January 7, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Toni Thompson - 310-247-3090

Beverly Hills, CA - Oscar^®-winning actor Whoopi Goldberg will host her fourth Academy Awards telecast in March, 74th Awards show producer Laura Ziskin announced today.

"I am thrilled to have Whoopi Goldberg as the host for this year's Academy Awards Show. Whoopi has great warmth, wit, humor, humanity and a social conscience, all qualities that I feel are essential for this year's show. She is both an Oscar winner herself and an Oscar tradition, this being her fourth stint as host over the last ten years" Ziskin said. "I look forward to collaborating with Whoopi to put on a meaningful and entertaining evening for all the nominees, for the audience in the new Kodak Theatre and for the millions watching at home."

Whoopi Goldberg, host of the 74th Annual Academy Awards Presentaion.

In 1998, Goldberg hosted the 71st Awards Presentation, and previously hosted the 66th and 68th telecasts, both of which earned her Emmy nominations.

"I'm delighted to have been asked to once again host the Academy Awards," Goldberg said. "It'll be the first broadcast done from Oscar's new home and I love a housewarming. And this broadcast, in my opinion, carries a different weight, because it says that we as filmmakers, actors and technicians worldwide will continue to do what we do best and celebrate it. And who wouldn't want to front that?"

Goldberg won a Supporting Actress Oscar in 1991 for her portrayal of Oda Mae Brown in "Ghost" and received a Best Actress nomination in 1985 for her motion picture debut as "Celie" in "The Color Purple." Her film credits include "Girl, Interrupted," "Boys on the Side," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "Sister Act," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Clara's Heart," "Kingdom Come" and "Rat Race." Goldberg currently executive produces "Hollywood Squares" and the Lifetime series "Strong Medicine" and has produced original movies for Showtime, Lifetime and TNT.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2001 will be presented on Sunday, March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland^® and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. (PST), with a half-hour arrival segment preceding the presentation ceremony.