How to Make an Oscar-Winning Short Film with Luke Matheny

Luke Matheny is a writer, director, and showrunner who won the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film in 2010 for GOD OF LOVE. Luke sat down with IN PROXIMITY host Paola Mardo to talk about what makes an Oscar-winning short film, how he prepared for his speech, and how he built a career in comedy and children’s programming writing, directing, and running shows like MARON, GORTIMER GIBBON’S LIFE ON NORMAL STREET, and, most recently, the animated series CHARLOTTE’S WEB on HBO Max starring Amy Adams, Elijah Wood, Jean Smart, and Randall Park.

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GOD OF LOVE
AWESOME ASIAN BAD GUYS

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(00:00) Guest intro
(02:21) About GOD OF LOVE
(04:59) The Oscar trophy — live in the studio!
(06:42) Winning an Oscar
(10:05) Making GOD OF LOVE at NYU film school
(12:10) Using a short film to showcase your talents
(16:20) Working with the crew to execute your vision
(18:51) What makes a great short film? Imply a sense of structure!
(23:54) Remember: time is finite!
(28:11) Launching a career after the Oscars, working with Marc Maron
(32:13) Showrunning the animated series CHARLOTTE’S WEB 
(33:10) The cast: Amy Adams, Jean Smart, Elijah Wood, Cynthia Erivo, Randall Park
(37:28) Children’s programming
(39:05) Make something, keep going!
(41:49) Prox Recs

IN PROXIMITY IS A PRODUCTION OF PROXIMITY MEDIA
Host, Director, Producer: Paola Mardo
Executive Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian
Theme Song and Additional Music: Ludwig Göransson
Co-Director and Director of Photography: Patrick Epino
Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Ken Nana
Editors: Patrick Epino, Ken Nana, Ben Caloza
Motion Graphics Designer: Apollo Baldoz
Associate Producer: Celine Mendiola
Production Coordinator: Joy Woo
Social Media Coordinator: Alexandria Santana
Production Intern: Ben Caloza