Paul Schrader, Accused of Sexual Assault, to Start Production on ‘The Basics of Philosophy’ | Exclusive

Paul Schrader, two months after being accused of sexual assault and harassment by a former assistant, is scheduled to begin production on his next project “The Basics of Philosophy,” TheWrap has exclusively learned.

“The Basics of Philosophy” is about “an intellectual university philosophy professor,” according to agency tracking, and Schrader said previously the film will be made in the style of his “Man in a Room” spiritual trilogy — “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter” and “Master Gardener.”

The project stars Jack Huston and Sofia Boutella. Production kicks off in Missouri in July, according to an insider with knowledge of the project. Representatives for Huston and Boutella did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

In a motion filed in the Supreme Court of New York in New York County in April, Schrader’s 26-year-old former assistant, identified as Jane Doe, accused the 78-year-old filmmaker of sexual assault and harassment and sued him for reneging on a confidential settlement agreement they had reached in February over claims that he lured her into a hotel room at Cannes 2024 and began “forcibly grabbing her and kissing her, despite her verbal protests,” according to the filing.

She alleges Schrader acknowledged repeatedly that he behaved inappropriately, but continued to make advances on her.

“Two days later, in full acknowledgment of his unlawful and predatory behavior, Schrader wrote in an email to the accuser, ‘So I f–ked up. Big time … If I have become a Harvey Weinstein in your mind then of course you have no choice but to put me in the rear view mirror,’” the court docs read. 

Schrader’s accuser then claimed he fired her in retaliation for refusing his advances. She hired an attorney and eventually Schrader offered a confidential settlement, with the stipulation it be paid out over the course of seven months. She claims he reneged on that settlement agreement and sued to force him to honor it.

Shortly after the complaint was made public, Schrader admitted in a written appeal to friends and family to kissing the anonymous plaintiff twice, one time against her will. He maintained that they “never had sex in any form” and that he never exposed himself to her in a Cannes hotel room, as she claimed in her filing.

The “Taxi Driver” screenwriter slammed the 26-year-old woman and her allegations as a “quick money grab” in an attempt to have him pay out the settlement he says he never signed, despite knowing that doing so would have kept the them confidential.

“I have nothing to hide about my conduct — and that includes my decision not to yield to the pressure of my former assistant’s threat to make her sensational allegations public, a threat that she and her lawyers have now executed,” Schrader wrote in the letter, obtained and reviewed by TheWrap. “If this case ever makes it to trial, I will be honest with the judge and jury who I am confident will see the truth.”

He continued: “I understood that the mere assertion of such accusations would be damaging and hurtful. As a result, I nearly committed to settling the claims by paying a small fraction of the amount that had been initially demanded to avoid the hurt and harm that the publicity surrounding a lawsuit with these kinds of false and misleading accusations would cause, to say nothing of the cost of litigation. Upon reflection, I changed my mind, which I believe I was legally entitled to do, and declined to sign the written settlement agreement the lawyers had prepared. I refused to bow to the coercion created by what I regard as unwarranted and opportunistic claims and resolved to defend myself.”

The Jane Doe lawsuit seeks a summary judgment ordering Schrader to pay the agreed upon settlement, as well as court costs and disbursements, additional damages, attorneys’ fees, and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.

Huston and Boutella are repped by CAA.

The post Paul Schrader, Accused of Sexual Assault, to Start Production on ‘The Basics of Philosophy’ | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap.