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Luke Matheny gets his Oscar. Plus, Thirty Seconds with DSO's Jeri Lynne Johnson, Edge of Seven helps the world's women, Blue Rocks by the numbers, Dover's new tower of power, Vikki Walls uncorks her favorite CDs and more.
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God of Film
Take a bow, Delaware. Luke Matheny is sharing his Oscar gold with you.
Luke Matheny, a Wilmington native and Concord High graduate, thanked “the great state of Delaware” in his brief yet charming acceptance speech when his film “God of Love” took home Best Live Action Short at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.
His trademark afro in full bloom, Matheny grinned as he collected an Oscar statuette from actor Jake Gyllenhaal, and drew laughs with his opening line: “I should have gotten a haircut.” He thanked his father, and his mother, DiAnn Matheny of Amelia Island, Fla., who provided craft services during shooting. That tidbit also garnered big laughs from the packed house of celebrities inside the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
The shout-out heard around Delaware could be a major launch pad for the budding screenwriter, director and actor. Matheny’s “God of Love”—his NYU graduate thesis, actually—is an 18-minute black-and-white comedy about a lovelorn lounge singer who comes across a box of love-inducing darts, then goes about resolving the strange romantic triangle he’s in. It’s a comedy, and it has romance, but it’s not a romantic comedy, Matheny says. It’s styled more like a 1950s jazz club film. Last summer it earned him a prestigious Student Academy Award.
That ceremony earned Matheny an audience with agents, producers and other industry professionals. “I’m learning the film process is a lot of meetings,” he says. “But it’s been good. This recognition has been a perfect springboard.”
His Oscar win could mean a Hollywood career path paved in gold. “I think any filmmaker is lying if he says he doesn’t picture that moment thanking the Academy,” Matheny said of his Student Oscar. “It was pretty great.” —Matt Amis
Page 3: Doing Good | Living on the Edge
