The February 22, 2009, awards ceremony — which will be produced by Laurence Mark and executive produced by Bill Condon — will mark Rockwell's first involvement with an Oscar telecast. Rockwell's firm (Rockwell Group), however, did design the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center, which will house this year's Oscar ceremony.

In a joint statement Mark and Condon said, "David is an innovator who possesses the outstanding combination of truly firsthand knowledge of the Kodak Theatre and superb design work in a variety of realms, including film and theatre. We're pleased to be collaborating with someone whose talents are so diverse."

Rockwell Group's credits include set design for the upcoming Broadway productions of Catch Me If You Can and Houdini as well as the sets for Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Rocky Horror Show.

Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 22, 2009.