Foreign Language Nominees And Oscar Producers Hit The Red Carpet

With just two days left until the Oscars, all of Hollywood is buzzing with anticipation over the Academy Awards. With so many of the races difficult to call, have you got your picks ready for Sunday yet? This week the Academy has been hosting “Oscar® Celebrates” events at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills – all of which have been open to the public in order to meet some of the nominees. Those in the Hollywood and Highland area have been getting a special first peek from the sidelines at the red carpet being readied, bleacher seats being assembled and the finishing touches added to the Dolby Theatre.

On Friday morning members of the media had a chance to meet the Foreign Language nominees on the red carpet. The filmmakers and stars shared their reactions to being one of the seventy-one films that originally qualified in the category.

The KON-TIKI directors spoke about the recognition for their film and being at the Oscars.

Best Foreign Language Film nominees are –

AMOUR (Austria) [Directed by Michael Haneke.] – This is the fourth nomination for Austria. Previous nominations were for “38” (1986), The Counterfeiters, which won the Oscar for 2007, and Revanche (2008).

KON-TIKI (Norway) [Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg.] – This is the fifth nomination for Norway. Previous nominations were for Nine Lives (1957), Pathfinder (1987), The Other Side of Sunday (1996) and Elling (2001).

NO (Chile) [Directed by Pablo Larraín.] – This is the first nomination for Chile.

A ROYAL AFFAIR (Denmark) [Directed by Nikolaj Arcel.] – This is the ninth nomination for Denmark. It won back-to-back Oscars for Babette’s Feast (1987) and Pelle the Conqueror (1988), and won again for In a Better World (2010). Other nominations were for Qivitoq (1956), Paw (1959), Harry and the Butler (1961), Waltzing Regitze (1989) and After the Wedding (2006).

WAR WITCH (Canada) [Directed by Kim Nguyen.] – This is the seventh nomination for Canada. Previous nominations were for The Decline of the American Empire (1986), Jesus of Montreal (1989).

As preparations continued for the 85th Academy Awards, Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron also showed up at the Dolby Theatre. While the two were having a look around at the red carpet,  they said to expect some surprises and hoped audiences will enjoy an evening filled with music and Hollywood fanfare. Zadan and Meron previously announced Academy Award® winners Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Russell Crowe will join this year’s Oscar® nominees Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway along with Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, and Helena Bonham Carter in a celebration honoring movie musicals of the last decade. Earlier this month, the producers announced a planned tribute recognizing the resurgence of musicals over the past decade with performances highlighting “Chicago,” “Dreamgirls” and “Les Misérables.”

Hudson, Zeta-Jones, Jackman, Hathaway, Crowe, Seyfried, Redmayne, Barks, Tveit and Bonham Carter join a stellar list of previously announced performers including Adele, Dame Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones and Barbra Streisand and presenters including Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas, Jamie Foxx, Paul Rudd, Salma Hayek Pinault, Melissa McCarthy, Liam Neeson, John Travolta, Ben Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, Ted and “Marvel’s The Avengers” cast members Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo; returning 2011 Oscar winners Jean Dujardin, Christopher Plummer, Octavia Spencer and Meryl Streep; “Chicago” cast members Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Renée Zellweger and Zeta-Jones; and special guests Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe, Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron.

Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide. For more information go to Oscar.com or download the official Oscars app.