A Period Piece Gone Awry: "Marty Supreme" Almost Sucked the Life Out of Timothée Chalamet
The 2023 film "Marty Supreme," a period piece about ping pong player Marty Mauser, has all the makings of an underdog story. The movie chronicles Marty's (played by Timothée Chalamet) relentless pursuit of success on and off the table, but things took a darker turn during production.
According to co-writer and director Josh Safdie, an alternate version of the film would have ended with a gruesome twist that even now seems like a mistake. In this cut, Marty's character was supposed to be seduced by his business rival Milton Rockwell (played by Kevin O'Leary), who revealed that he was born in 1601 and a vampire, warning Marty that winning at all costs would only bring eternal unhappiness.
In the film as it stands, this moment is chilling but non-literal. However, Safdie confirmed on the A24 Podcast that the script originally included a scene where Mr. Wonderful bites off Marty's neck, leaving him unaged and frozen in time. The plan was to show Marty's subsequent decades of success before his eventual demise at the hands of his own curse.
The film's team apparently didn't realize their mistake until after the project had wrapped, with everyone involved expressing that this alternate ending should be scrapped. Now, it seems like a bold move by the filmmakers to have stuck with their original vision.
For fans of offbeat storytelling, Safdie's revelation is a welcome surprise. While "Marty Supreme" has already gained praise for its portrayal of Marty Mauser, an American professional ping pong player who won three major championships in the 1970s and '80s, this alternate ending adds a layer of complexity to the film that was almost cut from the final product.
The full audio of Safdie's podcast interview can be found online for those eager to delve deeper into the making of "Marty Supreme."
The 2023 film "Marty Supreme," a period piece about ping pong player Marty Mauser, has all the makings of an underdog story. The movie chronicles Marty's (played by Timothée Chalamet) relentless pursuit of success on and off the table, but things took a darker turn during production.
According to co-writer and director Josh Safdie, an alternate version of the film would have ended with a gruesome twist that even now seems like a mistake. In this cut, Marty's character was supposed to be seduced by his business rival Milton Rockwell (played by Kevin O'Leary), who revealed that he was born in 1601 and a vampire, warning Marty that winning at all costs would only bring eternal unhappiness.
In the film as it stands, this moment is chilling but non-literal. However, Safdie confirmed on the A24 Podcast that the script originally included a scene where Mr. Wonderful bites off Marty's neck, leaving him unaged and frozen in time. The plan was to show Marty's subsequent decades of success before his eventual demise at the hands of his own curse.
The film's team apparently didn't realize their mistake until after the project had wrapped, with everyone involved expressing that this alternate ending should be scrapped. Now, it seems like a bold move by the filmmakers to have stuck with their original vision.
For fans of offbeat storytelling, Safdie's revelation is a welcome surprise. While "Marty Supreme" has already gained praise for its portrayal of Marty Mauser, an American professional ping pong player who won three major championships in the 1970s and '80s, this alternate ending adds a layer of complexity to the film that was almost cut from the final product.
The full audio of Safdie's podcast interview can be found online for those eager to delve deeper into the making of "Marty Supreme."