Wes Anderson wins first Oscar of his career but doesn’t show up
Wes Anderson was awarded an Oscar yesterday for his short film, The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar, but was not present to accept the award.
The 96th Academy Awards took place last night at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and saw Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer triumph, taking home seven of the prestigious awards.
Also securing an award was eight-time nominee Anderson, who won in the category of Best Live Action Short Film for his picture The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar.
The film, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley among others, is about a man who possesses the intriguing ability to see through objects, helping him to predict the future and build his fortune through gambling.
However, the Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle Of Dogs creator was not at the ceremony to accept his award or make a speech. However, according to an official statement on Netflix’s X account (the streaming platform was home to the Oscar-winning picture), the director was away in Germany shooting a new movie.
In the statement, he thanked “the family of Road Dahl, the team at Netflix, Benedict and Ralph and Ben Kingsley and Dev and Richard and Bob and Adam and Jeremy and John and Jim and Rich and Jim and Polly and more.”
"If I could have been there, I (along with Steven Rales) would have said "Thank you" to: the family of Roald Dahl, the team at Netflix, Benedict and Ralph and Ben Kingsley and Dev and Richard and Bob and Adam and Jeremy and John and Jim and Rich and Jim and Polly and more.
And… pic.twitter.com/eem20sZGlh
— Netflix (@netflix) March 11, 2024
Anderson also mentioned his long-time collaborator Owen Wilson, saying: “If i had not met Owen Wilson in a corridor at the University of Texas between classes when I was 18 years old, I would certainly not be receiving this award tonight.”
The movie is a 39-minute-long adaptation of Road Dahl’s story from his 1977 anthology, with the iconic children’s author being portrayed by Ralph Fiennes.
In a four-star review of the film, NME praised the storytelling and set design saying: “This concertina-style approach – stories within stories, basically – is right up Anderson’s strasse, as they say. Even more so, given the theatrical telling. Scenery slides back and forth, as if we’re watching a West End production; as ever with Anderson, the design is meticulous.”
In other Oscars news, Ryan Gosling did a live performance of the hit song from Barbie, ‘I’m Just Ken’ at the ceremony. See the full video here.
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Alex Berry
NME
