Congratulations to A24, truly. They test screened Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” in New Jersey last Thursday, and not a single soul has been willing to spill the beans about it. Radio silence.
I’ve only heard rumors. There are lots of long takes. Some grainy, handheld filmmaking. Otherwise, the NDA must have been drafted with serious weight behind it, because no one is willing to say a single word to me about it.
This is one of the year’s most mysterious and anticipated films, and back in April, cinematographer Darius Khondji teased what to expect.
Khondji, who previously collaborated with the Safdies on “Uncut Gems,” described the film as “unlike anything at the moment,” and expected it to be ready “by the end of the year.” I recently reported it would be skipping the fall fests.
The film, set for a Christmas release via A24, stars Timothée Chalamet as 1950s table tennis legend Marty Mauser in what is not a traditional biopic but rather a “fast-paced, globetrotting adventure-comedy” in the spirit of “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Catch Me If You Can.”
The screenplay is credited to Safdie and longtime collaborator Ronald Bronstein, and the project — reportedly budgeted near $70M — marks A24’s most expensive film to date.
Did I mention the wild ensemble? In addition to Chalamet, the cast includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Fran Drescher, Tyler the Creator, and… Kevin O’Leary? Yes, Mr. Wonderful himself. The eclectic casting doesn’t stop there: according to Khondji, there are “140 different characters in the film.”
Loosely inspired by real-life ping pong hustler Marty Reisman, the film is said to be entirely fictionalized. Reisman’s flamboyant persona reportedly served as a jumping-off point for Safdie’s vision, a portrait of obsession, fame, and manic ambition set against the unlikely backdrop of mid-century American table tennis.
Coppola lost more than $100M on "Megalopolis," got hammered for it, and he knows the clock is running out for one more film. If "Glimpses of the Moon" is that film, someone needs to write the check soon.