It’s not every day you get the chance to fly in an airship – and certainly not the Insta-famous orange electric plane “Marty Supreme”.
Full disclosure: most of our colleagues thought we were crazy. “What are you riding in?” or “You’re braver than me” was a common refrain. “You wouldn’t catch me in an airship,” said another more bluntly. The invitation was immediately prohibited to anyone claustrophobic or afraid of heights. Our thought: “But it has to be safe, RIGHT? A24 can’t let a group of journalists make the news because they died in an airship crash! (We’re writing this, so obviously we survived to tell the tale.)
When the time comes to board the airship, we are on the sixth trip out of the seven planned for the day. (The film’s stars Tyler the Creator and Odessa A’Zion took this route the day before.) We stand at the side of the runway as the airship descends from the sky, and the ground crew rush to grab the ropes dangling from the sides. It’s their job to hold the gargantuan object steady so the previous riders (another pair of journalists) get off and we can climb in.
The cabin is more spacious than you might imagine, with two passenger seats behind the pilot seats. We quickly strap in, put on our headphones and before we know it – although we bet the crew’s biceps are feeling every second that passes – it’s time to take off.
“Welcome to the ‘Marty Supreme’ experience!” exclaims our pilot, Caesar Mendez, as the crew lets go of the ropes and we begin our ascent.
Soon we’re floating 1,000 feet above the ground, listening to Mendez receive updates from the air traffic control tower. Because we are the slowest plane in the sky (the airship’s cruising speed is about 25 to 30 mph), we have priority. That means the helicopters and planes taking off and landing at Long Beach International Airport, as well as the Goodyear blimp flying to our right, must be watching us. The “Marty Supreme” airship is about half the size of the Goodyear balloon, which travels at about twice our speed. We all wave as he circles our windshield a few minutes later.
As we fly through the air, Méndez explains how the plane works. He has wheels on the side of his seat that moderate the tilt of the airship’s nose while his feet pedal against rudders that control his left and right movement. “It’s like riding a bike for six hours,” says the rider.
Mendez and his co-pilot made the 13-day trip from Nashville (where the company’s headquarters are located) to California, flying over Memphis, Dallas, El Paso, Tucson, Phoenix, Palm Springs and a handful of smaller cities along the way. (The pilots traded shifts while flying about eight hours a day.)
The route we’re taking today is just a 30-minute loop from the Long Beach airfield down to the coastline, where, below, the docked Queen Mary cruise liner is about the size of a large yacht. But the view is spectacular: a perfectly blue sky with the sun glistening on the water. But it’s already time to turn back, so we head towards the airfield.
As we begin our descent, there are no tablets to put away or reminders to fasten your seat belt. It is only then that Angélique realizes that there really hasn’t been a security demonstration; the fire exit is the only way out – a locked door next to Clayton’s left leg. Landing is a completely different experience than sitting on an airliner. Instead of the jolt of the landing gear crashing onto the runway, it’s shocking to see a group of men running towards you to grab the ropes and stop you from floating again.
Overall, the airship ride was smooth, if uneventful. If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, there’s plenty of frenetic energy in “Marty Supreme” itself, as star Timothée Chalamet and director Josh Safdie find a way to make ping-pong seem like a matter of life and death.
But why do they do all this?
The orange Nickelodeon blimp emblazoned with the film’s title and tagline, “Dream Big,” has become a fixture in the skies over Los Angeles this awards season, a bold aerial gamble in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive Oscar race. A24’s unconventional marketing strategy — floating advertising for the Chalamet-led ping-pong drama over the city for weeks and other offbeat stunts — sparked conversations before most voters had even seen it (spoiler alert: there’s no airship in the film). The blimp has been spotted hovering over key industry events, from guild screenings to holiday parties, ensuring that “Marty Supreme” remains a priority as ballots begin to circulate.
But as the race tightens and competitors multiply, the airship strategy reveals both its cunning and its risks. With heavyweight films like “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” and “Hamnet” dominating nominations and critical awards, mere visibility can’t be enough. The Orange Blimp managed to make “Marty Supreme” the most talked-about FYC campaign of the season, but the film still faces an uphill battle securing nominations, especially as the final release of the year. But can he get there? It’s an issue A24 is betting millions of dollars on — and a highly visible blimp — in hopes it will pay off come nominations morning.
