Before Sandra Bullock made "Speed" with Keanu Reeves, her status as an A-list actress was hardly a cinch. Her career up to that point had included a few forgettable films, with names like "Who Shot Patakango?"

In the final "Barbara Walters Oscars Special," Bullock sat down with Walters to talk about her first shot at Oscar glory and how her life has evolved since the last time Walters interviewed her, fifteen years ago.

Competing against Bullock for the best actress Oscar this year will be perennial favorite Meryl Streep, who won kudos for her portrayal of chef Julia Child in "Julie & Julia."

"If Meryl wins," Walters asked, "what will you say to her?"

"I'm gonna beat the s*** out of her!" exclaimed Bullock, without missing a beat. "No, I'm just kidding. Um, you know that."

"And thank you, censor," said Walters.

Talk turned to affairs of the heart.

When Walters last interviewed Bullock, during the shooting of a "Time to Kill," the actress said she wasn't ready to get married yet. All that changed in 2005, when Bullock married Jesse James, then the host of The Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage."

Walters asked Bullock why she had resisted marriage all those years.

For the final ?Barbara Walters Oscars Special,? Sandra Bullock talked with Walters about competing against Meryl Streep and how her husband surprised her when they first met.

(Ida Mae Astute/ABC News)

Then "Speed" made Bullock the girl next door the world could fall in love with.

Now Bullock is nominated for best actress for her portrayal of Southern spitfire Leigh Anne Touhy in "The Blind Side." The role propelled her from perennial romantic-comedy favorite into an elite circle of top-flight actors.