UPDATE: The winner is…Kandi Candelas!
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For the first time in a long time, I was very excited about watching the Oscars. It used to be a thing when my daughter was young. We’d plan finger foods and I’d let her stay up on a Sunday night while we watched awards show. In advance, we’d try to watch as many of the nominated movies as we could so we could feel invested in the awards.

That tradition fell away. Life happened, but also movies didn’t grab us the same way they used to. Something changed or maybe we just got older and the magic faded. Last night’s Oscars was something I was invested in because of one movie.

My family and I watched this together. When the credits rolled at the end, I turned around to my family excited as I hadn’t been in a long time and asked them what they thought. “Mom, it’s weird.” “Hot dog fingers?” “Good acting, but too many things going on.” Ever since that first experience, I’ve been the silent super-fan, stalking the awards shows (Golden Globes, SAG) because I knew this one was special. Hot dog fingers? Why not? Weird? Hell, yeah. A gazillion threads all stitched together to make a movie that reveals something new to me in every scene every time I watch it. I bought a DVD copy so I could rewatch it whenever I want. And you need a big screen to catch the details, the clues they laid about what was coming.

So, last night, I watched the red carpet with my dd, critiquing the dresses and drooling over the hotties (did you see Idris?!).  When the Oscars was set to come on, my cable went from ABC to something else. Nooooo! To watch it live, I would have to pay $69 for a month of the service. I retreated to Twitter and found one streaming link after another that showed me bits and minutes and I texted my dd throughout the night as my fave, EEAAO, racked up well-deserved praise and awards. By the time the night was over, it had won in every major category—Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Script, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing! I was so joyful. Not because I was right (which I was), but because I sooooo want more movies like this. Ones that make me think, that give me a visual orgasm, that have characters I can love, and a story that’s real and relatable while my fantasy-loving heart is taken on a wild ride.

This morning, I feel like I have a hangover. After last night’s high, and the time change, I am dragging butt. But I’m still excited and happy, and now I think I need to buy an EEAAO movie poster to tape to my door like I used to do.

So, my question to you today, for a chance to win a download of one of my books, is…

Is there a movie you’ve watched that got you that excited? Did you follow it and the cast, hoping everyone else jumped on the bandwagon to make it a success?