“Here’s the pitch: it’s a philosophy movie…”
“Huh.”
“based on a philosophy book…”
“I’m listening.”
“by an actual philosopher.”
“Go on.”
“That is, a philosophy professor.”
“You don’t say.”
“An analytic philosophy professor.”
“Sold!”

Okay, that’s not how it happened.

But somehow, Tetralogue, by Timothy Williamson, Senior Research Fellow and Emeritus Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford, is getting made into a movie.

The book, published in 2015, isn’t a typical philosophical monograph. It recounts a fictional conversation among four strangers on a train, each with differing views, who discuss and argue about a variety of subjects.

It was one of several books included in a book club of actors and philosophers begun by director Jorge Valdés-Iga during the Covid-19 pandemic. Valdés-Iga invited Professor Williamson to join their final session on his book. Williamson said he was impressed by the discussion, and Valdés-Iga, who must have been impressed by the book, came up with the idea of making a movie of it.

Williamson says that he and Valdés-Iga have been in occasional communication about the film. “We talk about the characters, how they speak and feel,” he says. “Much of the original dialogue will be preserved, though there will be a bit more action than in the book. Jorge needs space to develop it in a way that he feels will work on screen, which of course isn’t the same as what works on the page.”

The casting for the movie is being done right now (over 6000 actors applied). “I’m impressed at how many of them are able to bring the words to life,” Williamson says.

The movie, titled Tetralogue, will be filmed in November. The plan is to show it initially at film festivals in 2026.

Your suggestions for film adaptations of other philosophy books are welcome.