CRAIG ZADAN AND NEIL MERON TO PRODUCE 85TH ACADEMY AWARDS(R)

Acclaimed motion picture, television and theater producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will produce the 85th Academy Awards, Academy president Hawk Koch announced today. This will be the duo's first involvement with the Oscars. The 85th Academy Awards will air live on Oscar(R) Sunday, February 24, 2013 on the ABC Television Network.

"Craig and Neil are forward thinkers who bring a unique perspective to the Oscar show," Koch said. "Their enormous collective talent, coupled with their love of film, serves our show perfectly."

"We are very excited to collaborate with Hawk and everyone at the Academy to produce this year's Oscars," said Zadan and Meron. "We hope to utilize our experience in producing features, TV and theater to bring something fresh and special to this incredible awards show. When we filmed 'The Bucket List,' we made our own personal bucket list, and producing the Oscars was No. 1. It's truly a great honor."

"Craig and Neil have great talent relationships and bring an infectious energy to the production," said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson." They are creative producers in the best sense of the word."

Zadan and Meron served as executive producers on the 2002 Best Picture winner, "Chicago," which won Oscars in six of the 13 categories in which it was nominated. Their credits also include the features "Footloose" (2011), "Hairspray" and "The Bucket List." Zadan also produced the original "Footloose" (1984).

Zadan and Meron's work in television includes the series "Smash" and such movies as "A Raisin in the Sun" and the upcoming "Steel Magnolias."

For Broadway, they recently produced the Tony Award(R)-winning revivals of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and "Promises, Promises."

Their work has amassed 73 Emmy(R) nominations, 12 Tony nominations and seven Grammy(R) nominations.

The 85th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre(TM) at Hollywood & Highland Center(R) in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world's preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards - in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners - the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

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