Next spring's 82nd Oscar ceremony will be hosted by actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, it was announced, a few days after Hugh Jackman turned down the role.
Less than a week after being snubbed by Hugh Jackman, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has
announced in a press release that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will be hosting the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 7, 2010.
Martin, who hosted the 73rd and 75th Oscars, proclaimed: “I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin.”
Baldwin, who has never hosted the event, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003, for Best Supporting Actor in
The Cooler. He described hosting the Oscars as the "opportunity of a lifetime."
Both men have been presenters on the show on numerous occasions.
The
rejection by Jackman was something of a surprise, as it had been widely expected that the
X-Men Origins: Wolverine star would play host two years in a row, although the Australian actor is currently very busy working on three movies, starring in the Broadway play
"A Steady Rain", as well as planning to star as Logan once more in the upcoming
X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2.
Martin and Baldwin will be the
first co-hosts since Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan shared the honours for the 59th Awards in 1987.
Despite the fact that -- even in Obama's America -- middle-aged white men appear to be the only options considered, the announcement has been met with approval
in some quarters, with
L.A. Times writer Patrick Goldstein opining: "They're two funny guys who are still at the top of their game, always armed with a gag in their quiver," adding:
"Baldwin does have quite a few enemies, mostly conservatives who can't stand his politics, so the academy can only hope that they'll do something really lame, like organize an Oscar boycott, which would only give the creaky awards show a whiff of hip appeal."
He also notes, approvingly, Baldwin's propensity for the unexpected, citing his reputation as "being something of a loose cannon, which frankly is just what the academy needs these days."
