Luke Matheny
Luke Matheny | |
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Born | |
Occupation(s) | Film director, actor and screenwriter |
Years active | 2008-current |
Luke Matheny (born December 23, 1976) is an American actor, writer, and director. Matheny is an Academy Award winner, receiving the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for God of Love.
Early years
Matheny was born in
He later worked as a reporter and copy editor for a variety of trade magazines, including the respected television trade magazine, Electronic Media, and web sites in Chicago. His career includes stints as a synopsis writer for Netflix and as a story editor for the MTV series Made.[2]
In 1998 Matheny developed a plan with three friends to shoot a movie about three under-appreciated losers from Chicago who quit their jobs, move to Paris, and become street musicians. Matheny and his friends quit their jobs, moved to Paris, and started shooting the film in May 2001. The film premiered at the 2003 Wilmington Independent Film Festival. Matheny recalled, "It was weird; we hit the ground and started casting people off the street. We were hanging out with Parisian models. It was like this weird Cinderella experience. At the end of it we were all completely broke and living with our parents. ... There're probably 33 funny minutes in it, but we really had no idea what we were doing at all. And at some point I decided that I really wanted to keep doing this."[3]
Career
NYU, Earano, and God of Love
Matheny moved to New York in 2004 and enrolled at
For his thesis project at NYU, Matheny wrote, directed and starred in the
"I'm a huge jazz fan, and I've always loved jazz photography from the 1950s and '60s. I knew that the film would open in a kind of bohemian-ish jazz setting, so I thought that this kind of black-and-white visual treatment would give the movie an overall cool, romantic, nostalgic quality. And, of course, my cinematographer Bobby Webster was a key player in helping me bring that idea to life. We looked at lots of films that featured jazz scenes: 'I Want to Live!' and 'Paris Blues' were two visual touchstones, in particular. The French New Wave was an aesthetic influence, as well, in some of the film's montage scenes."[7]
Academy Award
On February 27, 2011, Matheny won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for "God of Love." The film had previously been rejected by Sundance and Slamdance.[8] In a pre-Oscars interview, Matheny noted, "The Oscar nomination means a lot to me. I've been kind of a psycho Oscar fan my whole life and even, at one point, memorized every Best Picture winner -- which is still a pretty good party trick -- so to actually get a nomination is an amazing event in my life."[9]
Matheny's acceptance speech was considered one of the highlights of the Academy Awards telecast. Descriptions of Matheny's appearance at the award ceremony ranged from the merely descriptive ("mop-haired,"
Career since
Matheny's first feature film writing credit, A Birder's Guide to Everything, a coming-of-age comedy that was co-written with Rob Meyer, was released by Focus World and Screen Media on March 21, 2014.[2]
Matheny's feature film directorial debut,
Between 2013 and 2015, Matheny also directed ten episodes of the comedy television series Maron.
Filmography
Film
- God of Love (2010) - Writer, Director, Actor (short)
- Lovesick (2014) - Director
- A Birder's Guide to Everything (2014) - Co-writer
Television
- Maron (2013–2015) - Directed 10 episodes
- Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street (2014) - Directed 11 episodes, wrote 4 episodes
- The Kicks (2016) - Directed 2 episodes
- Me and My Grandma (2017) - Directed all 6 episodes
- The Dangerous Book for Boys (2018) - Directed 2 episodes
- Ghostwriter (2019) - Directed 1 episode
- Black Jesus (2019) - Directed 2 episodes
- The Baby-Sitters Club (2020) - Directed 2 episodes
References
- ^ Michael Parnell (February 2, 2011). "'A little movie' but big news - Oscar nominee". News-Leader (Florida). Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ^ a b c d "God of Love: About the Director". Luke Matheny Filmes. Archived from the original on 2014-01-28. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ a b "Member Profiles: Luke Matheny". National Board of Review. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ "Oscar Junior: Concord High grad Luke Matheny captures gold at the Student Academy Awards". Delaware Today. August 2010.
- ^ "Filmmaker Luke Matheny Turns 'Cyrano de Bergerac' on Its Ear". New York Magazine. May 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "God of Love Production Notes" (PDF). Luke Matheny Films.
- ^ a b Christopher Lloyd (February 20, 2011). "Oscar nominee Luke Matheny". The Film Yap.
- ^ a b "Oscar Wrap Up: What Worked and What Didn't". New York Magazine. February 27, 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Siobhan Watters (February 17, 2011). "God of Love: Interview with Luke Matheny". Flixist.
- ^ a b Kat Angus (February 27, 2011). "Oscars 2011: Best and worst moments". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
- ^ Jethro Nededog (February 27, 2011). "Oscars 2011: 'God of Love' short film and its bushy-haired creator meet Hollywood". Zap 2 It. Archived from the original on March 2, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ^ "Notable quotes from the 83rd annual Academy Awards". The Huffington Post (AP story). February 27, 2011.
- ^ David Wiegand (February 27, 2011). "Oscar telecast was a mess, but it had its moments". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Brooks, Xan (February 27, 2011). "Oscars 2011: live coverage of the 83rd Academy Awards; Frock by frock, gong by gong, gaffe by gaffe coverage of the 2011 Oscars". The Guardian (UK). London.
- ^ Tim Engle (February 28, 2011). "Oscar's memorable moments and quotes". The Kansas City Star.
- ^ a b "Oscars 2011 Top Moments: James Franco in a Dress, Taylor Lautner Without a Shirt". TV Guide. February 28, 2011.
- ^ a b Sean P. Means (February 27, 2011). "Oscar Night: Best acceptance speech". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ "Oscars: Backstage, NYU student already has 73 congratulatory text messages". Los Angeles Times. February 27, 2011.