Foster named president of Cesar Awards

PARIS, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. actress Jodie Foster is to serve as president of the Cesar Awards for film, the French equivalent of Hollywood's Oscars, organizers said.

Foster, whose big-screen credits include "Taxi Driver," "The Silence of the Lambs" and "The Accused," spent time as a child in France and speaks fluent French.

The BBC said she will be the first foreign president of the ceremony at the Chatelet Theater Feb. 25 since Italian star Marcello Mastroianni held the post in 1993.

French actor Antoine De Caunes is to serve as master of ceremonies for the event, the BBC said.