Entertainment and sports reporter Chris Connelly has been chosen to welcome nominees, presenters and performers on the red carpet at Sunday's Oscar ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday.
Connelly's interviews with celebrity guests attending the 85th Annual Academy Awards — recently rebranded as simply the Oscars — will be heard by those watching the action live in the stands, as well as any viewers watching Backstage Pass on the official Oscar website or the official Oscars App.
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Connelly, a former MTV correspondent who currently works for ESPN and is a pop culture contributor for ABC News, replaces Entertainment Weekly Oscar columnist Dave Karger, who handled the job the last two years.
Before Karger, Variety columnist Army Archerd and then the Hollywood Reporter's Robert Osborne were the only two journalists to greet the stars on behalf of the Academy honoring their work.
Although this is Connelly's first time as the greeter, he's no stranger to the Oscars. He began red-carpet coverage of the event in 1989 for MTV before serving as a co-host and interviewer for the official Academy Awards pre-show from 2000 to 2007.