Marty Supreme Storms NYFF – And the Oscar Race

0:28Hi, listeners. It's Rebecca.

0:37Hello and welcome to Little Gold Men, Vanity Fair's podcast for film, TV, and awards lovers. I'm Rebecca Ford. And I'm John Ross. John, how are you doing this week? I'm doing well. We had a busy, busy weekend weekend last week, so we have lots to talk about. Yeah, so, I mean, obviously, the biggest news was this weekend. Diane Keaton passed away on Saturday. She was 79 years old. A lot of times people are like, so-and-so was an icon, a legend. But Diane Keaton actually was an icon and a legend. Yeah, there's no other way to describe her. Yeah, there's no other way to describe her. And then this weekend, looking back at her filmography, I mean, The Godfather, all of the Woody Allen movies, specifically Annie Hall in Manhattan, First Wives Club, The Father of the Bride series, Something's Gotta Give.

1:40you're like, wow, that is somebody whose career has just been, you know, it's like a murderer's row of like big, big films that had huge cultural impact. Yeah, I think she's just really singular. Like the performances she gives, the way she became this style icon for her really individual style, She wasn't going to be the one just wearing those like standard red carpet dresses on carpets. And she said that women actresses can be their own person. And it's understandable why so many people admire her, both for her talent and her choices. And she was nominated for four Oscars. She won once for Annie Hall, which was her first nomination.

2:25I went back and watched her acceptance speech and it's like 30 seconds. Like she just, it's very sweet. It has that energy she's, you know, kept through her whole life. but she's basically just like gushing about her other nominees and then thinks Woody Allen gets on the stage and you're like, wow, that was really quick. And I wanted, you know, at this point, you just want more, any more of her that you could get because I feel like she was such an individual and it is such a sad loss, I think. And you saw that in the way everyone reacted. I love for Manny Hall when he meets her at the movie theater and he says something along the lines of like, he's complaining about where they might get a seat and he goes, you know I can be anal.

3:05And she goes, anal is the polite word for what you are. I use that in my everyday life all the time. Not even if it's anal, whatever word it is, is the polite word for what you are. Yeah. And I really loved First Wives Club. I have watched First Wives Club maybe more than any other movie in my life. It's so wonderful. I know. We should do like a rewatch of it. It's just, yeah, it felt like all this weekend, And that's all anyone could talk about online and within the film and TV community. But there is another piece of news in the industry, which is Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdi. They are the presidents of Warner Brothers Motion Pictures.

3:46Their deal was re-upped. they entered Warner Brothers with a very specific agenda, which was that they were going to make the studio a haven for filmmakers again, which Warner Brothers has a long history of being that. And then over the course of COVID, with different regime changes, they had lost Christopher Nolan to Universal. And there was this kind of feeling like, is Warner Brothers a filmmaker's studio? They came in, they purchased Sinners from Ryan Coogler, which was a huge success. They made this deal with Paul Thomas Anderson to make one battle after another, which is proving to be successful as well.

4:35And I think it's exciting for movie lovers because it means we have a major, major studio that is supporting filmmakers the way we want them to. I mean, it speaks so perfectly to this industry, the 180 that was done on their narrative. Because in the beginning of the year, everyone's like, they've really messed up. What are they thinking giving Paul Thomas Anderson all this money? What are they thinking about weapons? Why would they, you know, green light sinners? And now it's like everything has worked. They've been so successful this year and their choices were right, you know? And like the industry is excited that original stories are being supported by filmmakers by a major legacy studio.

5:20And so just to watch the narrative flip, it's just because there were rumors about them maybe being replaced. Like two weeks before Sinners came out, there was all of these rumors, like David Zaslav meeting with people. They're packing up their offices. And it's like, no, it all worked out. And Hollywood has such an odd relationship with like success, don't you think? Like, it's like, on the one hand, it's like, don't we want these people to succeed because they're giving these great filmmakers a chance to make their movies? But then it's like, there's always that sense of, like, they're going outside the box.

5:59They're doing something a little risky. And, like, there's always that sense, especially by Hollywood media, which we can be a part of sometimes, that, like, we want to, like, you know, ding them for taking those risks. But this time, they did take those risks. It paid off. And it's exciting because all of their films this year were out of the box. Yeah, I totally agree. Well, I think we should jump to sort of the biggest awards-related news this week, which was New York Film Festival just wrapped up. And there were several premieres I think we should talk about. The one that we knew was going to happen was Bradley Cooper's next directorial movie, Is This Thing On?

6:48And then there was also a surprise screening of Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme. So let's start with Bradley Cooper's movie. You and I both got to see it in Los Angeles on the same day it premiered at New York. And I did a first look on the movie a couple months ago, which is on our site. So basically it's Bradley Cooper directing his very good friend, Will Arnett, who's playing a man who's going through a divorce and sort of stumbles into an open mic night and does a standup routine and then decides that he loves doing this and sort of ends up returning to do these standup sessions as almost a form of therapy.

7:31So you're watching him do that, but also watching him and his soon-to-be ex-wife, Laura Dern, go through the process of figuring out separating while they have two children. And it's based on a true story about a bridge comedian. But it's a smaller film than I expected from Bradley Cooper. What did you think, John? Well, we're far from the shallow. I mean, we're very far away. How long have you been waiting? Well, I say that all the time, actually. Yeah, yeah. But we're very far away from the world of Lady Gaga singing Shallow on a stage. Right. You know, I personally am a fan of Bradley Cooper as a filmmaker.

8:10I think he's a great director. Yeah, I think he's a great director. I also think he is a really committed... I mean, this is not a hobby. I mean, not that making a movie is really ever a hobby because it's so much work. But he is now really committed to making this a huge part of his career. Yeah. this movie is very small in his repertoire. Yeah. And in some ways, I would say it's maybe his most personal in a way because Star is Born is a remake and Maestro is a biopic of Leonard Bernstein. And so now we're getting into contemporary, regular people going through a divorce. I mean, is this the most pleasant divorce we've seen on screen maybe ever?

9:05Yes. And at times, I think, Rebecca, you and I were a little like, okay, like, we got to have some conflict here. But it is very sweet. Will Arnett and Laura Dern are very good, I think, in it. I will say what he does do very well is, I mean, if you ever see stand-up on film and television, it's very, very hard to do. And I think he shoots those scenes really well. I think those scenes seem very real. I'm not sure the whole movie works together as a whole. And also, it's not a movie that maybe is terribly theatrical, which is an issue that a lot of independent films sort of are facing, which is like, you know, how much does this need to be seen on a screen versus how much would this like benefit from maybe being watched at home?

10:06Yeah, I agree. I think Will Arnett is really good. I think it's a great performance from him and it shows a lot of range and depth. And I really enjoyed watching him do this. And as they told me, He like went to open mic night in character for like weeks to learn how to do stand-up because that wasn't really something he'd done before. And I think the work shows. It's interesting because I think what I loved about Bradley Cooper's first two films is they're such a show. You know, there's a lot of bigness to them. And this is sort of the opposite. And it's interesting to see a filmmaker try to do something small.

10:45There's a lot of handheld camera work, a lot of close-ups of faces. it feels very contained in a way. And I like that he's not trying to do the same thing over and over again. But yeah, I don't know if it all works together in the end. I think I was waiting for a big showy moment that didn't come, especially from Laura Dern. So yeah, it left me wanting in a way that I think the film will struggle with, with bigger audiences. I mean, it's almost sort of like a Nicole Hall of Center film. Yeah, yeah. From like back in the day, almost. Which, by the way, I loved her films. I loved her indies. So I think that there's something interesting in trying to pursue that.

11:26I think that Bradley Cooper just has an aura. He's also in the movie, and he's incredible in it. And there is some parts where you're watching the movie with him in it, and you're like, have him star. I know. He's such a great actor. I know, because he's a really good actor. But he also has the more fun role as the best friend in this. Yes, and he's doing it on purpose. He's going out of character on purpose. but we'll see how this one plays because the reviews actually are very positive. Yeah. But this season is getting more and more crowded. Yeah. And so you got to see a lot. Yeah, I mean, Searchlight is releasing it and they did a very traditional awards release.

12:11New York Film Fest tied with a DJ screening at LA is like a classic way to open a film that you want to get awards. So they clearly want that for it. I thought the cinematography is great. It's the same cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, that Bradley Cooper has worked with before. I thought it looked really gorgeous. There's some scenes that I thought were so beautiful in the way they play. So I could see it there, maybe screenplay. There's a way for it to play in certain categories, but I think you're right. It's getting real crowded with some really big movies. So I think we'll have to wait and see how the rest of the season goes.

12:49You know, Bradley himself has never been nominated for director and that race is insanely packed. So I think he may have to wait for the next one for things like that. But we'll see. You know, it's very early. I think we should jump to the other big New York Film Festival premiere, which was Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie's film starring Timothee Chalamet. We did not know this one was going to be coming, but it did. And one of us got to see it in LA as well. So when we come back from the break, we'll talk a little bit about that and Timmy's campaign so far. Stay with us.

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15:05Welcome back to Little Gold Men from Vanity Fair. New York Film Festival audiences were treated to a surprise premiere of Marty's Supreme last week. That is the much-anticipated Josh Safdie film starring Timothee Chalamet as Marty Mauser, a champion table tennis player. He and the rest of the cast, including Gwyneth Paltrow, also attended the premiere. It was like a big deal, I would say. It was a big stunt. Yeah, it was a big stunt. And Joss Safdie talked about how he finished the movie like 2 a.m. the night before. It had all that sort of... Which they always say. They always say. We just finished it 10 seconds ago.

15:41Yeah. The Bradley Cooper one, they said the same thing. He finished it like on Monday and it played on Friday. So, I mean, we get it. You know, I would work on a piece until the very deadline as well. So, you know, I hear what they're saying. I'm currently living that life in my own professional life. So, yeah, I understand. Yeah, we get it. But I think they found out 24 hours before, like press was getting invited to the premiere, right? The day before. The same thing happened in LA. They showed it on Wednesday and we were all invited on Tuesday. So I think this really worked, especially for a Timothee Chalamet, Josh Safdie movie.

16:17Well, one, this was a huge win for New York Film Festival. Yes. Because to get this surprise screening is a big deal. it was kind of the biggest news out of the entire festival in the end. I agree. I got to go to the screening on Wednesday. Pretty much all of Hollywood was there. It was like a ton of directors. Sean Baker was there. Todd Phillips was there. Bo Burnham. I mean, there's a lot of directors there. There was a lot of excitement. So when we were talking about Smashing Machine and we were like, this isn't your typical Safdie Brothers movie. while Marty Supreme is. It's uncut gems light.

17:01It's not as dark or heavy. Even though quite a lot happens that could be viewed as dark and heavy, it leans more into the comedic tone. Timothy is wonderful. I mean, he's doing action scenes. He's doing comedic scenes. He's doing dramatic scenes. He's a bit of a, I mean, he's basically a bit of a hustler is the only way to describe it. Similar to Uncut Gems. But he also happens to also be a very good ping pong player. And the whole cast is great. Gwyneth Paltrow, you know, her return to acting, she's wonderful in it. The whole other cast, everything works. Kevin O 'Leary, he's from Shark Tank.

17:53he plays like a pivotal character in this it is not a small part and he's very good and this is a movie that's going all the way in terms of definitely for timothy but in terms of everything just the feeling that i got with the audience was that people were really loving on this so this is like an all category i think josh safty will be in the conversation for director I think it'll be in the conversation for sure for Best Picture. And then across the board. You know, I missed the screening and my heart was very broken that I couldn't make it work. You couldn't drop everything in 24 hours. Yes, I mean, I try to keep my schedule open, but, you know, things happen.

18:38But my question for you is, does it feel like it has a larger message for the Best Picture race? Because, you know, we've seen in the last few years they kind of have to have that. Yeah, well, Timmy has been saying it. It's follow your dreams. All right, all right. It's follow your dreams and believe in yourself. Now, it puts in perspective that crazy SAG Awards speech that he gave where he was like, I want to be one of the greats. This is what I want. That's Marty Supreme. I mean, that's Marty. That's the character's ethos throughout the entire film. So it's a little bit more maybe understandable.

19:19Which makes sense because he had just filmed that when he was doing the awards circuit. So he was really in the Marty headspace. Exactly. Well, Anora won with Follow Your Heart. So it sounds like the Marty story might have the right kind of saying for this. Before we wrap up on this film, I do want to talk about Timmy's campaigning, which, you know, we've pointed out that last year he ran a pretty unusual campaign, what he chose to do. He didn't do a lot of traditional sort of award stops. and I'm feeling like we might be in for the same thing. So far, he did this Instagram Live, which I don't even know if I can describe what is happening here.

19:59John, I feel like you could describe this better. Well, this is what I'm saying. First off, I wouldn't say this is campaigning. I would say this is opening the movie. Yeah, but for a movie this late, they have to overlap. Yes, they are overlapping. I agree. timothy chalamet is approaching opening this movie as you would if you are releasing an album and so in this instagram video it's all these people with the orange ping pong heads which is a part of the movie and then there's this kind of original song i guess playing in the background and then timothy like takes off his ping pong head you see that he has a shaved head that's the big reveal i mean if you're not in the world of timothy chalamet you might be like what's going on but the reveal is that his head is shaved um and then he walks into this room sits in front of a Marty Supreme poster, and then he says something along the lines of, like, this movie's coming out.

21:13Marty Supreme is an American film that comes out on Christmas 2025. You know, Tyler the Creator is in this film. It's as if he's releasing a Tyler the Creator album. Yeah. Later on, after they did the two surprise screenings, he put on his Instagram that they were going to show the first 30 minutes of the movie at the Regal Times Square, and fans should come and the first however many people would get in. It was a complete and total cluster, F-U-C-K. There were fans everywhere. We saw it on social media. It's a total stunt. I do think, though, connecting back to last week's episode where we talked about how important is theater going to the Academy, he got like 500 people to show up to the Regal Times Square in about an hour's notice.

22:10And he's, again, making sure people understand this movie's being released in theaters. You know? And he wants to make the theatrical experience an event. And this is, you know, not a movie with special effects. This isn't Dune. Right. It's not a known property. He has to work harder to make this movie successful. Yes. I think the pairing of Timmy and A24 is going to be genius because they are really great at marketing in new ways, and he is game to do that. So I think it's a great balance. I think the funniest thing about the Instagrams, which I guess happened last year too, is that Greg Frazier, Oscar-winning cinematographer of Dune, is filming these.

22:56And I'm like, sure, like, never seen that before. but obviously they have a relationship from Dune, but it's just like so random. But I agree. I think they're creating a campaign where this is going to feel like an event when it does finally hit theaters in December. And not every actor can do that. And I think that part is going to work. The question is, will he eventually agree to do any sort of traditional awards, press, or interviews, or events? I've begged. just because in the end, you have to meet the voters where they are. And, you know, they're not all on Instagram Live. They are in those cocktail meet and greets.

23:43That's where they are. They are, but they also are more global and they also are more, I mean, you know, he did win the SAG award last year. Yeah, yeah. So it's not like he's so outside the orbit. it. No, I think he's at risk of being second place again. That I think is the risk for him. And he is young and that counts against him, unfortunately, as we've talked about. So I, yeah, I don't think he's out of the race. It's just, could he be runner up again? Because he didn't do enough traditional stuff. So we'll have to see. Right. Yeah. I'm just saying that by winning SAG, I think it does show that he's got a lot of people in his corner and they've shown up to his movies in the past.

24:25So they're going to show up to this one because just seeing this past week, the excitement around this special screening, people want to see what he's up to. Yeah, I can't wait to see it. We've talked a lot about the best actor race, but I think we need to focus on what is traditionally my favorite race, which is the best actress race. It's starting to really heat up as well. So we're going to take a quick break and after we're going to dive into the leading ladies. Stay with us.

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25:35Welcome back to Little Gold Men from Vanity Fair. So New York Film Festival's behind us. We have a pretty clear picture of this year's Oscar races, and I thought we could dive into Best Actress. I thought an easy way to start here would be with After the Hunt because that is hitting theaters on Friday and has a really strong performance by Julia Roberts. I think the film has been mixed, but a lot of people have been saying that it's, you know, the best they've seen from her in a long time. She plays this college professor whose student accuses her colleague of assault. And it is a really strong performance.

26:16and the question is, would she be nominated? I think we really have to look at the rest of the field here and John, how did you feel about Julia Roberts before we talk about everyone else? Okay, so I love Julia Roberts. I think she's very good in this movie. I think this movie is just too polarizing to get a nomination for her. I just think that people don't understand why Julia's character is acting in a certain way in certain scenes in this movie. And it'll be hard for her to get past that. But, you know, she is Julia Roberts, so don't count her out. Never underestimate Julia Roberts. Yeah, don't underestimate the power of Julia Roberts.

27:04But I just think the movie has tipped over into polarizing in a way that is too negative. Yeah. I think with this race, we also have a very clear front runner in Jessie Buckley from Hamnet. Like, I don't know what sports metaphor to use, but she's very far ahead in the race from conversations I've had on the ground. It's like that performance in Hamnet is undeniable. She's already a very talented actor and then it sort of seems to be the perfect role for her. So I feel like she's pretty far out in front here. I'll give you a sports reference. Please. She's like the Serena Williams. She's the goat.

27:48This role, I mean, if you've read the book, Hamnet, you knew that this was going to be a great role. Chloe Zhao then adapted the novel in a way that really works for the screen. And then you combine it with everything working. and the role being so meaty, sometimes you just have to be like, okay, well, what are you going to do? Like, it's going to be very, very hard to compete against that, especially when the apex part of the acting in the role happens in the last 15 minutes. Right. It's all you remember, essentially. Yeah. Yeah. But I do think the other four slots are pretty up for grabs. Yes.

28:36It's a pretty interesting year when it comes to that. What do you think is your next person that you would say is a lock? I don't know if I would say anyone else is a lock. I can talk myself out of almost all of them. I'd say Renata Rinsva for Sentimental Value is quite strong. It's quite a performance. We know that, you know, the Academy already loved her from worst person in the world. and I think that would probably be my number two right now. I think she's a lock. I mean, it's a much smaller performance, but it's beautiful and she nails it and everyone loves that movie. To me, the other person that I think if they can get everyone to see it in time, they've bought this movie late, Fox Searchlight, The Testament of Anne Lee and Amanda Seyfried in the starring role.