Timothée Chalamet Oscar hopes crash as Marty Supreme's Josh Safdie exposed

Timothée Chalamet crafted a meticulous Oscar campaign — some would even say meta — months in advance.

While Marty Supreme was released during last Christmas, the Chalamet campaign was put into motion as early as February 2025, when the actor won the SAG Award for his performance in an entirely different project — as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (2024).

The current awards season frontrunner delivered a rousing speech after bagging his first Actor statuette, going on to reveal during a recent appearance on Graham Norton’s chat show that he was already in character as the ambitious Marty Mauser when he took to the SAG stage.

Which is why the jury is still out on whether the three-time Oscar nominee is sincerely hoping that third time might be the charm and is actively pushing to make it a reality, or if the whole routine is merely part of the Marty Supreme marketing.

However, before the quintessential Gen-Z super star could put his campaign into third gear, an unexpected roadblock has threatened to derail the speeding vehicle.

Josh Safdie controversy explained

Josh Safdie, who directed Chalamet in his latest screen turn, has emerged at the centre of a new controversy involving his work on 2017’s Good Time.

The film starred Robert Pattinson and was co-directed by Josh and his brother, Benny Safdie, who also appeared onscreen.

Now, their joint venture has been exposed in a newly published piece by Page Six under its Hollywood sub-section.

The eldest Safdie brother was accused of being the “de facto commander” on set of the film, refusing to stop the cameras from rolling while an underaged actress was put at risk during an intimate scene with a convicted felon, who was freshly released from prison at the time.

Lured into the production under the impression that she would be sharing the screen with Pattinson, the 17-year-old girl was “thrust into a scene that involved nudity and simulated sex with ‘actor’ Buddy Duress during production in New York.”

Benny Safdie’s stake in the matter

The other half of the Safdie directorial duo, Benny Safdie’s name has additionally emerged as the alleged tipster behind the latest exposé on his brother.

Consistent pop culture enthusiasts would remember that the Good Time controversy was originally uncovered years prior and was swiftly buried not too long after.

Actress Emily Ratajkowski’s ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, who used to be a business associate and producing partner of the Safdies’, was accused of sexual misconduct when the scandal first broke on to the scene.

Despite the Safdie brothers unceremoniously going their separate ways on their respective creative missions soon thereafter, it is only now that the reason has been outlined as “Benny cutting ties with his brother in 2023 after he learned the full scope of the event.”

The timing is of essence — since the brothers’ creative divorce, their two major directorial releases have gone down vastly different trajectories.

While Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme soared, currently vying for four Oscars, Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine crash landed at the box office and was subsequently shut out of the ongoing awards race.

Could the latest news have been orchestrated by the snubbed brother?

Timothée Chalamet — fight or flight?

In view of the current news cycle being hot on Josh Safdie’s trail, the question now shaping in everyone’s mind is: could Timothée Chalamet’s marketing tactics go in vain?

He is certainly the favourite to seal victory everywhere he is nominated at present, which also includes the newly renamed Actor Awards by SAG-AFTRA.

There is a chance the Safdie scandal may very well die down by the time the final phase of the awards season begins — the 2026 Oscars, for instance, don’t take place until March — and Chalamet’s hopes would be safe from being dashed.

However, the 30-year-old actor will have to consider a new challenge altogether — how much he would be willing to captain the ship as the head of his own marketing giant when faced with the highest odds.

He may stand to alienate the young and progressive audience, but gain a rock solid reputation for being utterly reliable as part of the Hollywood machinery. Though it all depends on how well he handles the situation (or vice versa). And how much of it he even wants to participate in.

If Timothée Chalamet weathers the impending storm, brewed by his director’s insolence, he gets to become 'Timothée Supreme'.

If he chooses to not acknowledge the scandal at its peak however, the internet will remind him again, sometime down the line. Just ask Josh Safdie.