Timmy Ping-Pong and his ping pong army

To begin the week, Marty Supreme premiered the New York Film Festival to rave reviews, rocketing Timothee Chalamet, thoroughly in his Timmy Ping-Pong era, to the top of the Best Actor race. 

Here’s Timmy Ping-Pong going to a sneak peek screening of Marty Supreme last night, surrounded by his ping pong army:

I still think it’s a little too early to have Strong Opinions about the Oscar race, but it is not too early to predict Timmy Ping-Pong will be at the center of the Best Actor conversation. Marty Supreme will be heavily in the mix overall—don’t count out a Gwyneth Paltrow Best Supporting Actress run, too—but right now, my Soft And Gentle Oscar Opinion is that the Best Actor race is going to come down to Timmy, Jeremy Allen White, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Michael B. Jordan, though I expect Sinners to experience some weird friction because the executives are not going to want it broadly recognized lest anyone else get Ideas about negotiating a deal like Ryan Coogler (they’re being so weird about something few filmmakers could legitimately even ask for, but that’s executives for you!). 

Timmy has one significant hurdle, though, and that is his age. He is 29, he’ll be 30 by the time of the Oscars next year, he’s five years younger than JAW, nine years younger than MBJ, and 21 years younger than Leo. The youngest Best Actor winner of record is still Adrien Brody, who was 29 when he won for The Pianist. I’ve said it before—the Academy is weird about handsome young men. They don’t like rewarding them. We have a recent example with Austin Butler, and the Academy made Leo grovel for twenty years before deigning to give him an Oscar in his forties. 

I’m not saying it can’t be done, and it helps Timmy’s case that Leo already has an Oscar in the bag, because Leo can’t run an “it’s his time” campaign. But if it comes down to Timmy Ping-Pong and Leo giving a brakes-off unhinged performance in the movie of the year… I don’t think I’m betting on Timmy. His day will come, of that I am sure, but the Academy is going to make him bend the knee for a good long while to get it.