Academy Award winners Rami Malek and Anthony Hopkins lead the list of newly announced presenters for this year’s Oscars, which will be held on March 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The line-up also includes Simu Liu, Uma Thurman, Ruth E Carter, Lily James, and John Leguizamo.
They join the list of stars already announced to present an award, including Lady Gaga, Kevin Costner and Zoe Kravitz, said the show’s producers Will Packer and Shayla Cowan. More will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Movies inspire us, entertain us and unite us across the globe,” Packer said. “That’s the precise goal of the show this year, and we’re thrilled to welcome the first of a stellar line-up joining the Oscars stage to help us celebrate the power of film and honour the year’s best in filmmaking.”
Comedians Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes were announced as hosts last month, after three consecutive years without one, a move organisers are hoping will attract more viewers after dismal numbers amid the pandemic.
It’s the first time hosting for all three women and the first time in 35 years there has been this many presenters for one broadcast.
The Academy also announced social media campaigns to help boost engagement ahead of awards night by partnering with Twitter.
With the hashtag #OscarsFanFavorite, users are encouraged to vote for their top 2021 filmsand the one with the most votes will be recognised at the ceremony. Three Twitter users will also get the chance to attend the event in 2023 as part of an all-expenses-paid trip.
An #OscarsCheerMoment has also been introduced, which will allow fans to tweet about their favourite scene from a 2021 film. The winning scenes will also be shown at the Oscars ceremony, alongside the fans' tweets.
Five users who participated in the campaign will also receive prizes, which include a year's supply of cinema tickets, subscriptions to streaming services and collectables from the Academy Museum.
