While many prominent folks won their first Oscars on Sunday – including “Oppenheimer” alums Robert Downey Jr. and Christopher Nolan – one came and went in a flash: Wes Anderson. The “Rushmore” and “Grand Budapest Hotel” filmmaker had been nominated for seven Academy Awards before in categories ranging from Best Picture to Best Director to Best Original Screenplay, but his first win came on Sunday in the Best Live Action Short Film category for his Roald Dahl adaptation “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”
But Wes Anderson wasn’t there to accept the trophy for his Netflix release, and the telecast moved right along.
Fret not, Anderson didn’t skip the Oscars on purpose. In a statement released by Netflix, the filmmaker revealed that he was due to start filming his next movie on Monday in Germany and thus couldn’t physically be present for the ceremony.
“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,” Anderson said in a statement.
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The filmmaker continued by shouting out his longtime friend and collaborator Owen Wilson before explaining his absence.
“And also I would have said: 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 — but unfortunately Steven and I are in Germany and we start shooting our new movie early tomorrow morning, so I did not actually receive the award or get a chance to say any of that.”
Anderson’s 2023 effort “Asteroid City” came up empty when it came time for Oscar nominations this year, but last year also saw the distinct writer-director release four short films on Netflix based on the works of Dahl. “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role.
As is the case with every new Wes Anderson project, pretty much nothing is known about his next movie, but he keeps moving right along – this will be his 12th feature film in nearly three decades of moviemaking.
