Wes Anderson, the acclaimed filmmaker hailing from Houston, now boasts an Academy Award.
At 54, Wes Anderson, a graduate of Houston’s St. John’s School and the University of Texas at Austin, clinched his maiden individual Oscar on Sunday night.
He won in the Best Live Action Short Film category for “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” part of his series of Roald Dahl short-story adaptations created for Netflix.
Anderson, notably absent from the awards ceremony in Los Angeles to receive his long-anticipated bronze-and-gold-plated statue – having been nominated for seven previous Oscars without a win – was in Germany to commence shooting a new film Monday morning, alongside frequent producer Steven Rales.
This information was disclosed in a statement by Anderson’s publicist to Houston Public Media.
“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; our cast and crew; and also: 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,” Anderson said.
Wilson, a Dallas native, has frequently collaborated with Anderson, featuring in three of the filmmaker’s Oscar-nominated works: “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001), “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (2009), and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014).
The latter film clinched four Oscars and earned Anderson individual nods for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Original Screenplay.
Anderson’s initial Oscar nomination came with “The Royal Tenenbaums,” recognized in the Best Original Screenplay category. Similarly, the 2012 film “Moonrise Kingdom” secured a nomination in the same category.
Additionally, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Isle of Dogs,” both released in 2018, earned nominations for Best Animated Picture.
Despite critical acclaim, “Rushmore,” one of Anderson’s earliest and most renowned works, filmed in the Houston area and released in 1998, didn’t receive any Oscar nominations.
Likewise, his latest feature-length film, “Asteroid City,” released in 2023, set in a fictional American desert town in the 1950s, starring a star-studded cast including Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, and Margot Robbie, missed out on nominations.
“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley, centers on a wealthy man who learns to see without using his eyes and uses this ability to win money at casinos, which he then donates to charity.
Other nominees in the Best Live Action Short Film category included “The After,” “Knight of Fortune,” “Invincible,” and “Red, White and Blue.”