Oscar statues wrapped in plastic stand along the red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre in preparation for the 82nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif. The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday. Oscar statues wrapped in plastic stand along the red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre in preparation for the 82nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif. The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday. (Amy Sancetta/Associated Press)

Producers for the big Oscar event on Sunday night say the show will be fast-paced and urges viewers to tune in early so as not to miss the program's spectacular beginning.

"[It will be] the most dynamic opening, from drama to spectacle to humour," declared one of the show's producers, Bill Mechanic.

Mechanic says humour will rule the day due to the hosting pair of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin — the first time the Oscars have had two hosts since 1928.

Adam Shankman, who is co-producing, said 30 Rock's Baldwin will help bring out the "wild-and-crazy guy in Steven Martin you haven't seen in a while."

Besides being lively, the producers also said the show will have "greater emotional content."

They also hope to appeal to younger audiences, pointing out that the new best picture category with 10 nominees will help attract viewers young and old with its diverse set of movies.

"Anybody under the age of 25 will enjoy the show unlike any other," Mechanic said in a news conference in Los Angeles on Friday.

The 10 best film nominees are:

  • An Education.
  • Avatar.
  • District 9.
  • The Hurt Locker.
  • Inglourious Basterds.
  • Precious, Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.
  • A Serious Man.
  • Up.
  • Up in the Air.

Producers also announced another slate of presenters including Tom Hanks, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pedro Almodovar and Colin Firth, who is in the running for best actor for his role in A Single Man.

The program begins at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

With files from The Associated Press