Hollywood imports Zhang Ziyi and Penelope Cruz have joined the growing line-up of celebrity presenters at this month's Oscars ceremony, organizers said Thursday.
Zhang, 25, the Chinese star making waves in the United States with roles in films such as Zhang Yimou's Oscar-nominated House of Flying Daggers and Hero, has just finished filming Memoirs of a Geisha.
She has also starred in Hollywood films including 2001's Rush Hour 2 and Taiwanese director Ang Lee's mega-hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which won four Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards.
Cruz, 30, the Spanish ex-sweetheart of Hollywood prince Tom Cruise, will also hand out one of the statuettes that symbolize cinema's highest honors at this year's Oscar ceremony on February 27.
She has starred in films such as Vanilla Sky, (2001) Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) and Blow (2001) and has just finished making Bandidas, an action comedy co-starring Mexican star Salma Hayek.
Cruz will be seen next in two upcoming movies, Don't Move and Sahara.
Cruz and Zhang join fellow Oscar presenters including Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry and famed director Martin Scorsese.
Also handing out statuettes at the 77th annual Academy Awards will be last year's best actress Oscar winner, South African star Charlize Theron and the 2003 winner, Renee Zellweger.
Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom has also signed on to hand out "golden guys."
Nominations for this year's Academy Awards were announced last week, with The Aviator leading the pack with 11 nominations including best picture, best director and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 110-million-dollar film tells the story of eccentric US billionaire, flyer and moviemaker Howard Hughes.
Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby and Finding Neverland, the story of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, were next in the ranking with seven nominations each including best picture.
The 2005 Oscars will be held in Hollywood's Kodak Theater.
(CRI.com February 4, 2005)
