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Wes Anderson, a director known for his whimsical style, finally claimed his own Academy Award at the 2024 ceremony, last weekend.
After a string of eight nominations over the years, his 39-minute short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar took home the prize for Best Live Action Short Film.
The film, based on Roald Dahl’s 1977 story of the same name, bested other contenders like The After, Invincible, Knight of Fortune, and Red, White and Blue. Interestingly, Wes was absent from the ceremony when his win was announced.
In a recent interview, Wes had revealed his perspective on short films. He explained that while some are purely for his own enjoyment, others hold the same weight as his feature-length movies. He categorised the Roald Dahl adaptation as a project he invested immense energy into, similar to his full-length films.
Wes’ journey to Oscar glory began in 2001 with his first nomination for The Royal Tenenbaums in the Best Original Screenplay category. Over the years, he received nods for Best Animated Feature (Fantastic Mr Fox), Best Original Screenplay (Moonrise Kingdom), and Best Animated Feature again (Isle of Dogs). His most decorated year was 2014 with The Grand Budapest Hotel, which garnered nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Although this is his first personal Oscar win, it’s not his first association with an award-winning film. The Grand Budapest Hotel itself swept four Oscars in 2014, including Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Costume Design.
