Quick, what was the last non-Marvel starring role for Gwyneth Paltrow? That would be 2015’s dreadful comedy Mortdecai, and trust me, nobody wants that film to be the last credit on their resume. Fortunately, it won’t be as A24 has announced Paltrow for Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie’s upcoming ping pong biopic starring Timothée Chalamet.
Paltrow will join Chalamet in Marty Supreme, a film about real-life professional ping pong champion Martin “Marty” Reisman, who began playing at the age of 12 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, then as a hustler in the 1940s. Reisman won 22 major awards including the U.S. Men’s singles championship in 1958 and 1960. In 1974, Reisman published his autobiography The Money Player, The Confessions of America’s Greatest Table Tennis Player and Hustler.
Safdie will direct and co-write the script with Ronald Bronstein. This marks Safdie’s first solo gig after previously teaming with his brother Benny on the films Uncut Gems, Good Time, and Heaven Knows What.
Paltrow is often the butt of jokes for her personal quirks, but she’s still a tremendous actress who won a Best Actress Oscar for Shakespeare in Love. It’s been a while since we’ve seen her do anything on that level, but perhaps that’s about to change.
