Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to co-host Oscars
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has finally found an answer to its hosting dilemma: The Man with Two Brains.
The star of that 1983 comedy, Steve Martin, has been tapped to co-host the March 7 Oscar ceremony with actor Alec Baldwin. (Perhaps not coincidentally, the two men co-star as rivals for Meryl Streep’s affections in the Christmas release “It’s Complicated.”)
This will be the first time in 53 years, and only the fourth time ever, that the Academy Award ceremony has utilized co-hosts. Earlier this week, telecast producers Adam Schankman and Bill Mechanic offered the gig to the tandem of Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr., who declined.
Last year’s host, Hugh Jackman, earned good reviews for his song-and-dance flavored presentation, but Jackman also declined the follow-up gig to concentrate on his film career. Neil Patrick Harris, who capably hosted the Emmys and Tonys this year, was rumored to be a possible replacement, as was frequently host Billy Crystal.
Martin has hosted the Oscars twice before. Baldwin, an Academy Award nominee as a supporting actor for “The Cooler” in 2003, has never hosted the show. But both men have hosted “Saturday Night Live” many times (Martin holds the record at 15, followed by Baldwin at 14), so they’re used to live comedy. And this year’s Oscar show should be laugh riot, with potential best picture nominees including “The Lovely Bones,” “The Road,” “Precious” and “The Hurt Locker.”
Here’s the trailer for Martin and Baldwin in “It’s Complicated”:
Jackman was an awesome host last year, and I’m sorry he turned down the gig. I liked Neil Patrick Harris at the Tony’s (I didn’t watch the Emmy’s, since I watch shows nominated in only two categories), and think he would have been good for the Oscars. I’m not thrilled about the Martin-Baldwin combo, but as long as it doens’t run long, I can deal.