Luke Matheny isn't used to getting recognized.
But on his way to the Oscar reception held in his honor at the Tisch School of the Arts building Thursday night, strangers kept stopping him in the street.
Matheny won the Oscar for Best Live Action Film last Sunday at the 83rd annual Academy Awards and has been the subject of more than a few feature articles, tweets and excited Facebook statuses ever since.
"That's the strangest — when people are staring at you," the current Tisch graduate student said, reflecting on the sudden media attention.
Matheny's film, "God of Love," is about a darts champion (played by Matheny himself) who mysteriously gets a box of "love-inducing" darts. Matheny actually made the film as his thesis for his Tisch graduate program.
But he said he never expected to work in the film industry. As an undergraduate, he studied journalism at Northwestern University.
"A film career never seemed viable," he said. "But you have to just pursue your dream."
Matheny has always been a movie fan, but he never expected such wide recognition for his work. He said he would have had to be "delusional and egotistical" to expect the film to make it to the NYU First Run Festival, let alone the Oscars. Matheny's first short film, "Earano," also won the King Award for Screenwriting at the NYU First Run festival as well as an honorable mention for the Fujifilm Audience Impact Award.
Sunday night was a blur: Matheny barely remembers going up on stage, he said, but recalls being escorted off the stage by presenters Amy Adams and Jake Gylenhaal, who "were very nice."
"I remember getting a laugh for the hair joke," he said.
At the reception, both university president John Sexton and Tisch dean Mary Schmidt Campbell appeared at the party — Sexton spoke briefly, congratulating the Oscar winner.
Matheny's writing partner, Rob Meyer, also came to the event with his parents. Meyer's mother said that the two filmmakers are currently wrapping up the script for a new project.
The Oscar itself circulated around the event, and several guests held the gold-plated figurine and took pictures with it. NYU provided its signature strawberry shortcake and a colorful array of desserts for attendees to nibble on.
The Academy Award winner said he didn't have a lot of advice for current Tisch students.
"I don't have any secrets," he said. "I would recommend making a movie you want to see."
