Martin Scorsese has signed on as an executive producer for Paul Schrader's new drama The Basics of Philosophy, ahead of its out-of-competition premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Noora Films has also joined the project to handle international sales, reuniting Schrader with the sales company that previously represented his Cannes title Oh, Canada. The move revives one of cinema's most storied creative partnerships, with Scorsese and Schrader having collaborated on classics including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Last Temptation of Christ.

The film stars Jack Huston as a repressed philosophy professor confronting a decision from his past when its victim reappears, with a cast that also includes Sofia Boutella, Daniel Zovatto, Bill Pullman, Dana Delany, Shiloh Fernandez and Karl Glusman. It continues Schrader's "man in a room" thread of storytelling, following First Reformed, The Card Counter and Master Gardener, and marks the second time Scorsese has executive produced a Schrader film after 2021's The Card Counter. Braxton Pope and David Wulf are producing, CAA Media Finance holds US rights, and a lengthy list of additional executive producers back the project.