> 00:02:12,090 Speaker 2: of a deranged stalker. She was both the inspiration for, 38 00:02:12,310 --> 00:02:15,950 Speaker 2: and the motive behind, the attempted assassination of a sitting 39 00:02:15,990 --> 00:02:21,780 Speaker 2: American president. And Jodie Foster made great films. Unlike that 40 00:02:21,860 --> 00:02:23,500 Speaker 2: clip I played you at the top of the show, 41 00:02:24,060 --> 00:02:26,889 Speaker 2: that wasn't from a great film. That was a fair 42 00:02:27,010 --> 00:02:30,510 Speaker 2: use sample from the Library of Congress of Bascon Lamar 43 00:02:30,570 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 2: Lumsford performing Booth Killed Lincoln in 1952. I played you 44 00:02:36,300 --> 00:02:38,639 Speaker 2: that clip because I can't afford the rights to a 45 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,579 Speaker 2: clip from Tom Cruise's Top Gun Maverick. And why would 46 00:02:42,620 --> 00:02:46,420 Speaker 2: I play you that particular slice of second generation wingman 47 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,820 Speaker 2: awesomeness could I afford it? Because that was the number 48 00:02:50,910 --> 00:02:56,130 Speaker 2: one movie in America on June 15th, 2022. And that 49 00:02:56,230 --> 00:02:59,750 Speaker 2: was the day that attempted presidential assassin John Hinckley Jr. 50 00:03:00,190 --> 00:03:05,179 Speaker 2: was released from custody on his own recognizance. On this episode, 51 00:03:05,620 --> 00:03:12,340 Speaker 2: teenage stardom, a deranged stalker, an attempted assassination, hereditary wingman awesomeness, 52 00:03:12,500 --> 00:03:18,310 Speaker 2: and Jodie Foster. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Hollywoodland. 53 00:03:48,940 --> 00:03:51,780 Speaker 2: The credits rolled as the lights came up. Half the 54 00:03:51,860 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 2: audience inside the Egyptian theater applauded and the other half 55 00:03:55,420 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 2: walked out disgusted. John Hinckley Jr. sat glued to his seat, 56 00:04:00,660 --> 00:04:03,970 Speaker 2: blinking like an owl in daylight. He couldn't believe what 57 00:04:03,990 --> 00:04:07,330 Speaker 2: he just saw. That was him up there on the screen. 58 00:04:08,130 --> 00:04:13,210 Speaker 2: Martin Scorsese's taxi driver was his story. Hinckley went home 59 00:04:13,270 --> 00:04:16,229 Speaker 2: and started keeping a diary, just like Travis Bickle in 60 00:04:16,270 --> 00:04:19,190 Speaker 2: the movie. The next night, he went back to the 61 00:04:19,250 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 2: Egyptian and saw it again. And the day after that, 62 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,860 Speaker 2: John Hinckley bought himself a gun. He needed four, just 63 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,979 Speaker 2: like the guy in the movie. Over the next few weeks, 64 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,479 Speaker 2: he saw the movie 15 times. The kid at the 65 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,340 Speaker 2: box office gave him lip about it, but Hinckley didn't 66 00:04:36,380 --> 00:04:39,380 Speaker 2: give a shit. He was overcome by this portrayal of 67 00:04:39,420 --> 00:04:43,030 Speaker 2: an obsessive loner plagued by insomnia with the potential to 68 00:04:43,089 --> 00:04:48,310 Speaker 2: cause absolute carnage. God's lonely man. And then, There was 69 00:04:48,370 --> 00:04:50,529 Speaker 2: the one person in the world that he could talk to, 70 00:04:51,130 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 2: an underage prostitute played by a 12-year-old Jodie Foster. Hinckley 71 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,820 Speaker 2: was a college dropout. He was trying and failing to 72 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: make it as a songwriter. And by day, he schlepped 73 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,820 Speaker 2: demos to studios and record companies. And by night, he 74 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:08,969 Speaker 2: went back to the Egyptian and shelled out the money 75 00:05:09,010 --> 00:05:12,050 Speaker 2: to see Taxi Driver again and again. He looked up 76 00:05:12,089 --> 00:05:14,849 Speaker 2: at the screen and watched Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle. 77 00:05:15,670 --> 00:05:17,990 Speaker 2: Only now it no longer looked like Robert De Niro. 78 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 2: It looked like himself. John Hinckley. Hinckley was Travis Bickle. 79 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,539 Speaker 2: Bickle had an easy rapport with the character Jodie Foster played. 80 00:05:28,300 --> 00:05:30,339 Speaker 2: Hinckley knew that he and Jodie Foster would have that 81 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 2: same rapport if they could only meet. He dreamed about 82 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,430 Speaker 2: running into her on the streets of L.A. She'd see 83 00:05:36,460 --> 00:05:38,990 Speaker 2: him for who he really was and then everything, everything 84 00:05:39,029 --> 00:05:44,539 Speaker 2: in this fucked up, useless life would become perfect. But L.A. 85 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 2: was too big for a coincidence like that to fall 86 00:05:47,460 --> 00:05:50,620 Speaker 2: in his lap. John Hinckley never had a chance to 87 00:05:50,660 --> 00:05:54,180 Speaker 2: meet Jodie Foster. That is until a few years later, 88 00:05:54,779 --> 00:05:58,460 Speaker 2: in May 1980, when Jodie Foster announced she was stepping 89 00:05:58,500 --> 00:06:04,810 Speaker 2: away from acting to pursue a degree at Yale. Compared 90 00:06:04,830 --> 00:06:08,170 Speaker 2: to Los Angeles, New Haven and the Yale campus were tiny. 91 00:06:08,770 --> 00:06:11,920 Speaker 2: She'd be much easier to find. Hinkley lied and told 92 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,940 Speaker 2: his parents he'd been accepted into a writing workshop at Yale. 93 00:06:15,700 --> 00:06:18,419 Speaker 2: He sold off stock in his father's oil company. And 94 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 2: when Jodie Foster's freshman year began, he rented a small 95 00:06:21,860 --> 00:06:25,870 Speaker 2: apartment off campus. He wrote about her endlessly in his diary. 96 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,270 Speaker 2: And then he saw her. Like she'd stepped off the 97 00:06:29,310 --> 00:06:33,289 Speaker 2: big screen and into his life. Walking with friends between classes. 98 00:06:34,089 --> 00:06:37,550 Speaker 2: She was 18 now. But to Hinkley, she'd always be 99 00:06:37,570 --> 00:06:41,460 Speaker 2: the girl she was in the movie. Innocent. but streetwise. 100 00:06:42,380 --> 00:06:46,460 Speaker 2: Someone he could protect, someone he could love. Problem was, 101 00:06:46,980 --> 00:06:49,220 Speaker 2: he just couldn't bring himself to talk to her. The 102 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,830 Speaker 2: moment was never right. He followed her to class, to 103 00:06:52,870 --> 00:06:55,770 Speaker 2: the coffee shop, and back to her dorm. He left 104 00:06:55,830 --> 00:06:58,930 Speaker 2: poems in her mailbox. He found her phone number, and 105 00:06:58,950 --> 00:07:00,830 Speaker 2: he set up a tape recorder so he could preserve 106 00:07:00,850 --> 00:07:04,380 Speaker 2: the call forever. He imagined he and Jodi would play 107 00:07:04,420 --> 00:07:06,580 Speaker 2: it back when they were older and think about the 108 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:09,460 Speaker 2: earliest days of their love for one another. and they'd 109 00:07:09,500 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 2: even play the tapes for their kids. But when Hinkley 110 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 2: copped to being the one who left notes in her mailbox, 111 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:17,810 Speaker 2: the phone call took a turn for the worse. Am 112 00:07:17,870 --> 00:07:20,670 Speaker 2: I supposed to know you? She asked him. Hinkley stammered, 113 00:07:20,690 --> 00:07:24,230 Speaker 2: and Jodie Foster quickly hung up. It took him days 114 00:07:24,270 --> 00:07:27,050 Speaker 2: to work up the nerve to call back. She told 115 00:07:27,090 --> 00:07:30,270 Speaker 2: him to stop calling. Stop leaving shit in her mailbox, too, 116 00:07:30,330 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 2: and on her doorstep. I'm not dangerous, he said. She 117 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 2: never said he was, but if she wasn't thinking it before, 118 00:07:36,940 --> 00:07:41,750 Speaker 2: she was now. In the background, Hinkley heard Foster's roommates laughing. 119 00:07:42,510 --> 00:07:45,670 Speaker 2: He asked what was so funny. They're laughing at you, John. 120 00:07:46,530 --> 00:07:51,250 Speaker 2: This time, Hinkley hung up. This approach wasn't working. In 121 00:07:51,290 --> 00:07:53,430 Speaker 2: his diary, he listed other ways to win her heart. 122 00:07:54,150 --> 00:07:56,850 Speaker 2: He could hijack a plane. He could kill himself in 123 00:07:56,890 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 2: front of her door. And then he asked himself, what 124 00:08:00,140 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 2: would Travis Bickle do? Well, Travis Bickle might try to 125 00:08:04,540 --> 00:08:10,430 Speaker 2: kill President Jimmy Carter. On October 2nd, 1980, Hinckley flew 126 00:08:10,470 --> 00:08:13,370 Speaker 2: to a Carter campaign rally in Dayton. He had three 127 00:08:13,450 --> 00:08:16,370 Speaker 2: revolvers in his luggage. He stashed them at a nearby 128 00:08:16,430 --> 00:08:18,990 Speaker 2: bus station. He just wanted to get a feel for it, 129 00:08:19,430 --> 00:08:21,810 Speaker 2: how close he could get, and if he would be searched. 130 00:08:22,850 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 2: He was able to get close, real close, and arms 131 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,140 Speaker 2: length away from the president. No one searched anything. He 132 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 2: could have done it right then and there, if he 133 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,339 Speaker 2: had the guns on him. And then Jodie Foster wouldn't know. 134 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,439 Speaker 2: He followed the Carter campaign to Nashville, ready to fall 135 00:08:38,500 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 2: through this time. But he got spooked. Something about it 136 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,459 Speaker 2: didn't feel right. In the airport, headed back to New Haven, 137 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:47,820 Speaker 2: his suitcase got searched. The cops found the three guns 138 00:08:47,900 --> 00:08:50,100 Speaker 2: plus a box of ammunition in a pair of handcuffs. 139 00:08:50,940 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 2: They didn't find his diary. The diary that laid out 140 00:08:53,700 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 2: his plan to assassinate President Jimmy Carter to impress Jodie Foster. 141 00:08:58,260 --> 00:09:00,040 Speaker 2: The cops took the guns and let him off with 142 00:09:00,090 --> 00:09:02,730 Speaker 2: a fine. And when he got home, he burned the 143 00:09:02,770 --> 00:09:05,050 Speaker 2: journal in his sink. And as soon as he could, 144 00:09:05,570 --> 00:09:09,030 Speaker 2: He bought more guns. John Hinckley spent the next few 145 00:09:09,070 --> 00:09:11,230 Speaker 2: months flying back and forth between his parents' home in 146 00:09:11,270 --> 00:09:15,220 Speaker 2: Colorado and New Haven, Connecticut. He would stalk Foster for 147 00:09:15,250 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 2: a few weeks, then get depressed and fly home. He 148 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:21,179 Speaker 2: sent a letter to the FBI warning them Jodi Foster 149 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,940 Speaker 2: was going to be kidnapped from her dorm for romantic reasons. 150 00:09:24,660 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 2: And then he swallowed a bottle full of antidepressants and 151 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 2: wound up in the hospital. When the psychiatrist asked if 152 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,699 Speaker 2: Hinckley had anything to live for, he said two things. 153 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,020 Speaker 2: Writing and Jodi Foster. When he got out of the hospital, 154 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 2: he flew back to New Haven. He left a note 155 00:09:39,780 --> 00:09:43,660 Speaker 2: on Jodie Foster's door again. Just wait, it read. I'll 156 00:09:43,700 --> 00:09:49,449 Speaker 2: rescue you very soon. In November, Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy 157 00:09:49,500 --> 00:09:53,610 Speaker 2: Carter in the presidential election. Hinckley shifted his sights. He 158 00:09:53,650 --> 00:09:57,170 Speaker 2: went to D.C. to stalk the president-elect. Reagan was living 159 00:09:57,210 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 2: temporarily in Blair House, on the other side of Pennsylvania. Avenue, 160 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 2: under Secret Service protection. Hinckley loitered out front. That's where 161 00:10:05,300 --> 00:10:08,939 Speaker 2: he was on December 8th, 1980, when news broke that 162 00:10:08,980 --> 00:10:12,460 Speaker 2: another obsessed gunman named Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon 163 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:15,729 Speaker 2: dead in New York City. Hinckley had once felt a 164 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,809 Speaker 2: connection with Beetle John, but as he abandoned his stake 165 00:10:18,850 --> 00:10:21,340 Speaker 2: out of Reagan, and hopped the bus from D.C. to 166 00:10:21,380 --> 00:10:23,839 Speaker 2: New York to attend a vigil. He now felt a 167 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 2: kinship with someone else, with Lennon's assassin, Mark David Chapman. 168 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 2: John Hinckley imagined himself hijacking a plane, landing it on 169 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 2: Yale's campus to pick up Jodie Foster, and then forcing 170 00:10:36,220 --> 00:10:38,900 Speaker 2: President Ronald Reagan to resign so he and Foster could 171 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,580 Speaker 2: live in the White House. He bought a postcard of 172 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,420 Speaker 2: the first family. On the back, he wrote, Dear Jodie, 173 00:10:44,780 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 2: don't they make a darling couple? Nancy is downright sexy. 174 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 2: One day, You and I will occupy the White House, 175 00:10:51,220 --> 00:10:54,020 Speaker 2: and the peasants will drool with envy. But he didn't 176 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,260 Speaker 2: send it. He slipped it into one of his books. 177 00:10:56,820 --> 00:10:59,140 Speaker 2: He always carried books with him when he traveled, like 178 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,350 Speaker 2: a small red-covered copy of The Catcher in the Rye, 179 00:11:01,870 --> 00:11:04,429 Speaker 2: the same book Mark David Chapman had been carrying when 180 00:11:04,450 --> 00:11:09,510 Speaker 2: he shot John Lennon. Hinkley's parents got tired of him 181 00:11:09,570 --> 00:11:11,790 Speaker 2: flying back and forth on their dime, and they got 182 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 2: tired of his zombie ass appearing at their home looking 183 00:11:14,059 --> 00:11:16,300 Speaker 2: for a place to recover. So they cut him off 184 00:11:16,620 --> 00:11:19,819 Speaker 2: and kicked him out. All his failures rolled into one 185 00:11:20,020 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 2: giant fuck-up until the only thing that made sense was 186 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 2: to go to New Haven one last time and shoot 187 00:11:24,570 --> 00:11:27,750 Speaker 2: himself in the goddamn head. So he bought a bus 188 00:11:27,770 --> 00:11:30,810 Speaker 2: ticket to D.C., rode for three days with his books, 189 00:11:30,890 --> 00:11:34,710 Speaker 2: two revolvers, and six Devastator bullets, so-called because they have 190 00:11:34,730 --> 00:11:38,860 Speaker 2: a devastating explosive lead compound inside the tip. Hinkley had 191 00:11:38,900 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 2: those Devastators so that he could go out with a 192 00:11:40,980 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 2: big bang when he offed himself in front of Jody Foster. 193 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 2: He checked into a shitty hotel for the night, paid cash, 194 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,140 Speaker 2: The next morning, he woke up and got ready to 195 00:11:50,179 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 2: hop the next bus to New Haven. First, he picked 196 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 2: up a copy of that morning's Washington Star newspaper. Inside 197 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,470 Speaker 2: was the president's itinerary for the day. The presidential motorcade 198 00:12:00,500 --> 00:12:03,130 Speaker 2: was going to shut down a lot of streets. Ronald 199 00:12:03,190 --> 00:12:06,270 Speaker 2: Reagan had only one public event planned, a speech to 200 00:12:06,390 --> 00:12:09,890 Speaker 2: union members at the Hilton. That place was near Hankley's hotel, 201 00:12:10,470 --> 00:12:14,189 Speaker 2: practically down the block. Fuck it then, New Haven could wait. 202 00:12:14,830 --> 00:12:43,439 Speaker 2: John Hankley was going to assassinate the president. Paul Schrader 203 00:12:43,500 --> 00:12:46,599 Speaker 2: couldn't sleep. Whenever he shut his eyes, he saw a 204 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:51,469 Speaker 2: blinking neon sign that said, failure. His marriage was falling apart. 205 00:12:52,490 --> 00:12:54,670 Speaker 2: and the affair that was causing his marriage to fall 206 00:12:54,730 --> 00:12:57,750 Speaker 2: apart was falling apart. He got into an argument with 207 00:12:57,790 --> 00:13:01,750 Speaker 2: his mentor, the legendary film critic Pauline Kael, as well 208 00:13:01,790 --> 00:13:04,420 Speaker 2: as with the American Film Institute, where he happened to 209 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 2: be working. He had no money and no apartment, and 210 00:13:08,460 --> 00:13:11,140 Speaker 2: he was living out of his car. At night, he 211 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,900 Speaker 2: drove around L.A., headlights of other cars slicing into his eyes. 212 00:13:15,660 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 2: But when he could no longer drive straight, he parked 213 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:20,929 Speaker 2: in front of the Pussycat Theater. a porno movie house 214 00:13:21,010 --> 00:13:24,230 Speaker 2: on Santa Monica Boulevard that stayed open all night. He 215 00:13:24,270 --> 00:13:26,610 Speaker 2: paid for a ticket and crashed out in the seats 216 00:13:26,710 --> 00:13:29,929 Speaker 2: while the other patrons jerked off to a so-called European 217 00:13:29,950 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 2: art house movie. He woke up in the hospital with 218 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,700 Speaker 2: a bleeding ulcer, laid up in recovery, sober for the 219 00:13:37,740 --> 00:13:40,979 Speaker 2: first time in weeks. He imagined a character a lot 220 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,540 Speaker 2: like himself, a loner, isolated in the middle of a 221 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:51,150 Speaker 2: crowded city, driving the streets all night, sleeping in porno theatres. alienated, 222 00:13:51,530 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 2: cut off from real human contact. The man turned to 223 00:13:55,010 --> 00:13:59,339 Speaker 2: deadly violence. Paul Schrader knew he had two choices, write 224 00:13:59,380 --> 00:14:03,380 Speaker 2: about that guy, or end up becoming that guy. When 225 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 2: he got out of the hospital, Schrader laid a loaded 226 00:14:05,820 --> 00:14:08,620 Speaker 2: gun on his desk next to his typewriter. Over the 227 00:14:08,660 --> 00:14:11,410 Speaker 2: next two weeks, he hammered out multiple drafts of the 228 00:14:11,450 --> 00:14:15,569 Speaker 2: screenplay that would become Taxi Driver. The early drafts were dark, 229 00:14:15,970 --> 00:14:20,630 Speaker 2: but meandering, like Schrader had been. They wandered aimlessly, lacking purpose. 230 00:14:21,170 --> 00:14:24,430 Speaker 2: Then Schrader found the story that catalyzed his idea in 231 00:14:24,460 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 2: a book called An Assassin's Diary. The original manuscript of 232 00:14:29,780 --> 00:14:32,420 Speaker 2: that diary was found during a police search of a 233 00:14:32,420 --> 00:14:38,390 Speaker 2: 1967 AMC Rambler. Its first entry, on March 1st, 1972, read, 234 00:14:38,950 --> 00:14:41,910 Speaker 2: It is my personal plan to assassinate by pistol either 235 00:14:41,970 --> 00:14:46,610 Speaker 2: Richard Nixon or George Wallace. The diary's author was an unemployed, 236 00:14:46,670 --> 00:14:51,820 Speaker 2: mentally unbalanced loner named Arthur Bremer. Over the next 150 pages, 237 00:14:51,980 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 2: Bremer recounted in detail a sexual encounter with a masseuse, 238 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,430 Speaker 2: an exchange with a customs agent at the Canadian border, 239 00:14:58,830 --> 00:15:02,690 Speaker 2: and repeated attempts to assassinate President Nixon. But Bremer couldn't 240 00:15:02,710 --> 00:15:05,350 Speaker 2: get close enough to Nixon to do the job. He 241 00:15:05,370 --> 00:15:07,910 Speaker 2: didn't have any real politics to speak of, except for 242 00:15:08,170 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 2: hating the hell out of all politicians and, you know, 243 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,580 Speaker 2: who can really blame him, but he turned his attention 244 00:15:12,620 --> 00:15:16,100 Speaker 2: to George Wallace. Less exciting target, but easier to get 245 00:15:16,140 --> 00:15:19,590 Speaker 2: a shot at. He checked out books about RFK's assassination 246 00:15:19,630 --> 00:15:22,790 Speaker 2: from the local library. He volunteered in the Wallace campaign 247 00:15:23,050 --> 00:15:26,270 Speaker 2: and attended several rallies with the candidate. At a rally 248 00:15:26,290 --> 00:15:28,470 Speaker 2: in a mall in Maryland, Bremer stood out like a 249 00:15:28,510 --> 00:15:31,410 Speaker 2: sore thumb. Dressed in red, white, and blue with a 250 00:15:31,450 --> 00:15:35,410 Speaker 2: massive campaign button that read Wallace in 72. He stood 251 00:15:35,510 --> 00:15:37,150 Speaker 2: out because the rest of the crowd was there to 252 00:15:37,210 --> 00:15:41,750 Speaker 2: heckle George Wallace. As governor of Alabama... Wallace campaigned on 253 00:15:41,790 --> 00:15:47,140 Speaker 2: a policy of segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. That 254 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:51,820 Speaker 2: is an actual quote. Maryland Democrats weren't hearing that. A 255 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 2: tomato came flying at Wallace out of the crowd. It 256 00:15:54,580 --> 00:15:56,610 Speaker 2: splattered on the stage a few feet away in a 257 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,970 Speaker 2: wet red splotch. And then came another, even farther off 258 00:15:59,990 --> 00:16:02,410 Speaker 2: the mark. It was enough to convince Wallace to skip 259 00:16:02,430 --> 00:16:05,110 Speaker 2: the handshakes at the rope line afterward. He got into 260 00:16:05,130 --> 00:16:07,670 Speaker 2: a waiting limo and his entourage sped him to another mall. 261 00:16:09,790 --> 00:16:14,730 Speaker 2: and his 1967 AMC Rambler, Arthur Bremer, followed. And the 262 00:16:14,750 --> 00:16:18,030 Speaker 2: reception at the second rally was warmer. But Secret Service 263 00:16:18,090 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 2: advised Wallace to skip the rope line. Wallace insisted. He 264 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,460 Speaker 2: was a man of the people. He didn't become president 265 00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:27,860 Speaker 2: without pressing the flesh. So Wallace shook hands with dozens 266 00:16:27,900 --> 00:16:30,900 Speaker 2: of supporters as Arthur Bremer pushed his way through the crowd. 267 00:16:31,700 --> 00:16:33,910 Speaker 2: Bremer planned to say a penny for your thoughts as 268 00:16:33,950 --> 00:16:36,570 Speaker 2: he shot the Kennedy. Sort of his own take on 269 00:16:36,630 --> 00:16:40,780 Speaker 2: John Wilkes Booth's sick-sempered tyrannous lie. But at the last minute, 270 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,660 Speaker 2: he froze up. Over here, Mr. Wallace. Not a line 271 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:49,300 Speaker 2: that will live in history. Arthur Bremer fired five shots, 272 00:16:49,900 --> 00:16:52,950 Speaker 2: four connected. One of those four bullets lodged itself in 273 00:16:52,970 --> 00:16:57,050 Speaker 2: George Wallace's spinal cord, paralyzing him for life. Bremer was 274 00:16:57,150 --> 00:17:00,050 Speaker 2: wrestled to the ground and arrested. A search of his 275 00:17:00,130 --> 00:17:03,330 Speaker 2: rambler turned up a 9mm, a pair of binoculars, and 276 00:17:03,350 --> 00:17:08,470 Speaker 2: the books about RFK in the diary. Paul Schrader grafted 277 00:17:08,530 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 2: Arthur Bremer's story onto the character he was working on, 278 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:14,619 Speaker 2: a veteran named Travis Bickle, who takes a job as 279 00:17:14,660 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 2: a New York City cabbie as a salve for his insomnia. 280 00:17:17,940 --> 00:17:21,140 Speaker 2: He even had Bickle keep a diary, with rambling observations 281 00:17:21,180 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 2: that mirrored those of Wallace's would-be assassin. The resulting screenplay 282 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:28,970 Speaker 2: ended up in the hands of Martin Scorsese, hot off 283 00:17:28,990 --> 00:17:31,730 Speaker 2: of a cult hit with Mean Streets, featuring a young 284 00:17:31,810 --> 00:17:35,790 Speaker 2: Robert De Niro. Scorsese wanted Dustin Hoffman to play Travis Bickle, 285 00:17:35,810 --> 00:17:39,210 Speaker 2: but Hoffman read the screenplay and thought Marty was fucking nuts, 286 00:17:39,230 --> 00:17:42,149 Speaker 2: so De Niro took the role. Sybil Shepard was cast 287 00:17:42,210 --> 00:17:44,970 Speaker 2: as the object of Bickle's fucked-up affection, and that left 288 00:17:45,050 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 2: only one major part to be cast. Iris, the streetwise 289 00:17:48,859 --> 00:17:52,139 Speaker 2: but sweet child sex worker that Bickle is determined to 290 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:56,900 Speaker 2: save in the film. 200 girls tried out for that part. 291 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:01,639 Speaker 2: Carrie Fisher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bo Derek, and 12-year-old Jodie Foster. 292 00:18:02,930 --> 00:18:05,369 Speaker 2: The role was a major turning point for the young actress. 293 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 2: This wasn't another Coppertone commercial, or another call for another 294 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,340 Speaker 2: tomboy in a live-action Disney movie. For the first time 295 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:14,820 Speaker 2: in her career, Jodie Foster had the chance to play 296 00:18:14,859 --> 00:18:18,260 Speaker 2: a character who wasn't almost identical to her actual personality. 297 00:18:19,060 --> 00:18:21,700 Speaker 2: The Los Angeles Board of Child Welfare insisted that if 298 00:18:21,740 --> 00:18:23,900 Speaker 2: an actress that young was going to take on such 299 00:18:23,940 --> 00:18:27,959 Speaker 2: a sexually explicit role, she needed to go through counseling beforehand. 300 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,030 Speaker 2: The production was already running up against tight deadlines. and 301 00:18:32,050 --> 00:18:35,570 Speaker 2: the producers hired Pat Brown, former governor of California, to 302 00:18:35,650 --> 00:18:38,530 Speaker 2: smooth things over and speed them along. Part of the 303 00:18:38,570 --> 00:18:42,430 Speaker 2: arrangement was that for any shots deemed too explicit, Jodie 304 00:18:42,450 --> 00:18:45,919 Speaker 2: Foster's older sister, who was 18, would body double for her. 305 00:18:47,210 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 2: Robert De Niro got to New York ahead of time 306 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:51,359 Speaker 2: and took a job driving a cab at night. The 307 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 2: production crew built Bickle and Iris' apartments in condemned buildings, 308 00:18:55,780 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 2: parts of towns so dangerous that they hired a local 309 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,409 Speaker 2: gang to protect the set from other gangs. And when 310 00:19:01,470 --> 00:19:03,750 Speaker 2: Foster got to New York, she and De Niro went 311 00:19:03,790 --> 00:19:06,429 Speaker 2: out to diners to go over the script. De Niro 312 00:19:06,450 --> 00:19:11,230 Speaker 2: was already locked into his character. Awkward, barely verbal. Jodie 313 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,690 Speaker 2: Foster was just a kid. She was used to playing 314 00:19:13,710 --> 00:19:18,880 Speaker 2: herself on screen in these weird half-dates with Travis Bickle border. Then, 315 00:19:19,420 --> 00:19:22,220 Speaker 2: she started to get it. The two began to improvise, 316 00:19:22,700 --> 00:19:25,620 Speaker 2: riffing off of each other, building the relationship that would 317 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:29,460 Speaker 2: play out on screen. Taxi Driver made its debut in 318 00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:33,179 Speaker 2: New York and was invited to Cannes. Reactions to the 319 00:19:33,220 --> 00:19:36,899 Speaker 2: movie were decidedly mixed. It barely avoided an X rating. 320 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:39,740 Speaker 2: Scorsese had to blur out the porn on screen in 321 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,200 Speaker 2: the theater scenes and desaturate the red of the blood 322 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,910 Speaker 2: in the final sequence, and the violence was too shocking 323 00:19:44,970 --> 00:19:48,650 Speaker 2: for some audience members, including the playwright Tennessee Williams, who 324 00:19:49,090 --> 00:19:52,500 Speaker 2: was head of the festival jury. He said Taxi Driver 325 00:19:52,540 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 2: would win over his dead body. Convinced he'd be going 326 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 2: home empty-handed, Scorsese left Cannes before the prizes were announced. 327 00:20:00,660 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 2: He was back in Los Angeles when his publicist called 328 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,290 Speaker 2: him at five in the morning. Taxi Driver won the 329 00:20:06,330 --> 00:20:09,969 Speaker 2: Palme d'Or, the highest jury prize at Cannes. beating out 330 00:20:10,030 --> 00:20:14,899 Speaker 2: films by Bertolucci, Polanski, and Bergman. Back in the States, 331 00:20:15,420 --> 00:20:18,859 Speaker 2: Taxi Driver went into wider release. It opened at the 332 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,470 Speaker 2: Egyptian in Los Angeles, where a struggling songwriter bought a 333 00:20:22,510 --> 00:20:26,850 Speaker 2: ticket and saw himself in Robert De Niro's character. But 334 00:20:26,890 --> 00:20:30,970 Speaker 2: it wasn't the stunning Hollywood bombshell he fell in love with. Instead, 335 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:39,620 Speaker 2: it was the 12-year-old girl. We'll be right back after 336 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:49,180 Speaker 2: this word, word, word. John Hinckley laid on the bed 337 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,379 Speaker 2: in room 312 of the Park Central Hotel, staring at 338 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,260 Speaker 2: the ceiling. In the morning edition of the Washington Star, 339 00:20:56,700 --> 00:20:59,360 Speaker 2: the one that included President Reagan's itinerary for the day 340 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 2: was on the bed next to him. The idea had 341 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,680 Speaker 2: been growing in Hinckley's brain for some time. True force. 342 00:21:06,490 --> 00:21:10,990 Speaker 2: The White House was impenetrable. He understood that now. After 343 00:21:11,070 --> 00:21:14,210 Speaker 2: all the hours spent waiting outside, hoping to catch a 344 00:21:14,290 --> 00:21:17,670 Speaker 2: glimpse of his target. That's how things were in New Haven, too. 345 00:21:18,630 --> 00:21:21,149 Speaker 2: He'd walked up to Jody Foster's door so many times, 346 00:21:21,210 --> 00:21:25,070 Speaker 2: but he couldn't knock, couldn't go inside. When he wanted 347 00:21:25,109 --> 00:21:27,129 Speaker 2: to see her, it had to be out in the world. 348 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,820 Speaker 2: On her way to class, out with friends. Always that 349 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:35,389 Speaker 2: distance between them. She was up on the screen and 350 00:21:35,470 --> 00:21:38,970 Speaker 2: he was in the audience. If she could just see him, 351 00:21:39,570 --> 00:21:43,209 Speaker 2: then there couldn't be any distance for this. For all 352 00:21:43,250 --> 00:21:46,609 Speaker 2: his practice, Hinkley was a poor shot. If he was 353 00:21:46,630 --> 00:21:49,620 Speaker 2: going to hit Reagan, he had to be close, right 354 00:21:49,660 --> 00:21:53,860 Speaker 2: next to him, in the frame on the screen. John Hinkley, 355 00:21:54,340 --> 00:21:58,440 Speaker 2: coming to you live from Washington, D.C. He smiled at 356 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:02,300 Speaker 2: the thought, Jody seeing him on the news, Jody knowing 357 00:22:02,340 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 2: it was all for her. This was the moment. The day. 358 00:22:07,340 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 2: Everything was becoming a reality. The days went on and on. 359 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,619 Speaker 2: They didn't end. All his life needed was a sense 360 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,920 Speaker 2: of someplace to go. He would become a person like 361 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,580 Speaker 2: other people. A shadow of doubt hit him. What if 362 00:22:21,619 --> 00:22:24,090 Speaker 2: she didn't know? What if he went through all this 363 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,969 Speaker 2: and she still didn't understand him? And there were so 364 00:22:27,010 --> 00:22:29,850 Speaker 2: many people around her between her and him. And they 365 00:22:29,869 --> 00:22:31,830 Speaker 2: were the ones who laughed. And they were the ones 366 00:22:31,850 --> 00:22:34,409 Speaker 2: who told her not to talk to strangers. What if 367 00:22:34,450 --> 00:22:35,970 Speaker 2: they got in her head and told her that it 368 00:22:36,010 --> 00:22:38,929 Speaker 2: wasn't all for her? He had to tell her. He 369 00:22:38,970 --> 00:22:43,750 Speaker 2: had to be sure. Hinkley rolled off the floral printed 370 00:22:43,810 --> 00:22:47,570 Speaker 2: sheets and walked barefoot across the brown industrial carpet. He 371 00:22:47,630 --> 00:22:49,649 Speaker 2: sat at the little desk and he looked for a 372 00:22:49,690 --> 00:22:53,260 Speaker 2: minute at the suitcase lying open on the floor. He'd 373 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:58,120 Speaker 2: been traveling so long. Loneliness had followed him his whole life. Everywhere, 374 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:02,340 Speaker 2: in bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. And there was 375 00:23:02,380 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 2: no escape. He was God's lonely man. The gun glowed 376 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 2: under the hotel room's fluorescent lights and he picked up 377 00:23:10,580 --> 00:23:14,679 Speaker 2: his pen. Dear Jody, I feel very good about the 378 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,030 Speaker 2: fact that you at least know my name and know 379 00:23:17,070 --> 00:23:19,770 Speaker 2: how I feel about you. I've got to do something 380 00:23:19,810 --> 00:23:23,250 Speaker 2: now to make you understand in no uncertain terms that 381 00:23:23,790 --> 00:23:27,890 Speaker 2: I'm doing all of this for your sake. Jody, I'm 382 00:23:27,970 --> 00:23:30,629 Speaker 2: asking you to please look into your heart and at 383 00:23:30,710 --> 00:23:34,340 Speaker 2: least give the chance to with this historical deed to 384 00:23:34,380 --> 00:23:39,980 Speaker 2: gain you love and respect. I love you forever, John Hinckley. 385 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,740 Speaker 2: He folded the letter and slipped it into his suitcase, 386 00:23:44,340 --> 00:23:46,300 Speaker 2: and he picked up the. 22 and loaded it with 387 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 2: the hollow points. Now, he saw this clearly. His whole 388 00:23:51,260 --> 00:23:54,400 Speaker 2: life was pointed in one direction, and there never had 389 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,179 Speaker 2: been a choice for him. He hailed a cab out 390 00:23:57,260 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 2: front of his hotel. He sat in the back seat 391 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,399 Speaker 2: and felt a weird sense of vertigo, The cabbie turned around, 392 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:07,340 Speaker 2: and for a moment, Hinkley saw Travis Bickle looking back 393 00:24:07,420 --> 00:24:12,179 Speaker 2: at him, head shaved to a mohawk, hollow stare. The 394 00:24:12,220 --> 00:24:15,389 Speaker 2: cabbie asked where he was headed, and the illusion shattered. 395 00:24:16,770 --> 00:24:24,510 Speaker 2: The Hilton, on Connecticut. In his pocket, Hinkley's hand gripped the. 22. 396 00:24:24,510 --> 00:24:26,730 Speaker 2: The White House faded in the rearview as they turned 397 00:24:26,770 --> 00:24:31,850 Speaker 2: onto 17th Street. They rolled past brownstones and embassies. Through 398 00:24:31,869 --> 00:24:34,770 Speaker 2: DuPont Circle, where hippie drug dealers sold ditch weed to 399 00:24:34,850 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 2: so-called artists and so-called musicians. The city was like an 400 00:24:39,340 --> 00:24:43,179 Speaker 2: open sewer, full of filth and scum. Sometimes you could 401 00:24:43,220 --> 00:24:46,540 Speaker 2: hardly take it. The president should clean up this whole mess. 402 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:49,639 Speaker 2: He should flush it down the fucking toilet. There was 403 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,710 Speaker 2: a small crowd already gathered outside the Hilton. Reagan was popular. 404 00:24:54,390 --> 00:24:58,710 Speaker 2: He was turning the country around. Morning in America. Hinkley 405 00:24:58,770 --> 00:25:02,290 Speaker 2: blended into the crowd. That's where Arthur Bremer and Travis 406 00:25:02,330 --> 00:25:05,650 Speaker 2: Bickle made their mistakes. With their red, white, and blue outfits. 407 00:25:06,150 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 2: And their mohawks. They stood out. Not Hinkley. In his 408 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,459 Speaker 2: beige coat, with his slumped shoulders and sleepy expression. No 409 00:25:14,500 --> 00:25:19,879 Speaker 2: one looked at John Hinkley twice. God's Lonely Man. The 410 00:25:19,940 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 2: hotel was massive and sprawling. In its heyday, Hendrix and 411 00:25:24,060 --> 00:25:27,220 Speaker 2: the Doors played the ballroom. But Jimi Hendrix was dead. 412 00:25:27,820 --> 00:25:30,750 Speaker 2: And Jim Morrison was dead. And John Lennon was dead. 413 00:25:31,470 --> 00:25:34,409 Speaker 2: And John Hinckley wondered what his idols would say when 414 00:25:34,430 --> 00:25:37,150 Speaker 2: he met them. Would they be impressed with what he'd done? 415 00:25:38,109 --> 00:25:42,450 Speaker 2: Would she? The president and his entourage came out of 416 00:25:42,470 --> 00:25:45,919 Speaker 2: the building, greeted by cheers. Hinckley stood as near as 417 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,719 Speaker 2: he could to the presidential limo, behind the rope barrier. 418 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,919 Speaker 2: He had to wait, had to get closer. He had 419 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,940 Speaker 2: to be in the frame. The president shook hands and 420 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,920 Speaker 2: posed for pictures. He was only a few yards away. 421 00:25:58,490 --> 00:26:02,449 Speaker 2: but it was taking forever. John Hinckley took the. 22 422 00:26:02,450 --> 00:26:05,369 Speaker 2: out of his coat pocket. As the president made his 423 00:26:05,430 --> 00:26:08,890 Speaker 2: way to the limo, Hinckley raised the gun. He wished 424 00:26:08,930 --> 00:26:12,430 Speaker 2: he'd thought of something to say. He fired. The first 425 00:26:12,470 --> 00:26:16,020 Speaker 2: shot hit press secretary James Brady in the head. Brady 426 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 2: dropped to the sidewalk. A DC cop pivoted to shield 427 00:26:19,340 --> 00:26:22,310 Speaker 2: the president. Hinkley fired again, hitting the cop in the 428 00:26:22,369 --> 00:26:24,630 Speaker 2: back of the neck. The gun was a live thing 429 00:26:24,650 --> 00:26:27,910 Speaker 2: in his hand, struggling against him. The next shot went 430 00:26:27,950 --> 00:26:31,409 Speaker 2: into the air, over the president's head. Hinkley took a breath, 431 00:26:31,950 --> 00:26:34,850 Speaker 2: regained control, and he shot a secret service agent in 432 00:26:34,890 --> 00:26:38,490 Speaker 2: the gut. He fired again and again. The shot was wild, 433 00:26:38,910 --> 00:26:42,050 Speaker 2: shattering the window of the limousine. He was fucking it 434 00:26:42,130 --> 00:26:44,310 Speaker 2: all up. Why would anyone fall in love with a 435 00:26:44,350 --> 00:26:46,649 Speaker 2: guy who was fucking it all up? A guy who 436 00:26:46,690 --> 00:26:50,930 Speaker 2: shot at the president, who didn't shoot the president. Hinkley 437 00:26:51,390 --> 00:26:55,330 Speaker 2: had one shot left. He steadied his arm. He pulled 438 00:26:55,369 --> 00:26:59,669 Speaker 2: the trigger. He shot Ronald Reagan in the chest. The 439 00:26:59,710 --> 00:27:02,649 Speaker 2: bullet grazed Reagan's rib and lodged into his lung, inches 440 00:27:02,690 --> 00:27:06,530 Speaker 2: from his heart. Rahad down, a Secret Service agent was shouting. 441 00:27:07,090 --> 00:27:10,490 Speaker 2: Using Reagan's codename, agents punched Hinkley in the gut and 442 00:27:10,550 --> 00:27:13,130 Speaker 2: shoved him against the wall. The spent gun fell from 443 00:27:13,170 --> 00:27:17,139 Speaker 2: his hand. He'd done it. Jodie Foster would know it 444 00:27:17,180 --> 00:27:22,790 Speaker 2: was all for her. The Oscars were supposed to be 445 00:27:22,850 --> 00:27:25,490 Speaker 2: held that night, but they were pushed to the following 446 00:27:25,550 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 2: night because of the assassination attempt. At the next night's ceremony, 447 00:27:30,300 --> 00:27:33,419 Speaker 2: Martin Scorsese applauded as Robert Redford beat him out for 448 00:27:33,460 --> 00:27:37,659 Speaker 2: Best Director. Someone pulled Scorsese aside, asked him if he'd 449 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,640 Speaker 2: heard the news. The guy who shot Reagan the night before, 450 00:27:41,310 --> 00:27:44,570 Speaker 2: he was obsessed with Jodie Foster. The guy said Taxi 451 00:27:44,590 --> 00:27:49,640 Speaker 2: Driver was his inspiration. In New Haven, Jodi Foster got 452 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,859 Speaker 2: home late from her first stage performance. Before she could 453 00:27:52,900 --> 00:27:55,200 Speaker 2: get the key in the lock, her roommate opened the door, 454 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:59,810 Speaker 2: and her face was pale. John, she said. John who? 455 00:28:00,190 --> 00:28:04,210 Speaker 2: Foster asked. John Hinckley. Did he write me again? Jodi 456 00:28:04,230 --> 00:28:07,250 Speaker 2: wanted to know. It had been a few weeks, and 457 00:28:07,270 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 2: Foster hoped maybe her stalker had moved on. He's the one, 458 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 2: her roommate said. The phone was ringing inside the apartment. 459 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,340 Speaker 2: Foster went inside to answer it. Her dean was on 460 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:19,970 Speaker 2: the other end of the line. The FBI wanted to 461 00:28:20,030 --> 00:28:23,570 Speaker 2: talk to her. They had a letter for her from 462 00:28:23,630 --> 00:28:46,380 Speaker 2: John Hinckley. John Hinckley didn't realize he was being followed. 463 00:28:47,230 --> 00:28:50,690 Speaker 2: It was a hot day in July 2011, and Hinckley 464 00:28:50,730 --> 00:28:53,650 Speaker 2: was at a mall in Williamsburg, Virginia, where his mother lived. 465 00:28:54,490 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 2: He was now entitled to extended time out of a D.C. 466 00:28:57,340 --> 00:28:59,860 Speaker 2: mental hospital where he'd been confined since he tried to 467 00:28:59,940 --> 00:29:03,620 Speaker 2: kill Ronald Reagan. The doctors at St. Elizabeth's said his 468 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,890 Speaker 2: depression and psychotic disorder were in remission, and his narcissistic 469 00:29:07,910 --> 00:29:11,950 Speaker 2: personality disorder had receded. They said Hinckley was no longer 470 00:29:12,010 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 2: a threat, but there were rules. He wasn't supposed to 471 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:20,380 Speaker 2: be anywhere near a president, like any president. He couldn't 472 00:29:20,420 --> 00:29:23,010 Speaker 2: be in D.C. unless he was in the hospital. He 473 00:29:23,030 --> 00:29:26,810 Speaker 2: couldn't visit his sister in Dallas, too close to George W. Bush. 474 00:29:27,730 --> 00:29:30,310 Speaker 2: Hinkley's mother moved to nearby Williamsburg so that he could 475 00:29:30,350 --> 00:29:33,370 Speaker 2: spend time with her. On this day, she dropped him 476 00:29:33,470 --> 00:29:36,950 Speaker 2: off at the movies. He was planning on seeing Captain America. 477 00:29:37,730 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 2: It was all written down somewhere, all scheduled. But as 478 00:29:40,860 --> 00:29:43,860 Speaker 2: soon as his mother drove off, Hinkley changed the plan. 479 00:29:44,820 --> 00:29:47,140 Speaker 2: He wandered off into the mall with two Secret Service 480 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:50,290 Speaker 2: agents trailing him. They followed him into a Barnes & 481 00:29:50,290 --> 00:29:53,490 Speaker 2: Noble and watched him browse through books about music. He 482 00:29:53,550 --> 00:29:56,550 Speaker 2: drifted over to the American history section and seemed to 483 00:29:56,610 --> 00:30:00,960 Speaker 2: fixate on one particular shelf. After Hinckley moved on, one 484 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,020 Speaker 2: of the agents went to see what book he'd been 485 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 2: staring at. It was called Ra Hide Down, The Near 486 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:13,110 Speaker 2: Assassination of Ronald Reagan. The next day, John Hinckley returned 487 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,130 Speaker 2: to St. Elizabeth's Hospital and raved about the movie he 488 00:30:16,170 --> 00:30:18,850 Speaker 2: hadn't gone to see. And then he talked about his 489 00:30:18,890 --> 00:30:25,030 Speaker 2: plans for the next time he was released. At his 490 00:30:25,030 --> 00:30:28,770 Speaker 2: 1982 trial, John Hinckley pled not guilty by reason of insanity. 491 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,900 Speaker 2: The insanity defense had a long association with assassins. It 492 00:30:33,940 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 2: was created in response to the case of a Scottish 493 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,530 Speaker 2: woodworker who tried to kill the Prime Minister of England 494 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:41,670 Speaker 2: in 1843 because he thought the Prime Minister was conspiring 495 00:30:41,730 --> 00:30:45,210 Speaker 2: against him. It was used again when Charlie Ito shot 496 00:30:45,250 --> 00:30:49,810 Speaker 2: and killed President Garfield in 1881 because God told him to, supposedly. 497 00:30:50,450 --> 00:30:53,910 Speaker 2: He invoked the insanity defense as well, unsuccessfully as it 498 00:30:53,950 --> 00:30:57,930 Speaker 2: was in that case. At Hinckley's trial, the prosecution led 499 00:30:57,970 --> 00:31:00,380 Speaker 2: with the facts. They walked the jury through the day 500 00:31:00,420 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 2: of the shooting. They tried to get President Reagan to testify, 501 00:31:03,820 --> 00:31:06,840 Speaker 2: but Ronnie wasn't having it. They had to settle for 502 00:31:06,860 --> 00:31:09,300 Speaker 2: the cop and the Secret Service agent Hinkley shot trying 503 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,050 Speaker 2: to get at Reagan. They showed the jury the shooting 504 00:31:12,070 --> 00:31:14,910 Speaker 2: dummies Hinkley had used for target practice back in Colorado, 505 00:31:15,490 --> 00:31:19,050 Speaker 2: and they made it clear this crime was planned, calculated. 506 00:31:20,330 --> 00:31:24,740 Speaker 2: And then, the defense team brought in Jody Foster. Foster 507 00:31:24,780 --> 00:31:28,170 Speaker 2: testified in a closed session. the press wasn't allowed access 508 00:31:28,210 --> 00:31:31,190 Speaker 2: to those recordings. But they did get the recordings of 509 00:31:31,230 --> 00:31:34,550 Speaker 2: Hinckley's phone calls to her, along with his poems and 510 00:31:34,590 --> 00:31:37,170 Speaker 2: the letter he wrote to her hours before the assassination. 511 00:31:37,950 --> 00:31:40,970 Speaker 2: They painted a picture of a man obsessed, a man 512 00:31:41,430 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 2: completely out of touch with reality. When they played the 513 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 2: video of Foster saying she had no relationship with Hinckley, 514 00:31:48,380 --> 00:31:50,400 Speaker 2: Hinckley jumped out of his seat and stormed out of 515 00:31:50,420 --> 00:31:56,020 Speaker 2: the courtroom. Along with Hinckley's romantic obsession with Foster, they 516 00:31:56,060 --> 00:32:00,010 Speaker 2: explained his identification with Travis Bickle. This wasn't a man 517 00:32:00,050 --> 00:32:02,590 Speaker 2: who could tell when the movie ended and real life began. 518 00:32:03,650 --> 00:32:06,610 Speaker 2: Over the objections of the prosecutors, the defense closed out 519 00:32:06,630 --> 00:32:09,690 Speaker 2: their argument by making the jury watch Taxi Driver in 520 00:32:09,730 --> 00:32:14,230 Speaker 2: its entirety. After hours of deliberation, the jury found John 521 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 2: Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity. And because he 522 00:32:17,940 --> 00:32:20,180 Speaker 2: was deemed a threat to others, though, he was placed 523 00:32:20,260 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 2: in the custody of St. Elizabeth's Hospital. In 1987, John 524 00:32:24,940 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 2: Hinckley's family made the first formal request to review him 525 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:32,050 Speaker 2: for possible release for home visits. He met with psychiatrists 526 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,650 Speaker 2: and submitted to having his room at the hospital searched. 527 00:32:35,830 --> 00:32:39,070 Speaker 2: They found more poems and letters to Jodie Foster, letters 528 00:32:39,110 --> 00:32:42,970 Speaker 2: between Hinckley and serial killer Ted Bundy, and even evidence 529 00:32:43,010 --> 00:32:45,430 Speaker 2: that he'd been trying to get in touch with Charles Manson. 530 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:52,650 Speaker 2: Hinckley's request for home visits was denied. But then in 2003, 531 00:32:52,650 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 2: Hinkley was cleared for occasional supervised home visits with his mother. 532 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 2: Despite some mildly shady behavior, he was eventually given a 533 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 2: full release in 2022. Today, he lives in a one-bedroom 534 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:09,140 Speaker 2: apartment in Williamsburg. He's trying to get his music career going. 535 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,060 Speaker 2: Even before his release, he booked a gig at a 536 00:33:12,100 --> 00:33:15,660 Speaker 2: bar in Brooklyn, but ended up canceling due to safety concerns. 537 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,940 Speaker 2: Hinkley claimed they'd already sold 500 tickets, and the venue 538 00:33:20,010 --> 00:33:24,490 Speaker 2: only holds 400 people. Other bookings fell through. Venues announced 539 00:33:24,570 --> 00:33:27,260 Speaker 2: gigs with Hinckley and then canceled in the face of threats. 540 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:32,000 Speaker 2: For her part, Jodie Foster has rarely talked about the shootings. 541 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,020 Speaker 2: She's built a legendary career entirely on her own, without 542 00:33:36,060 --> 00:33:39,180 Speaker 2: ever falling under the shadow of John Hinckley Jr. But 543 00:33:39,220 --> 00:33:43,270 Speaker 2: he's still out there, casting that shadow, walking the streets, 544 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:49,570 Speaker 2: staring at 30,000 YouTube subscribers with that hollow stare, trying 545 00:33:49,590 --> 00:33:54,580 Speaker 2: to tell a story. A story that ought to be 546 00:33:54,640 --> 00:34:13,840 Speaker 2: in pictures. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Hollywoodland. Hollywood 547 00:34:13,860 --> 00:34:16,590 Speaker 2: Land was created by Years Truly and is produced in 548 00:34:16,620 --> 00:34:20,790 Speaker 2: partnership with Double Elvis. Follow, like, rate, and review Hollywood 549 00:34:20,830 --> 00:34:22,870 Speaker 2: Land wherever you get your podcasts and get in touch 550 00:34:22,890 --> 00:34:26,130 Speaker 2: with us on social media at Double Elvis. If you 551 00:34:26,170 --> 00:34:29,390 Speaker 2: like Hollywood Land, check out my other show, the award-winning Disgraceland, 552 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:31,500 Speaker 2: which looks at the world of music through the lens 553 00:34:31,540 --> 00:34:34,400 Speaker 2: of true crime. Just search for Disgraceland wherever you get 554 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:35,060 Speaker 2: your podcasts.