Lauded writer-director Wes Anderson has finally won his first Oscar — but not for the category you might expect.
Instead of taking home an Academy Award in a category where he’s often picked up a nomination, like Best Screenplay, Anderson won for Best Live Action Short Film at the 2024 Academy Awards. Traditionally, this category honors up-and-coming filmmakers, making Anderson a large exception.
Anderson’s Oscar comes courtesy of his short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a nearly word-for-word adaptation of a Roald Dahl short story. It’s one of four shorts based on Dahl’s stories that Anderson adapted and directed for Netflix, the others being Poison, The Swan, and The Rat Catcher. In my review, I called The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar “Anderson at his most creative,” and proof that the director is still growing even after decades in the game. This same level of creativity also comes through in 2023’s Asteroid City, a tremendous film unjustly snubbed by the Academy in the same year it awarded The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
In addition to his nomination and win for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Anderson has been nominated for seven Oscars: Best Original Screenplay for The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel; Best Animated Picture for Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs; and Best Picture and Best Director for The Grand Budapest Hotel.
How to watch: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is now streaming on Netflix.
