BARBARA WALTERS TALKS WITH GEORGE CLOONEY, PATRICK DEMPSEY, MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY AND MARIAH CAREY FOR THE 25th ANNUAL OSCAR EDITION OF �THE BARBARA WALTERS SPECIAL�

Special to Air on ABC on a New Date and Time, Wednesday, March 1, at 10:00 p.m.

Four of the hottest stars in show business -- history making George Clooney, the newest TV super star Patrick Dempsey, �sexiest man alive� Matthew McConaughey and comeback queen Mariah Carey -- sit down with Barbara Walters for a fascinating hour on �The Barbara Walters Special.� This year, for the first time, the special will air on the last night of sweeps and following an original episode of �Lost� on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1 at 10:00 p.m., ET.

George Clooney made show business history this year by becoming the first person to receive three Academy Award nominations for two different films. He received an Academy Award nomination for directing and co-writing �Good Night and Good Luck,� and a Supporting Actor nomination for �Syriana.�

New American heartthrob Patrick Dempsey, nicknamed �Dr. Mcdreamy,� from ABC�s hit drama �Grey�s Anatomy,� has been acting since he was a teenager and is comfortably settling into his newfound superstardom.

Matthew McConaughey, who was recently named �The Sexiest Man Alive� by People Magazine, actually got his start by a chance encounter with a film producer while in college at the University of Texas. He seized that opportunity and never looked back.

Eight-time Grammy nominee Mariah Carey has climbed to the top of the music charts after some difficult years and had an electrifying one this year with her No. 1 selling CD, �The Emancipation of Mimi.� The biggest selling female recording artist in the world, Ms. Carey has surpassed Elvis Presley with 17 No. 1 hit singles.

These superstars share their thoughts and perspective on their meteoric year with Barbara Walters.

�The Barbara Walters Special� is a Barwall Production. The Special is produced and directed by Bill Geddie.