Gala on March 2

Stone and Murphy named as Oscar presenters

Last year's winners Robert Downey Jr, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Emma Stone and Cillian Murphy are this year's Oscar "presenters"(Bild: APA/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Four Hollywood stars who won Oscars for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor last year will be on stage as "presenters" at this year's gala. 

Emma Stone ("Poor Things"), Cillian Murphy ("Oppenheimer"), Da'Vine Joy Randolph ("The Holdovers") and Robert Downey Jr. ("Oppenheimer") are to help out at the 97th Academy Awards, according to the film academy.

Further celebrities are to be named in the run-up to the ceremony.

Oscars with O'Brien for the first time
The trophy gala will take place on March 2 in Los Angeles. US comedian Conan O'Brien will host the show for the first time.

Conan O'Brien will host the Oscar Gala for the first time.(Bild: APA/AFP/Jean-Baptiste LACROIX)

At the 97th Academy Awards, the musical thriller "Emilia Pérez", the drama "The Brutalist" and the musical "Wicked" are in the running with the most nominations. The Bob Dylan film biopic "Like A Complete Unknown" and the Vatican thriller "Conclave" by Austrian-Swiss director Edward Berger are also among the top contenders.

Demi Moore and Adrien Brody nominated
Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Ralph Fiennes, Cynthia Erivo, Demi Moore, Karla Sofía Gascón and Fernanda Torres are among the nominees in the acting categories.