Whoopi's promises Awards class

Whoopi Goldberg is promising to keep it clean after her last turn as Oscar host in 1999, when she surprised the audience with off-colour sex jokes and outlandish costumes, but producers promise a classier show.

Goldberg will make light of the nasty Oscar campaign being waged against best picture nominee, A Beautiful Mind, as well as poke fun at Hollywood. But the show's spotlight will shine on several film vignettes planned from directors like Nora Ephron that celebrate movie history, cultural impact and celebrities.

When Goldberg last hosted the awards, she kept the audience laughing with bawdy humour about President Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. She told viewers the show was live from Hollywood, "the town that invented lying about sex".

nzherald.co.nz/oscars

Oscar nominees (full list)