Why one of Martin Scorsese's closest collaborators never watches his movies early

Paul Schrader has known Martin Scorsese for close to 40 years, but the screenwriter responsible for penning early Scorsese classics like "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," and "The Last Temptation of Christ" has no interest in being one of the early viewers of Scorsese's works in progress.

"I see Marty a lot, but I would never want to be in that position to be an early viewer of any of his films," Schrader told Business Insider while promoting his next movie "Dog Eat Dog" (opening November 4).

That includes Scorsese's long-awaited "Silence," which is coming out in December. It's a project the Oscar-winning director has been trying to make for two decades.

Schrader told us he hasn't seen it yet. And he noted that Scorsese is taking all of November to do sound mixing on the movie for its December release.

"I would be uncomfortable," Schrader said of the idea of seeing an early cut.

Schrader, of course, has become a storied director in his own right, from early works like "American Gigolo" and "Cat People" to the more recent Lindsay Lohan vehicle "The Canyons."