Timothée Chalamet to play a ping pong pro in Josh Safdie’s new A24 film

Timothée Chalamet is set to star in Marty Supreme, an original movie from Josh Safdie and A24. The film delves into the life of Jewish-American ping-pong star Martin ‘Marty’ Reisman. Written by Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, Marty Supreme will be produced by Chalamet, Safdie, Eli Bush, and Anthony Katagas.

This is Safdie’s third collaboration with A24, which distributed his last two feature films, Uncut Gems (2019) and Good Time (2017), which he created in partnership with his brother, fellow filmmaker and actor Ben Safdie.

Marty Supreme is a fictionalised account of Reisman’s life, a man who left a lasting legacy in the world of ping pong. He began playing for fun at the age of 12 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and then as a hustler in the 1940s, playing for bets and prizes. His achievements include five bronze medals at the World Table Tennis Championships, 22 major table tennis titles, and becoming the oldest player to win an open national competition in a racket sport at the age of 67. He is known as the “wizard of table tennis”.

Josh Safdie's MARTY SUPREME starring @RealChalamet. Coming soon pic.twitter.com/9ko3uu0IsC

— A24 (@A24) July 15, 2024

Chalamet has previously expressed admiration for the Safdie brothers, particularly for their work on Uncut Gems. In 2019, he wrote an essay for Variety where he praised their filmmaking style: “The pair have continuously put out contemporary, raw and untethered work over the last decade, each film building on the traits of the prior, but never once sacrificing their innate grittiness,” Chalamet wrote.

Marty Supreme marks Josh Safdie’s first film as a director since Uncut Gems. Little is known about the casting or when shooting is set to begin. But after Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers (2024) and Sean Durkin’s Iron Claw (2023), is it safe to assume we are entering the golden age of sports movies? Only time will tell.