Martin Scorsese Boards Paul Schrader's 'The Basics of Philosophy' Ahead of Venice Premiere

Martin Scorsese has joined Paul Schrader's drama The Basics of Philosophy as an executive producer, reuniting a partnership that last assembled on the 2021 Venice entry The Card Counter. The film will have its world premiere out of competition at the 2026 Venice International Film Festival, with Noora Films handling international sales and CAA Media Finance representing U.S. rights. Deadline

Schrader wrote and directed the picture, which continues what he calls his "man in a room" story series — a line of work that stretches back to Taxi Driver and runs through First Reformed, The Card Counter, and Master Gardener. These are solitary, morally cornered protagonists wrestling with guilt, faith, or violence in confined spaces.

This time the figure at the centre is a repressed philosophy professor, played by Jack Huston, whose guilt over a past decision resurfaces when the victim of that decision suddenly re-enters his life. The cast rounds out with Sofia Boutella, Daniel Zovatto, Bill Pullman, Dana Delany, Shiloh Fernandez, and Karl Glusman. The film runs 94 minutes and is a U.S. production. La Biennale di Venezia

Braxton Pope produces under his Film Mautit banner alongside David Wulf of Redline Entertainment. The executive producer roster, beyond Scorsese, includes Steven Demmler, Santosh Govindaraju, Franklin Laviola, Nicholas Laviola, Jeff Rice, Brando Eaton, Richie Walls, Landon Ash, Joel Michaely, Kyle Stroud, and Francis Chapman.

For a festival line-up, the sheer density of that EP list tells its own story about how independent films at this budget level get assembled. Schrader's last several pictures have operated in the $5m–$6m range — modest by studio standards, enough to attract name casts and land at the top festivals, but reliant on layered financing and pre-sold territories to close. International sales, the business of selling distribution rights country by country before a film reaches cinemas, matter enormously at that scale. Screen Daily

Noora Films, led by Pia Patatian, comes in fresh from handling sales on Schrader's Cannes competition title Oh, Canada. Patatian has also recently led pre-sales on the action-thriller The Savior with Kate Beckinsale and on Unmerciful Good Fortune, set to star Rosario Dawson, Antonio Banderas, Susan Sarandon, and Scott Eastwood. She said The Basics of Philosophy represents "the kind of bold, elevated project" where Noora Films wants to plant its flag. Deadline

The Schrader–Scorsese connection runs deep. Schrader wrote Taxi Driver (1976), the script that helped define Scorsese's career, and the two have orbited each other for half a century. That Scorsese lends his name as executive producer — a role that typically signals backing or endorsement rather than day-to-day production involvement — carries weight with buyers and festival programmers alike.

Venice's out-of-competition slot has become a preferred launch pad for name-driven auteur titles that want the festival's prestige and press platform without the competitive pressure of the main jury prizes. Werner Herzog is also set to premiere a new film at the 2026 edition, adding another veteran director's name to the Lido. IMDb

For audiences, the takeaway is straightforward: a new Schrader film, with a cast of familiar faces, backed by Scorsese, premiering on the Venice Lido. What distributors pay for it — and how wide it reaches — will play out in the weeks after the lights come up.