When I was a kid, the Academy Awards was about dresses and hairdos. I was too young to have seen most of the movies and had no idea what sound design was or why it should get an award, but those dresses and hairdos and jewels and shoes had my full attention. By my 20’s, I had opinions about who should win and got excited when they picked one of my favorites (and I loved the dresses). A funny thing happened in my 30’s – I started noticing how many people I knew in the audience, how many I’d worked with, how many were friends. The Oscars became personal for me. Then movies I acted in got nominated and some won awards. I was thrilled but I never really thought I’d contributed in any way to that win. Tonight, as Best Screenplay winner Quentin Tarantino thanked the actors who bring his characters to life (and pretty much no one else), I felt like I personally contributed to an Oscar win. Continue reading