We reflect today on two very personal stories and a surprising victory in our penultimate edition of our Favorite Oscar Moments series.

Wesley Lovell

1989, 62nd Academy Awards

It’s a moment that I remember very vividly. I had heard of this movie earlier in the year called Driving Miss Daisy and that it had been nominated for a slew of Oscar nominations. I had no idea at the time what the Oscars really were. I was only 14 and hadn’t really been raised around the Oscars. So, I saw the film on the big screen with my mother and loved it. I went into my first Academy Awards telecast knowing very little about what was going on and when the final award was announced, nothing that had come before really impressed itself on me.

Then, they announced the winner as Driving Miss Daisy. I delightedly squeezed my dog a little too roughly and was almost euphoric. Here was a movie I loved that had won this award that I would soon discover was so prestigious. It launched me on my two decades adoration of the Oscars, making this one of the most pivotal events in my life. And, all this came about despite not realizing at the time just how much of a longshot the non-Best Director nominated film had of winning the top prize.

Peter J. Patrick

1998, 71st Academy Awards

A shocked Harrison Ford opens the Best Picture envelope and reveals that Shakespeare in Love, not his buddy Steven Speilberg’s Saving Private Ryan, has won.

Tripp Burton

2003, 76th Academy Awards

This is a movie very close to my heart, and to watch these two performers get such a large platform to sing such an intimate, lovely song (from such a small movie) was so touching. Keep your Glen Hansard song from Once and give me these great, seasoned performers any day.