The Safdie brothers are under scrutiny, just in time for Oscars season, courtesy of a cover story in the newly-launched California Post. The publication is the new West Coast arm of the New York Post and Page Six — all of which are owned by the Murdoch Family’s News Corp.
The story, written by former Variety reporter Tatiana Siegel, alleges that Josh and Benny Safdie, who have been creatively estranged since at least 2024, ultimately split over an underage actress being allegedly sexually exploited on the set of their 2017 “Good Time.” Josh is a multiple Oscar nominee this year, thanks to Best Picture contender “Marty Supreme,” while Benny’s “The Smashing Machine” with Dwayne Johnson was mostly shut out of the race, other than a Makeup and Hairstyling nod — and after Benny won Best Director at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
Siegel’s report alleges that an underage actress was traumatized by a simulated sex scene involving actor Buddy Duress on the co-directors’ New York-centered heist thriller. Per the story, Josh was directing the scene while Benny was operating a boom mic during the sex scene in question. (Duress died in 2023 of a heroin overdose.) The directors allegedly became aware of the actress’ age later on and began grappling with the difficulties of the scene around the time that “Good Time” producer Sebastian Bear-McClard was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Bear-McClard was fired from the brothers’ Elara Pictures in 2022.
On this week’s episode of IndieWire’s podcast “Screen Talk,” co-hosts Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio examine how this story could affect the Oscar chances for “Marty Supreme.”
The reality is, likely, not much. Josh Safdie is not a serious contender to win Best Director for the 1950s-set drama about a wannabe ping-pong hotshot, who’s played by Timothée Chalamet, an actor now enjoying his third Best Actor nomination and soon to be a likely winner. Chalamet, 30, is up against the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another”), Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”), Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”), and Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”). Chalamet is also nominated as a producer for Best Picture on “Marty Supreme.”
Oscars history shows a pattern of ill-timed allegations dropped during awards season voting, regardless of their validity or because of them. While it’s not to delegitimize similar concerns expressed about, say, Casey Affleck circa his “Manchester by the Sea” campaigning days, the actor won anyway amid sexual harassment claims in 2017.
Remember that last year’s “Emilia Pérez” was doused and downed after earlier, controversial tweets by star and Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón resurfaced, tanking the film’s chances and raising concerns about the production’s politics.
It’s cynical to suggest that Siegel’s story is the end product of an industry-plant-style tabloid grab akin to the Harvey Weinstein days of extinguishing competing filmmakers on the grounds of similar accusations, and the Siegel-reported story may have little influence on this year’s Oscars. But the timing seems suspicious, and makes for an odd cover story launch at the paper, mostly because the general audience for a story out of the California Post will likely have no idea who the Safdies are. This story may not penetrate the broader culture even as it has sent Film Twitter into a blaze.
Elsewhere on this week’s “Screen Talk,” Anne and Ryan also discuss the best films out of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. We both resoundingly believe in “Josephine,” which went on to win the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. Beth de Araújo’s competition title, which is still seeking distribution, centers on an eight-year-old girl processing trauma after witnessing a horrific assault.
We also welcome Santa Barbara International Film Festival director Roger Durling onto the podcast this week. The festival kicks off February 4 with an array of Oscar-friendly tributes and retrospectives of this year’s contenders, from a sit-down with Stellan Skarsgård (and with Anne Thompson) to the Virtuosos panel with Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Wunmi Mosaku, Jacob Elordi, Wagner Moura, Amy Madigan, Teyana Taylor, and Sydney Sweeney. Durling also clues us in on films to watch outside of the Oscar-friendly berth at this year’s California festival.
Listen to this week’s episode in the embed below, or on your favorite podcast platform.