February 28, 2011 | Alumni

'I Should Have Got a Haircut'

Medill alum wins Academy Award for best live action short

By Wendy Leopold

Luke Matheny

EVANSTON, Ill. --- When Northwestern University alum Luke Matheny received an Oscar for his film “God of Love” at yesterday’s Academy Awards ceremony, he delivered one of the more memorable lines of the evening.

“I should have got a haircut,” said the abundantly curly-headed Matheny only seconds after getting his gold statuette. A 1997 graduate of the Medill School of Journalism, he seemed genuinely shell-shocked on learning of the award.

Matheny not only directed “God of Love” but also wrote and performed in the black and white film about a lounge-singing darts player and an unusual love triangle. He earned his Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

Matheny has worked as a copy editor and reporter for a variety of newspapers, magazines and websites. In 1998, he and three friends moved to Paris to make a digital video feature with characters based on themselves. He went on to earn an MFA in film at New York University.