Editing Raging Bull (section)

=== Screenplay ===
Under the guidance of Chartoff and Winkler, [[Mardik Martin]] was asked to start writing the screenplay.<ref name="Biskind p379">Biskind, Peter ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'' 1998, p. 379.</ref> According to De Niro, under no circumstances would [[United Artists]] accept Martin's script.<ref name="Biskind pp384-385">Biskind, Peter ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'' pp. 384–385</ref> The story was based on the vision of journalist [[Pete Hamill]] of a 1930s and 1940s style, when boxing was known as "the great dark prince of sports". De Niro, however, was unimpressed when he finished reading the first draft.<ref name="Baxter pp186-189">Baxter John ''De Niro A Biography'', pp. 186–189.</ref>

''[[Taxi Driver]]'' screenwriter [[Paul Schrader]] was swiftly brought in to rewrite the script around August 1978.<ref name="Baxter pp186-189" /> Some of the changes that Schrader made to the script include a rewrite of the scene with the undercooked steak, and the inclusion of LaMotta seen masturbating in a [[Florida]] cell.

The character of LaMotta's brother Joey was finally added, previously absent from Martin's script.<ref name="Biskind pp384-385" /><ref name="Baxter pp186-189" /> United Artists saw a massive improvement on the quality of the script. However, its chief executives [[Steven Bach]] and David Field met with Scorsese, De Niro and producer [[Irwin Winkler]] in November 1978 to say that they were worried that the content would be [[X-rated]] material and have no chance of finding an audience.<ref name="Biskind p389" />

According to Scorsese, the script was left to him and De Niro, and they spent two-and-a-half weeks on the island of [[Saint Martin (island)|Saint Martin]] extensively re-building the content of the film.<ref name="Thompson pp.76/77" /> The most significant change would be the scene in which LaMotta fixes his television and accuses his wife of having an affair.

Other changes included the removal of Jake and Joey's father, the reduction of [[organized crime]]'s role in the story, and a major rewrite of LaMotta's fight with Tony Janiro.<ref name="Biskind p390">Biskind, Peter ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'', p. 390.</ref><ref name="Baxter p193">Baxter, John ''De Niro A Biography'', p. 193.</ref> They were also responsible for the end sequence in which LaMotta is alone in his dressing room, quoting "I could have been a contender" from ''[[On the Waterfront]]''.<ref name="Baxter p193" /> An extract of ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'' had been considered, but [[Michael Powell]] thought that it would be a bad decision within the context of an American film.<ref name="Thompson pp.76/77" /> According to [[Steven Bach]], the first two screenwriters (Martin and Schrader) would receive credit, but since there was no payment to the writer's guild on the script, De Niro and Scorsese's work remained uncredited.<ref name="Baxter p193" />