Rex Grignon attended the 2009 Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles with his daughter Grace Grignon. He also attended the 2008 Academy Awards with his wife. He was chosen to nominate movies for the Oscars by his colleagues in 2006. He hopes to attend more Oscar ceremonies in the future with his family.

As December passes and the year comes to a close, many people will reflect on the highlights of the past 12 months. This year, as he has for the past five, Rex Grignon, father of Palo Alto High School sophomore Grace Grignon, will focus on the outstanding movies of 2011.

As a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Rex Grignon plans to spend much of the next few months watching films to prepare to vote for the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards.

Rex Grignon joined the Academy in 2006 after two of his colleagues nominated him. He passed such admission requirements as having a leadership role in three films. As the current head of character animation at DreamWorks Animation, Rex has an extensive background in film. Though he is an experienced animator now, his passion for film started with a high school experience.

“A friend of mine was in a band, and he got invited to this talent show on a local station,” Rex Grignon said. “He asked me if I’d like to go along to the taping, and I went along to support him. Then I got in this [television] studio, and I was just fascinated by all this work that was off camera. And I was like, ‘Oh my god, you can make a living off of doing these things.’”

Rex Grignon’s interests developed from television to motion pictures to animation. After studying film and animation in college, he worked for Pacific Data Images, a small computer animation studio that was eventually bought by DreamWorks. Ever since, Rex Grignon has worked on films such as Ants, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda.

By contributing significantly to his field, Rex Grignon now enjoys the privilege of belonging to the Academy.

“I love it,” Rex Grignon said. “It’s a real honor, and I take it very seriously. I think what makes the Academy great and great to be a part of is that the standards are very high. You do that by being really honest about what the best work is.”

Rex Grignon had the chance to attend the Oscars in 2008 and 2009 after the Academy selected his name in a raffle. He was allowed to bring along one guest each time, and he chose to bring his wife the first year and his daughter the second year.

Grace Grignon recalls walking on the red carpet with various celebrities and feeling starstruck throughout the experience.

“Amanda Seyfried said ‘Hi’ to me, and I talked a little bit to Queen Latifah,” Grace Grignon said. “I could have talked to Meryl Streep, but I was so shy.”

Grace Grignon admits that watching the show live was quite a different experience from watching it on television.

“The year that I went, [2009], they had the big crystal decoration around the stage, which looked so much cooler in person,” Grace Grignon said.

Likewise, Rex Grignon remembers unique experiences from attending the Academy Awards show, such as the funny off-camera moments.

“Hugh Jackman, [who hosted], came out when the commercials were on and he’d talk to everybody,” Grignon said. “He came out one time with this whole tray of cookies, and he was like, ‘Would anyone like some cookies? I got some cookies here.’ And he started handing out cookies to people.”

Rex Grignon does not plan to attend the awards ceremony this year, but wishes to attend again in the future, perhaps along with Grace Grignon. As for now, Rex Grignon will juggle his job at DreamWorks with his movie-watching duties.

Though now an accomplished animator, Rex Grignon was once a wide-eyed teenager with a creative dream.

He recommends that teenagers with the same curiosity start exploring and learning about their interest now.

“The best thing you can do is learn how to do [what you’re interested in] well and ask lots of questions,” Rex Grignon said. “I waited a long time until I realized that asking questions is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. Don’t wait to start learning. You have to be ready when the opportunity comes.”