Bill Conti Named Musical Director
for the 80th Academy Awards®

Beverly Hills, CA ––Oscar®-winning composer Bill Conti will return to the Oscar podium as musical director for the 80th Academy Awards, telecast producer Gil Cates announced today. This will be the 19th time that Conti has conducted the Academy Awards Orchestra.

Conti received an Oscar in 1983 for his original score for "The Right Stuff." He has also earned two nominations in the Original Song category, in 1976 for "Gonna Fly Now" from "Rocky" and in 1981 for the title song from "For Your Eyes Only." Over the years, Conti has received a total of 12 Emmy® nominations, 11 of them for his work on Oscar shows, and he has taken home three Emmys for his work on Academy Awards telecasts.

His other film credits include “Rocky Balboa,” "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1999), "Broadcast News," "The Karate Kid," "Private Benjamin," "Rocky II," "Rocky III" and "Rocky V."

The 80th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2007 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Editors: Downloadable images are available at http://photos.oscars.org.

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