Brett Ratner to produce Oscars show

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Brett Ratner and Don Mischer have been hired to produce the 84th Academy Awards telecast in Los Angeles, it was announced Thursday.

This will be Ratner's first involvement with the Oscar show. Mischer will for the second year in a row serve as a producer and as the telecast director.

"I was so impressed with Brett when I met with him to discuss the Oscar show," Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak said in a statement. "He has an incredible love of film and its history and is a true student of the business of movies. He's unbelievably creative and knows how to take risks that are both interesting and inspiring. Together with Don Mischer -- who, by the way, just earned an Emmy nomination for his work on the 83rd Academy Awards -- I think these two will give us a fantastic Oscar show that you won't want to miss."

"Making movies has been my dream since childhood, and I've been fortunate enough to have made several, but the Oscar show is in a league of its own," Ratner said. "It will be fantastic to work with a live television master like Don to meld the glamour of legendary Hollywood with the enormous talents who thrill moviegoers today."

"The Academy Awards are in a class by themselves, and I'm elated that the academy has asked me to return," Mischer said. "I hope to take the wealth of knowledge I now have about the Oscars, which is a completely unique kind of show, and work with Brett to create an evening that is fast-paced, fun, and memorable to movie fans and Oscar fans everywhere."

Ratner's work includes more than 100 music videos, the "Rush Hour" movies, "Family Man," "Red Dragon" and "X-Men: The Last Stand."

Mischer's producer/director credits include "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial"; "The Kennedy Center Honors"; several Super Bowl halftime shows and the opening ceremonies of both Winter and Summer Olympic Games. He has produced specials with Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Bono, Barbra Streisand, Justin Timberlake and Yo Yo Ma.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 are to be presented Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles, and televised live on the ABC Television Network.