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‘Money Monster’ Star George Clooney Tells Jodie Foster He Wasn’t Allowed To Watch Her In ‘Taxi Driver’

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 23:31 PST, May 13, 2016

Jodie Foster was 12 years of age when she starred in the R-rated movie Taxi Driver with Robert de Niro, but 15-year-old George Clooney’s parents told him, “no way,” you can’t watch that film.

During an interview with People and Entertainment Weekly, George Clooney said rather ironically of the film, “I wasn’t allowed to see that one. She was allowed to be in it, but I wasn’t allowed to watch it.”

Admittedly, the explicit violence in the film was considered controversial when it was released in 1976 and director Martin Scorsese has since admitted the MPAA originally gave the movie an X-rating. However, scenes were adjusted to appear less gory, giving Taxi Driver the R-rating.

While Foster was only 12 at the time of playing the part of the young prostitute Iris in the film, reportedly filmmakers did go to great lengths to protect the young girl from the explicit dialogue and action of the movie.

Reportedly, after Foster was cast in the role and her mother had agreed to the deal, the film’s producers had to get approval from the Los Angeles welfare board before she could start work on the movie. According to the film’s producer, Michael Phillips, they hired former California governor Pat Brown to help with getting permission from the board.

Foster, who directed the recently released Money Monster, told The Hollywood Reporter on the recent 40th anniversary of Taxi Driver that part of the deal was that “any scenes that felt uncomfortable sexually, they would have an adult be a stand-in,” adding that her sister, Connie, who was over the age of 18, stood in for a couple of the “over-the-shoulder shots.”

Speaking of the role, Foster added, “I’m just so grateful to have been part of something that’s really an American classic, part of our golden age of cinema, which to me really is the ’70s.”

She said she thought the role would be a job, just like all the others, but when she arrived on the set she realized she was creating a character from scratch, something she had never done before. She even admitted that the young Robert de Niro was “pretty socially awkward” back then. She says she thinks her 12-year-old self even rolled her eyes at times because he was so awkward.

Talking to Entertainment Weekly about her latest directorial debut, Money Monster, Foster admitted that when she set out to direct her fourth film she was initially more concerned about getting the story right than actually landing a star-studded cast. However, she was thrilled when she reached out to George Clooney to find out if he would be interested and he signed on immediately, bringing Julia Roberts along with him for the ride.

“It was really just one of those great presents from the sky,” Foster says. “I was happy to make the movie for 20 cents, however we could get it off the ground.”

Money Monster – the result of their joint efforts – hit the theater screens on Friday and is a financial thriller uniting three of the biggest names in Hollywood. As reported by the Inquisitr, so far the film has received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. Reportedly, several reviewers have said the film is “one hell of a ride” while others have so far found it boring.

[Photo Jodie Foster at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976 by AP Photo]

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