Actress Anne Hathaway poses at the world premiere of her and co-star Jake Gyllenhaal's film 'Love & Other Drugs' at the opening night gala at AFI Fest 2010 in Hollywood , California in this November 4, 2010 file photograph.[Photo/Agencies]

Cast member James Franco attends the Los Angeles premiere of "In the Valley of Elah" in Hollywood in this September 13, 2007 file photograph.[Photo/Agencies]

Actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway have been named co-hosts of the film industry's upcoming Academy Awards, Oscar organizers said on Monday.

The pair are currently starring in two movies that some experts believe could earn them nominations for one of the world's top movie honors when they are given out on February 27.

Franco, 32, is starring in the real-life drama "127 Hours," playing a man who cut off his own arm to free himself from being trapped in a canyon with no way to survive, and Hathaway, 28, portrays a free-spirited woman who falls for a drug salesman in "Love and Other Drugs."

"James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons -- fresh, exciting and multi-talented," Oscar producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer said in a joint statement.

Indeed, Oscar organizers have tried in past years to fine tune the live television broadcast for younger movie fans.

Although 2010's ceremony paired veteran comedian Steve Martin and actor Alec Baldwin as co-hosts, the show previously had been hosted by "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" star Hugh Jackman and comedians Jon Stewart and Chris Rock, among others.

The Oscars, or Academy Awards, are given out each year by the Beverly Hills-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and are typically the second-most watched TV program in the United States after the Super Bowl football championship. The telecast also is seen in more than 200 countries worldwide.