ALEC BALDWIN - MARTIN AND BALDWIN TO HOST OSCARS

MARTIN AND BALDWIN TO HOST OSCARS

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is doubling the number of films nominated for its Best Picture Oscar, has also doubled the number of hosts of the awards show. It announced Tuesday that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will co-host the 82nd awards presentation. (The two are also co-starring with Meryl Streep in It's Complicated , due to be released on Christmas Day.) For Martin, it will be his third time hosting what is generally the second-biggest TV attraction of the year (after the Super Bowl). In an interview with the New York Times , Oscars co-producer Bill Mechanic said that the two funnymen had been cast because he and co-producer Adam Shankman "liked the idea of contrasting personalities." Commenting on the selection, Los Angeles Times TV writer Mary McNamara remarked, "It's hard to imagine this pair fumbling. With any luck, they will not only shepherd the by-nature unwieldy show through its multiple hours with minimum bumps and dead air, but they'll also do it with the old-fashioned insiders' charm that made the academy want to put the event on television in the first place."

04/11/2009