Traversing Through the Oscars
to Get to Indiana Jones

There's truly no better place to meet celebrities and get their autographs than the Academy Awards. I think I've been to practically every single ceremony since 2010, and I got most of my autographs there. It's the pinnacle of Hollywood, after all, and just about everyone who's anyone attends.

This includes the cast of one of my favorite movies: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The people who made it are absolute icons, and they're the kind who either get nominated at the Oscars or are invited to present at the ceremony.

I'm a huge fan of all the Indiana Jones movies, but I always liked Temple of Doom the most. It's the quintessential adventure film, complete with intriguing mysteries, exotic locales, great characters, and a whole lot of adrenaline. I honestly think this series is what cemented Indiana Jones, both the character and Harrison Ford himself, as the icon he is today.

I still find it wild that Ford never even got an Oscar nomination for playing Indiana Jones. The films did win technical Oscars, including Best Visual Effects for Temple of Doom itself, but the headline awards eluded the big names. Steven Spielberg was nominated for Best Director for Raiders of the Lost Ark, and John Williams earned Oscar nominations for his scores, but that was as far as it went for them.

The irony of ironies is that I met the big names behind Temple of Doom at the Oscars (or related events), even though the franchise's biggest names never took home the top prizes. I also find it a little funny that the ceremony often featured clips of Indiana Jones in its montages, yet never gave the stars and filmmakers a trophy for him.

Well, who am I to complain? I never considered Oscars the end-all and be-all of cinematic greatness, anyway. I still love Indiana Jones, and I'm just grateful Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas have attended the ceremony through the years.

I even got them to sign my Temple of Doom movie poster each time. I met George Lucas at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party in 2012, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw in 2013, Ford in 2014, and Ke Huy Quan in 2023. Though the interactions were quick, I freaked out every time.

Even today, I still can't believe I got all those autographs. I still go to the Oscars every year, but I'm astounded at how many ceremonies I've been to. I don't even think I've missed one. Well, maybe when the ceremony was scaled back because of COVID.

And though Williams rarely attends the Oscars, I still saw him and got his autograph at one of his Hollywood Bowl concerts in 2016. I think that was the most memorable encounter of all, since I actually froze in front of him when I asked for his autograph. I'll never forget how confused he looked when it took me a second to get the poster back.

It may have taken me a while, but I'm still proud I got the lead cast and the geniuses behind Temple of Doom to sign my movie poster. I've had a lot of memorabilia signed since then, but I still consider this my best work.