December 27, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Toni Thompson - (310) 247-3090
                         

J. Michael Riva
to Design the 79th
Oscar® Telecast

Beverly Hills, CA — Oscar telecast producer Laura Ziskin announced today that J. Michael Riva has been appointed production designer of the 79th Academy Awards® presentation. This will be his second time creating the Oscar set.

Riva received an Academy Award nomination in 1985 for his work on “The Color Purple.” He began his career working with designer Toby Rafelson on “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.” Riva has since been the production designer on numerous films, including “Brubaker,” “Ordinary People,” “Lethal Weapon,” “A Few Good Men,” “Dave,” and “Charlie’s Angels.” He recently completed work on “Spider-Man 3” and “The Pursuit of Happyness.”

Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2007, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST, beginning with a half-hour red carpet arrivals segment, “The Road to the Oscars”.

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