Everything I know about this movie I learned by force
Timothée Chalamet with a handlebar mustache, steel-rimmed glasses, and a vintage grey suit, passionately kissing Gwyneth Paltrow under the moonlight in Central Park. No, this isn’t a fever dream – it’s just another day on the set of Marty Supreme, the upcoming A24 film that’s already got everyone talking.
What do you mean this is the reason our fave heartthrob regrew the moustache from The French Dispatch? THIS is the reason he looked like THAT on the unhinged press tour for A Complete Unknown?? If that’s the case, then I can’t imagine what the Marty Supreme press tour will be like. But to be fair, I can’t comprehend much that I currently do know about this film. It just gets more chaotic with every new detail that gets added to the tapestry of Timothee Chalamet’s lore.
Turn your minds back to the summer of 2024 when Timothee Chalamet attended the first lookalike contest in NYC’s Washington Square Park that ignited oodles of copycat lookalike contests. While it was peak humor and soooo People’s Princess of him to make an appearance — and to keep running the joke back on social media and various award shows — the joke began with Marty Supreme.
Paps snapped a shot of the actor onset as Marty Reisman. In the background, a lamppost displays a poster for the Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest. Noticing this detail, fans started begging him to attend the actual contest but didn’t expect that he’d show. And while there’s no doubt that the lamppost poster will be CGI’d clean out of the actual movie, we’ll always know it was there. And it’s undeniable how much this film has already shaped pop culture, even before releasing a trailer.
But as we get closer to the film’s December 25th, 2025 release date, let’s break it down. Here’s everything you need to (or don’t) know about Marty Supreme:
The Unlikely Sports Drama We Didn’t Know We Needed
When you think of a sports movie, you might think of Friday Night Lights, Coach Carter, or The Blind Side. You might even think of Disney’s High School Musical (that counts) or The Mighty Ducks. Then there are films like Soul Surfer or Nyad. Often, these are inspiring tales of teamwork, resilience, and great achievements. Especially when they’re based on a true story. Marty Supreme is just that — a real true story. Marty Supreme is a sports movie. But Marty Supreme will not be wholesome or inspiring.
If you’d told me last year that 2025’s most buzzed-about production would be about a ping-pong champion from the 1950s, I might have laughed. But throw in Timothée Chalamet, add Josh Safdie‘s directorial genius, sprinkle some A24 magic, and suddenly you’ve got yourself what might be this year’s most anticipated film.
Marty Supreme is loosely inspired by the life of Marty Reisman, nicknamed “The Wizard of Table Tennis” – and honestly? The real story is wild enough to deserve the Hollywood treatment. Reisman, who passed away in 2012, was more than just a ping-pong champion. He was a Lower East Side kid who hustled his way to the top, winning 22 major titles in a career that spanned from 1946 to 2002. At 67, he became the oldest player ever to win a US-wide racket sport competition. Talk about aging like fine wine.
The story itself is entertaining. It’s like Inventing Anna meets The Queen’s Gambit — with the token Safdie chaos of Good Time and Uncut Gems, which will have our hearts racing in anticipation. The movie is partly based on Marty’s 1974 autobiography: The Money Player, The Confessions of America’s Greatest Table Tennis Player and Hustler. You’d think that the title says it all, but it doesn’t even scratch the surface. And the movie seems to be as unpredictable as the book, the man, and the life that inspired it. Most impressive? The cast.
Marty Supreme Cast: Who Is In Marty Supreme?
We’ve all been subjected to the sight of it: Timothee Chalamet’s latest look. As the leading man, Timothée Chalamet continues his streak of fascinating role choices — and their corresponding haircuts. Fresh off his turn as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown and still riding high from his whimsical performance in Wonka and his SAG Awards speech, Chalamet seems determined to prove his versatility.
The transformation for Marty Supreme is striking – especially if you think of him as he was in his breakthrough role as Elio in Call Me By Your Name, his past scumbag role of Kyle in Lady Bird (where he delivered the “good girl’ heard around the world), or even long-haired Paul in Dune. Instead, we’re getting a completely different Timmy: slicked-back hair, that aforementioned handlebar mustache, and a pair of steel-rimmed glasses that somehow make him look both older and … hotter?
To me, softboi scumbag Timothee is a recession indicator. Gone are the long locks and Prince-like outfits that made him the internet’s French-adjacent boyfriend. Now he’s a KarJenner accessory, running around in garish windbreakers and that mustache. Yes, we kind of love it. But it starts to make sense once you realize the character he is inhabiting for Marty Supreme. While I wouldn’t call it method acting, it is clear that Chalamet is reaching back for his NYC boy roots while filming what’s sure to be an authentic and alluring performance.
But Timmy-Tim isn’t the only aspect to be excited about. What makes Marty Supreme particularly intriguing is how random and eclectic the cast and crew seem. Some directors pick the same few actors and work with them over and over again. Not complaining — I’m waiting for when Luca Guadagnino brings together Timothee Chalamet and Drew Starkey in a mashup that will bust the internet. But this mix of people promises to add to the film’s chaos. We’ve learned from White Lotus that a curated cast can make a feature instantly iconic. We’ve also learned from Uncut Gems that Josh Safdie is a starmaker — his first muse was Julia Fox, after all.
Josh Safdie — directing solo for the first time without his brother Benny — brings the same kinetic energy that made Uncut Gems and Good Time such anxiety-inducing masterpieces. The script, co-written with longtime collaborator Ronald Bronstein, promises to blend historical fact with dramatic fiction.
The supporting cast reads like a fever dream wish list: Tyler, The Creator (who once famously hit on Chalamet in a song) making his acting debut (!!!), the legendary Fran Drescher, indie-darling Odessa A’zion — known for her breakout performance in Sitting in Bars with Cake as well as her romances with Billie Eilish and Drew Starkey … some people really do have it all — and even Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller fame. Plus, with A24 backing the project, we can expect the same level of quality and attention to detail that’s made it the coolest production house in Hollywood.
But let’s talk about what everyone’s really buzzing about: Gwyneth Paltrow’s return to the silver screen. Recent set photos show Paltrow looking glamazing in a red silk gown, complete with an elegant up-do, statement diamond earrings, and long black gloves – giving us serious Shakespeare in Love vibes — remember when she won that Oscar?
The last time we saw GP in a major film role was as Pepper Potts in 2019’s Avengers:Endgame. After which she focused on building her wellness empire, Goop. Her last significant acting project was Ryan Murphy’s The Politician on Netflix (2019-2020), where she played the deliciously complex lesbian character Georgina Hobart. No wonder we all relished seeing her ski trial so much — we missed her on our screens!
And in her time off, Paltrow hasn’t been tuned into Hollywood happenings beyond what her husband — producer, Brad Falchuck — and famous friends do. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, she mentioned going to the Oscars for a friend (the friend: Demi Moore, duh) as if it were a slightly inconvenient party. But she also revealed a little about Marty Supreme and her role in it.
Namely: why she was kissing Timothee Chalamet in Central Park!!!
That’s right. Another viral shot of the film’s filming in New York City last summer was of Timothee laying a big smooch on the actress’s lips. While we know he’s a fan of PDA in real life, thanks to his relationship with Kylie, there’s nothing that could have prepared me for that image. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Luckily, Gwyneth recently gave us some context, saying there’s much more to come.
“We have a lot of sex in this movie,” Paltrow told VF. “There’s a lot —a lot.” One viral quote revealed just how intimate they get, with Paltrow saying: “There’s now something called an intimacy coordinator, which I did not know existed … I was like, ‘Girl, I’m from the era where you get naked, you get in bed, the camera’s on.’”
were … They meet and she’s had a pretty tough life, and I think he breathes life back into her, but it’s kind of transactional for them both.”
But why did this role pull Gwyneth back to set? Something about it connected with her and Safdie knew it would from the start. Unlike many of us, it wasn’t Timothee who made her interested in the film. But shooting with him made her a fan.
“He’s such a thinking man’s sex symbol,” she said. “He’s just a very polite, properly raised, I was going to say kid … He’s a man who takes his work really seriously and is a fun partner.”
What to Expect from Marty Supreme
While plot details are being kept under wraps more tightly than a Goop wellness retreat, the Central Park kissing scene suggests there’s going to be a significant romantic subplot. All we know is what Gywneth’s told us — mostly about the physical intimacy. But from that, we can only hope that the romantic storyline is as Babygirl meets Anora as it sounds. Given Safdie’s previous work, we can probably expect a character study that delves deep into the psychological aspects of competition, ambition, and the price of success.
The film is currently shooting in New York City, with various locations around Manhattan standing in for the 1940s and ’50s. According to Searchlight, the film is set for a Christmas Day release of December 25, 2025 — just like Chalamet’s 2024 A Complete Unknown and his 2023 Wonka. Although he wouldn’t be the youngest Best Actor winner if he won the Academy Award, it seems Timmy is still determined to earn his Oscar.
Why We’re Already Obsessed
Yes, it’s true, everything I know about the film I learned by force. But, here in the deep end, I’m finding myself intrigued. There’s something deliciously meta about Chalamet — the current king of indie cinema with a $25 million net worth — playing a scrappy underdog who becomes a legend in his field. The actor, who’s been making headlines recently for everything from his relationship with Kylie Jenner to his upcoming projects (including Dune: Messiah), seems perfectly cast as the slight but skillful Reisman.
For Chalamet, it’s yet another step in building one of the most interesting young acting careers in Hollywood. He’s consistently chosen challenging, unique roles that showcase different aspects of his talent, from the romantic lead in Call Me By Your Name to the space messiah in Dune.
For Paltrow fans, this role marks a return to the kind of period pieces that earned her critical acclaim in the ’90s. Before she was Pepper Potts or a wellness guru, Paltrow made her name in films like Emma and Shakespeare in Love. Marty Supreme could be a triumphant return to form.
The combination of Safdie’s intense directing style, A24’s production values, and this stellar cast suggests we’re in for something special. Whether Marty Supreme turns out to be a straightforward sports drama or, more likely given the talent involved, something stranger and more sublime, remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: we’ll be watching every development with eager anticipation.
At the very least, we’ll get to see Timothée Chalamet kiss Miss Goop. And honestly? That alone might be worth the price of admission.
