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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a branded Oscars® channel on YouTube™ – www.YouTube.com/Oscars – featuring Academy Awards® show highlights and exclusive video interviews with members from each of the Academy’s branches. Participants include Quincy Jones, Alfred Molina, Sidney Poitier and John Travolta.

Designed to create greater awareness about the Academy, its membership and its activities, the collaboration marks the first time the Academy has partnered with an online video community.

“The web is an ideal platform for distributing content about who we are and what we do,” said Janet Weiss, the Academy’s director of marketing. “The YouTube community is filled with movie fans from around the world and we are excited to engage with this audience through our channel.”

Showcasing the various crafts that comprise the motion picture industry, the channel will highlight, in a series of short video profiles, the Hollywood luminaries and the behind-the-scenes professionals responsible for bringing to life some of the big screen’s most memorable moments. The videos provide viewers around the world with a direct link to some of the most creative minds in the motion picture industry.

“We’re putting a personal face on the Academy,” said Academy President Sid Ganis. “Our members are among the most talented, working film professionals in the world.”

More than 30 members representing all 15 branches of the Academy have participated in the campaign thus far, including producer Lawrence Bender, cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, editor Lynzee Klingman, art director Jeannie Oppewall, and composer Mark Shaiman.

Although the channel will initially focus on the upcoming Oscar presentation, content will be continuously updated to highlight the many other activities of the Academy, including the Student Academy Awards and the numerous public screening series in both Los Angeles and New York.

The 80th Annual Academy Awards will take place at the Kodak Theatre on Feb 24 (Feb 25 morning, Singapore time) in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for excellence in motion pictures. The awards were first presented in 1928 and the awards celebrates its 80th anniversary this year.

For more information about the Academy Awards, visit www.oscar.com.