Academy Award for Best Short Film (Live Action)

I understand that.

But, like, it could compete for Best Live Action Short.

I think the first hour of this is really good.

Yes.

This was his feature directorial debut.

He previously won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for his 2015 short called Stutterer.

And he had been thinking about the concept for what would become Swan Song for about a decade, drawing on some of his existential feelings over the nature of dying or a loved one dying, and came up with the concept here, which is a man with terminal illness in the near future who undergoes a newly invented procedure to have himself cloned, with his clone taking over his life after he's gone to prevent his family from grieving, essentially.

So Benjamin Cleary said in an interview, "...when this sci-fi premise came along, I realized pretty quickly it could be a way to tell a human story, a self-examination, an examination with this other person who's identical to him.

Now, with over 7 million views online, the film has left an incredible mark, prompting over 100 screenings within football communities, including Russia.

Now, his most recent short film, Ryan Can't Read, which won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Live Action Short at the Edmonton International Film Festival, has been showcased at numerous Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festivals.

Its recognition at Edmonton qualified it for consideration for last year's Academy Awards.

Now, this interview today has been in, well, has been a year in the making as our schedules finally aligned and his short film, Orion Can't Read, is now available on Disney+, especially in the UK.

Yeah, Sandy's great.

McDonald is skilled in his own right, as he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for his 2011 comedic short film Pentecost.

The film's central song, How to Write a Song, parentheses, Without You, was written by Carney and his longtime musical collaborator, Gary Clark.

Not Gary Clark Jr., the Soul and R&B performer.

And it was especially exciting that in 2024, he won the Academy Award for directing Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

And he won in the category of Best Live Action Short.

So he also really treasured his copy of Fantastic Mr.

Fox from childhood.

Best Documentary Short Subject went to Smile Pinki, beating out The Conscience of Nhem En, The Final Inch, and The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306.

The Best Live Action Short Film went to Toyland, beating out Manan on the Asphalt, New Boy on the Line, and The Pig.

The Best Animated Short Film went to La Maison en Petit Cubes, beating out Lavatory Love Story Octopodi, Presto, and This Way Up.

Best Music Original Score went to A.R. Rahman for his music in Slumdog Millionaire, beating out The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Defiance, Milk, and WALL-E.

In 2020, he released The Long Goodbye, a concept album which uses an abusive romantic relationship as a metaphor for the relationship between the UK and its immigrants.

The short film based on the album earned the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short.

I spoke with him in March of this year.

Riz, let's talk a l- little bit about Shakespeare because it wasn't really your thing as a kid until a teacher, I hear, introduced you to Hamlet.

It's not a feature film.

It's only about 40 minutes long, but it made a massive cultural impact, even winning the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short.

It's fantastic.

It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Henry Sugar, who is a wealthy, idle, deeply bored gambler.

But these days, sometimes, yeah, whimsy is me.

You know, Wes Anderson got his first and only Oscar so far from The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar for Best Short Film.

He has been nominated another seven times for writing, producing, and directing his films.

He shares one of those nominations with Owen Wilson.

Mm

... gets him an Oscar for Best Short Subject.

It's a two-reel, 20-minute documentary.

Um, and he continues working on artists.