Wittgenstein’s poker
The Story of a Ten-Minute Argument
between Two Great Philosophers
synopsis
october 25, 1946…
In a small crowded room at Cambridge University, two of the world’s greatest twentieth-century philosophers, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper, came face-to-face for the first and only time.
A third man, Lord Bertrand Russell was also present, acting as umpire of the event. The meeting - which lasted only 10 minutes - did not go well.
To this day, no one can agree precisely what took place in those fiery minutes. Almost immediately, rumours started to spread around the world that the two philosophers, Wittgenstein and Popper, had come to blows armed with red-hot fire pokers!
The delightful irony in the conflicting testimonies is that they had risen between people, all professionally concerned with theories of epistemology and the understanding of truth.
This film presents an overview of the main characters’ journeys to that fateful meeting; their states of mind, their fears and emotions, but most of all, the confrontation that became instant folklore.
Wittgenstein’s Poker is a 12 minute film, rendered in a blend of 3D and traditional hand-drawn 2D animation, produced in 16:9 (widescreen) for theatrical release, aimed at lovers of great animation, intended for a more mature audience (18+), interested in history and philosophy or keen to learn about three of the most important figures in modern philosophy. And of course, for those who are interested in wonderful true life stories.
This film is adapted from the book of the same name, written by two ex-BBC journalists, David Edmonds and John Eidinow. The book is an international best-seller, which has been translated into 24 languages.
CAST
Richard E. Grant (Ludwig Wittgenstein)
Richard E. Grant is a British-Swazi actor, writer and director, who made his film debut in 1987 as the the perpetually inebriated title character of Withnail, in the cult favourite, Withnail and I. After Withnail, Grant established himself as a powerful character actor in a wide array of films, from blockbuster studio movies like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Logan, to small independent projects and popular TV programs, like Girls. Over the past 20 years, Grant has also had strong supporting roles in the films Gosford Park, Hudson Hawk, Spice World, Dracula, The Iron Lady and Game of Thrones. More recently, he won critical acclaim and received BAFTA, Golden Globe and and Oscar nominations for his role as Jack Hock in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Brian Cox (Bertrand Russell)
Brian Cox is a Scottish, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning actor, who first rose to prominence as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Michael Mann’s Manhunter. Throughout his career, he has gained critical acclaim for his performances in film, television and theatre, appearing in over 200 films, including major Hollywood blockbusters like Braveheart, X-Men 2, Troy, Rushmore, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and Adaptation and he has voiced many animated characters in video games, as well as Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. Among his many accolades, most recently Cox received a Golden Globe Award for his performance as the lead character, Logan Roy, in the critically acclaimed HBO Series, Succession. Cox has appeared in Broadway plays and has received Oliver Awards from the Society of London Theatre.
Karl Markovics (Karl Popper)
Karl Markovics is an Austrian actor, director and writer, who is perhaps best known for his 2007 lead actor performance, playing forger and concentration camp victim Salomon Sorowitsch in the Oscar winning (Best Foreign Language Film) The Counterfeiters; the true story of the Nazi counterfeiting operation set up in 1936. Markovics is also a well-respected stage actor who has appeared in many theatre plays and musicals, and he has had a robust television career with over 30 performances which led to his eventual success in films. Following his directorial film debut with the critically acclaimed Breathing, Markovics appeared in the Liam Neeson action thriller Unknown as well as Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. Most recently, he featured in the lauded TV Series, Babylon Berlin.
Still Photos
ARTWORK
STORYBOARDS
crew
CHRISTIAN DE VITA
Director
Christian is an award winning film maker whose past credits include Lead Storyboard Artist on Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and on Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie. Following on from that, Christian was a storyboard artist on The Little Big Panda and a co-director of the feature films The Ugly Duckling and The Christmas Stockings Christmas. Most recent credits include directing the 3D animated film Yellowbird featuring the voices of Dakota Fanning, Seth Green, Danny Glover and Elliot Gould, and directing Disney’s hit TV series the PJ Masks. Christian is based on Paris and London and was educated at the Roberto Rossellini Institute for Cinema and Television.
CASEY COHEN
Writer/Producer
Casey directed and produced the feature-length documentary, A Matter of Time, about Canadian musician Kathryn Calder (of The New Pornographers) and her mother's battle with ALS. The documentary premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in 2016, where it was nominated for the Jury Prize. The film was accepted into a number of festivals and was then distributed theatrically in Canada by Kinosmith, in the USA by First Run Features and in Scandinavia by NonStop Entertainment. Casey was educated at the London School of Economics, where he completed a BSc. degree with honours in Philosophy, Logic and the Scientific Method.
CHRISTIAN KUNTZ
Lead Animator
Christian Kuntz is one of Denmark’s most experienced 2D animators and character designers, having worked in the industry since 1996 on both Danish and international productions.
As a director, Christian made his debut is 2013 with the children’s short ’Mops & Ollie’ and has since directed the children’s short ’Finding Home’.
Stephen Warbeck, a British composer, is acclaimed for his Academy Award-winning score for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998) and his notable work on BILLY ELLIOT (2000). With dozens of film scores to his credit, Warbeck's musical style is characterized by its emotive and melodic qualities, often employing orchestral arrangements to create rich and evocative soundscapes.
STEPHEN WARBECK
Composer