16 of the 20 nominees in the acting categories will be among the more than 100 Academy Awards® nominees who will gather at noon on Feb 5 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will honor this year’s Oscar contenders at its annual Nominees Luncheon.

From the Leading Actor and Actress categories, Leonardo DiCaprio, Peter O’Toole, Will Smith, Forest Whitaker, Penélope Cruz, Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet are expected to attend. Adriana Barraza, Abigail Breslin, Jennifer Hudson and Rinko Kikuchi are set to represent the Supporting Actress category.

All 5 nominees from the Supporting Actor category – Alan Arkin, Jackie Earle Haley, Djimon Hounsou, Eddie Murphy and Mark Wahlberg – are scheduled to attend.

Nominated directors Alejandro González Iñárritu, Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood are expected to represent their category; Eastwood and González Iñárritu also are nominated as producers of films competing for Best Picture.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Feb 25 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 pm PST with a red carpet arrivals segment, The Road to the Oscars®.

Information about the 79th Annual Academy Awards can be accessed online at www.oscar.com.