ReelTalk visitors who like to keep track of all things Oscar-related should be interested in the following press release about the upcoming televised Awards Ceremony.

Beverly Hills, CA — Seventy-Eighth Academy Awards® Telecast producer Gil Cates and production designer Roy Christopher today revealed the set design of the March 5 Oscar telecast

"When designing the Oscars, I try to make the current show as different from the year before as possible," said Christopher. "Last year's show was distinguished by a hi-tech, 'cutting-edge' style. So this year, there's nothing hi-tech — it's a no-holds-barred return to classic Hollywood glamour, paying homage to old movie theaters." "I wanted to celebrate the movies and to include great movie houses and screens," said Cates. "So Roy went back to the classic ornate movie houses for his inspiration, which, I think, is superbly reflected in the final design."

"I have always loved the movie theaters of the '30s, '40s and '50s," Christopher said. "The man who designed many of them was S. Charles Lee, who was remarkably imaginative and architecturally daring, making movie theaters in styles ranging from the ornate Hollywood baroque to the sleek art-moderne. His spaces were exciting places that upon entering made you feel that something extraordinary was going to happen."

That anticipation of what is about to happen is exactly what Christopher hopes the Academy Awards audience and the millions watching at home will experience on Oscar night. His homage to the world of movie theater design comes complete with a 65-foot-long giant "Oscar" marquee, a pair of 20-foot-tall frosted glass Oscars, an art deco box-office and several movie screens ranging from the elegant movie palace traditional to the gigantic wide-screen deco.

This is the 17th time that Christopher has designed the Oscar set, 11 with telecast producer Gil Cates. Christopher has received 35 Emmy nominations, 16 of them for his work on the Oscar telecast, for which he has won six Emmy Awards.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2005 will be presented on Sunday, March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PST. A one-hour red carpet arrivals show will precede the telecast at 4 p.m. Information about the 78th Annual Academy Awards can be accessed on line at www.oscar.com.

 ©A.M.P.A.S.®
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
8949 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1972
(310) 247-3000 | www.oscars.org | publicity@oscars.org