What Not to Do If You Win an Oscar
The moment an artist wins an Oscar or a Grammy or a Tony, they are handed two things: some kind of statue (sure, nice) and, perhaps more important, 45 seconds—maybe a minute, two tops—of live, relatively unbridled stage time with millions of people watching. They can use that time however they choose, thanking their parents, thanking their agents, thanking God, advocating for causes, crying. After that the music will play.
Wendy Shanker is a writer with a niche skill: She helps celebrity clients draft acceptance speeches so that they can maximize these high-adrenaline, high-profile moments.
Shanker told me that she once found herself moved to tears when a client seemed to be forgoing the drafted speech in favor of something else—only to suddenly realize that Shanker herself had in
