WAMG Road To The Oscars: Wednesday Update

Here’s today’s news from AMPAS:

Beverly Hills, CA .  Academy Award nominees and presenters will be greeted on Oscar’s red carpet on Sunday, March 7, by film historian, Turner Classic Movies primetime host and Hollywood Reporter columnist Robert Osborne. Red carpet guest arrivals are expected to begin at approximately 3 p.m. PT and conclude at the start of the Oscar telecast at 5 p.m. PT. It will be Osborne’s fifth stint on the red carpet for the Academy

Being on Oscar’s red carpet is unlike any other experience, said Academy President Tom Sherak. Robert is the perfect person to welcome our guests and ease them into a night of spectacular celebration.

Secondly:

Gerard Butler, Bradley Cooper, Tom Ford, Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Pine, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds and Sam Worthington will present on the 82nd Academy Awards telecast, producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced today. Butler, Cooper, Ford, Pine, Reynolds and Worthington will each be making their debut appearance on the Oscar show. This will be Gyllenhaal’s third appearance and Reeves’s fifth.

On a sidenote, Gregory Ellwood over at HitFix is reporting on the producers makeover of‚ “when five previous Oscar winners welcomed in the new winner into their category. It was definitely a class move last year.” Mechanic and Shankman had announced earlier that there would be a personal ” friends” connection between the presenter and winner. Ellwood has the list of said presenters. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Stanley Tucci presents to Meryl Streep

• Connection: The good friends have worked together previously on “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Julie and Julia.”

James McAvoy presents to Helen Mirren

• Connection: The duo worked on Mirren’s nominated film “The Last Station.”

Peter Sarsgaard presents to Carey Mulligan

• Connection: Sarsgaard wooed Mulligan in Best Picture nominee “An Education.”

Oprah Winfrey presents to Gabourey Sibide

• Connection: Winfrey became an executive producer of Best Picture nominee “Precious: Based on ‘Push’ a Novel by Sapphire” after it debuted at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Sibide also has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Colin Farrell presents to Jeremy Renner

• Connection: They worked on “SWAT” together. That’s not a misprint. Their connection is “SWAT” (This will no doubt touch Renner’s heart.)

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.