At the SAG Awards in February, Timothée Chalamet claimed his award for Best Male Actor and asserted to the audience that he wanted to be “one of the greats.” This claim of ambition was decried and admired in equal parts by the internet’s horde of critics, and ultimately dissected: What does it truly take to join Hollywood’s hall of giants?
The SAG win certainly seemed like a step in the right direction – Chalamet, 29, became the youngest to be recognized as Best Actor by the Screen Actors Guild, dethroning Nicholas Cage for his 1995 win at age 32. His desire to be one of the greats became the nexus of his next movie’s campaign – buzz around Marty Supreme, as well as the lofty marketing moves that herald its upcoming premiere, is everywhere.
Initially confirmed as Josh Safdie’s eighth feature film in the summer of 2024, the director and Chalamet had been in talks around the role since 2018. Marty Supreme is a sports-comedy drama that loosely documents the life of American table tennis champion Marty Reisman, who Chalamet embodies through his fictional likeness, Marty Mauser. It has generated Oscars buzz practically since its announcement, but talk around the film until recent months had otherwise been somewhat tight-lipped; all we knew was that the film was bound to be… great.
Safdie, Chalamet, and a number of other cast members shocked audiences with appearances at the 63rd New York Film Festival’s annual surprise screening, which turned out to be the film’s world premiere. Soon, it had a standing ovation and online buzz under its belt. Marty Supreme would soon be everywhere, all at once, and Chalamet has done something surprising for a star of his caliber: Through months and across mediums, he has seen the campaign through.
Last month, Chalamet seemed to leak a recorded Zoom call with his marketing team on his social media. After flippantly greeting each of the professionals with a distracted nod or apathetic “dope,” the team seems to indulge Chalamet’s increasingly self-serious – and undeniably absurd – ideas, from releasing a fleet of blimps to rain ping-pong balls down on witnesses to painting the Statue of Liberty orange. I’d consider it performance art; Chalamet leaned into his critics’ skepticism through the act of parody, playing the part of the disillusioned fledgling star that they pinned to him from the moment he expressed his aspiration.
Ultimately, we did get the blimp. Beverley Hills was blessed with an electric orange behemoth in the sky on December 8, ahead of the film’s premiere in Los Angeles – no ping pong balls included. The iconic color, which Chalamet likened in the Zoom call to the characteristic pink of the 2023 Barbie film, continues to manifest across the film’s promotion: From the round orange heads of the helmetted figures who have accompanied him to the film's 30-minute guerilla teaser in Times Square and in enigmatic hype reels co-directed by Aidan Zamiri to the matching Chrome Hearts sets he wore with girlfriend Kylie Jenner to the LA screening, the color and film have become successfully ubiquitous, largely due to his championing.
Speaking of pop-ups, we truly can’t talk about the campaign without addressing the coats. You’ve surely seen the windbreakers online – nineties-esque color blocking, offered in several colors, the words “Marty Supreme” and several stars emblazoned across the chest.
We can’t talk about the campaign without talking about the coats. You can’t go five seconds of scrolling without seeing one of the windbreakers. The coats were produced by the lifestyle brand Nahmias, and teased first in photos both by the cast and figures like Hailey Bieber, Tom Brady, Misty Copeland, Bill Nye and Kid Cudi. The convergence of athletes and celebrities of various fields rocking the merch seems to pose a pantheon of sorts. Brand founder and designer Doni Nahmias told GQ that the flicks were part of a “rollout plan of having all these people that we considered represented greatness.” The look thus becomes one associated with ambition and success, as well as undeniable street style.
A surprise pop-up in SoHo on Nov. 20, as posted about less than a day in advance on Chalamet’s story, was the first opportunity for enthusiasts to grab the merchandise. Then, west-coasters had the chance to get their hands on the merch at a subsequent LA event on Dec. 8. Most recently, Chalamet took to London for a Boxing Day pop-up. Present alongside other film-customized items like polo shirts and socks, each jacket goes for around $250. Now, they are being resold for thousands. The film has become grounds for clickbait discourse and fashion commentary alike, all before it hits screens internationally.
Although clearly ideated by an extensive team of creatives – in spite of what the Zoom meeting might imply – the film’s extensive promotional campaign takes on greatness as a motif, finding its footing in Chalamet’s ambitious claim from months ago. The arterial vein of Marty Supreme as a story seems to be Mauser’s underdog journey to become a table tennis legend, and the leading man portraying him might have more in common with his character than first meets the eye.
Eleanor Jacobs is PAPER's 2025 Fall Intern
Images via Getty
