Is it time for Timmy to reign supreme at the Oscars?
In a season where four films are tracking with 10 or more predicted nominations, A24’s “Marty Supreme” has just landed — and it’s looking like the spoiler very few saw coming. Much like its protagonist, played by Timothée Chalamet — a young man with a dream no one respects, who goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness — the film could be the dark horse the Oscar race didn’t realize it needed.
The Oscar season landscape shifted dramatically following successful screenings of “Marty Supreme” at the New York Film Festival on Monday and a friends-and-family showing in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. That screening included Oscar winner Sean Baker, Bo Burnham, Phoebe Bridgers, Sebastian Stan and Johnny Knoxville, along with members of the press. Director Josh Safdie, making his solo directorial debut, introed the film, which is now looking like it has significant room to grow in awards stature.
Set in the 1950s but shot with a kinetic 1980s aesthetic, “Marty Supreme” follows Marty Mauser, a volatile shoe salesman, who channels his obsession with table tennis into an all-consuming pursuit of glory to become the world champion. Blending the scrappy sports-movie underdog energy of “The Karate Kid” and the intensity of “Bloodsport,” and shot with the anxious, adrenalized filmmaking of “The Wolf of Wall Street”-meets-“Uncut Gems,” it’s a comedy-action-sports mashup that defies easy categorization, but demands attention.
For Chalamet, fresh off becoming the youngest man to score two best actor nominations since James Dean — with his second coming from last year’s “A Complete Unknown” — a third nomination for “Marty Supreme” could extend that historic run. Should he win, he would become the second-youngest best actor winner in history, behind Adrien Brody, who was 29 when he won for “The Pianist.”
That potential doubles if Chalamet receives an official producing credit. While it’s not yet confirmed whether he is a PGA-credited producer on the film, a double nomination for best picture and best actor would make him the youngest person ever to achieve the feat. Warren Beatty did it four times across his career for “Bonnie and Clyde” (1968), “Heaven Can Wait” (1978), “Reds” (1981) and “Bugsy” (1991). Bradley Cooper has done it three times, most recently with “Maestro” (2023). Clint Eastwood managed it twice, winning best picture both times, for “Unforgiven” (1991) and “Million Dollar Baby” (2004). Chalamet’s “French Dispatch” co-star Frances McDormand remains the only woman to receive nominations in both categories and win both in the same year for “Nomadland” (2020). The last best actor winner also nominated for best picture was Will Smith for “King Richard” (2021).
Safdie’s solo directorial turn marks his first without brother Benny, who premiered his own solo debut, “The Smashing Machine,” earlier this year. A best director nomination would make Safdie the 25th person recognized for their inaugural feature. The last debut director nominated was Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman” (2020), who went on to win the original screenplay award. The previous debut director to win best director was Sam Mendes for “American Beauty” (1999).
It doesn’t stop there for this chaotic, genre-bending sports dramedy.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A’zion are exquisite in their supporting roles, devouring every morsel of the Safdie and Ronald Bronstein script. Paltrow’s return to awards consideration could mark her first Oscar nomination since winning best actress for “Shakespeare in Love” 27 years ago. She’s part of a growing wave of Oscar comeback queens this season, alongside Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue” and Amy Madigan for “Weapons” — all veteran actresses reemerging decades after their initial nominations.
Paltrow’s 28-year span would tie her with Sally Field (28 years), Angela Bassett and Jodie Foster (28 years), and place her just behind Lynn Redgrave (32 years) and Helen Hayes (39 years). The record, in any acting category, remains with Judd Hirsch, who waited 42 years between nominations for “Ordinary People” (1981) and “The Fabelmans” (2023).
Legendary production designer Jack Fisk, nearly 80, could be due for long-overdue recognition. With three previous nominations — for “There Will Be Blood” (2007), “The Revenant” (2015) and “Killers of the Flower Moon” (2023) — his meticulous re-creation of 1950s New York and Tokyo streets could finally net him a win.
Bronstein and Safdie’s co-editing also align with a recent trend of directors cutting their own films. Baker became the first solo director-editor to win the Oscar last year with “Anora” (2024), taking home four individual statues. Alfonso Cuarón won best editing with co-editor Mark Sanger for “Gravity” (2013). James Cameron (“Avatar”), Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) and the Coen brothers (under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes for “No Country for Old Men”) were all nominated, but lost.
The new casting category remains an unpredictable wild card. But Jennifer Venditti, an Emmy nominee for “Euphoria,” could find herself a frontrunner thanks to her eclectic ensemble: rising star A’zion (from CBS’ “Ghosts”), Tyler, the Creator, “Shark Tank” host Kevin O’Leary and former SAG president Fran Drescher all play key roles in this left-field but surprisingly effective lineup.
Other possible nominations include costume design by Miyako Bellizzi, original score by Daniel Lopatin, reuniting with Safdie after “Uncut Gems,” and immersive sound work that fuses period detail with Safdie’s signature tension.
Of course, any Oscar campaign requires careful studio strategy. While A24 made history in 2022 by sweeping the top eight categories and scored multiple nominations two years ago with “Past Lives” and “The Zone of Interest,” the distributor is now managing several serious contenders. “Marty Supreme” may be the crown jewel. Still, A24 is also backing Eva Victor’s “Sorry Baby,” Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine” (with acting buzz for Dwayne Johnson) and Mary Bronstein’s (wife of Ronald) “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” featuring a best actress hopeful turn from Rose Byrne. Other hopefuls like Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” David Freyne’s “Eternity” and Harry Lighton’s “Pillion,” are also generating chatter.
In a film about a man chasing a dream no one believes in, “Marty Supreme” has suddenly become the season’s most unlikely champion. And if Oscar history has taught us anything, it’s that the Academy loves an underdog, especially one who refuses to miss his shot, even if it’s on a ping-pong table.