Winfrey to Host Oscar Special

Winfrey to Host Oscar Special

By Nellie Andreeva

Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 11) - Oprah Winfrey has teamed with ABC for a primetime Oscar special.

The daytime talk show queen will host and executive produce "The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special," which will air Feb 22, the Thursday before the network's broadcast of the 79th annual Academy Awards.

The one-hour special will feature Academy Award winners Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Jamie Foxx doing one-on-one interviews with an Oscar-winning actor of their choice.

Roberts will interview George Clooney at his Los Angeles home. Kidman will meet Russell Crowe at the Beverly Hills Hotel for their first-ever on-camera appearance together, and Foxx will sit down with Sidney Poitier on the stage where the veteran actor collected his Oscar for "Lilies of the Field" in 1963.

"The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special" will not interfere with Barbara Walters' 25th annual Oscar Special, which ABC will air as usual the night of the Awards.