‘Marty Supreme’ Expected to Pop Up as NYFF “Surprise Screening” on Monday Night

UPDATE: There is a review embargo for the film, and no word yet when it would lift — probably sometime in November. However, social media reactions are permitted. There are also no more tickets available — the screening sold out 20 minutes after it went on sale.

Here’s an interesting little development on the fall festival circuit.

Back in August, I reported A24 was so confident in Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” that they might give it an early splash at NYFF as a “surprise screening” — more than two months before its official theatrical bow.

Well, this morning NYFF announced a “surprise screening” set for Monday, 8:30pm at Alice Tully Hall. No, it’s probably not “Die, My Love” or “Hamnet,” which aren’t part of the NYFF lineup, but rather as described by the festival, a “highly anticipated new film.”

“Marty Supreme,” produced by A24, has a wild cast, including Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Fran Drescher, Tyler The Creator, Abel Ferrara, Penn Jillette, Kevin O’Leary and Sandra Bernhard.

Set in 1953, “Marty Supreme” will tell the wild story of a Ping Pong champion. It is said to be a “fictional work,” but Marty Reisman was used as a template. The screenplay was written by Safdie and Ronald Bronstein. Last year, it had been reported that Safdie’s film cost close to $90M to produce.

The film’s DP, Darius Khondji, recently claimed that there are over 140 different characters featured in “Marty Supreme,” and that the film is “unlike anything at the moment.”

One thing that is definitely confirmed: “Marty Supreme” is locked for a Christmas Day release. If early word out of NYFF is strong, A24 could be looking at a serious year-end contender.