Marty Reisman

There is Oscar buzz circling Timothee Chalamet. Alright, there is Oscar buzz circling Chalamet every year, and it won't die down until he wins one. Who doesn't love them some Chalamet? (A large percentage of our audience nods in agreement.)

This year's hype is around "Marty Supreme", where Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser... a table tennis player. Yes, you heard that right. Table tennis, AKA ping pong. Oscar buzz. Go figure.

Chalamet's character is clearly based on Marty Reisman, who started out hustling in New York and turned himself into a champion. (22 major titles, including two US Opens, but not including five bronze medals at the World Championships.) Flamboyantly dressed, trash talking, and always hustling, his signature trick was splitting a cigarette with a ping pong ball. Reisman tried very hard to bring ping pong out of the basement and into the mainstream...

Which he didn't, obviously. But who knows, maybe this movie will? After all, who doesn't love them some Chalamet?

(It won't.)