Oscars' perfect pair of hosts

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are taking on the Oscars.

They will share hosting duties at the 82nd Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said recently.

Telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman said Martin and Baldwin are “the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars.” The producers have said they hope to resurrect Oscar’s ratings and make the show more fun by building on the changes introduced at February’s ceremony, which tinkered with the way awards were presented and featured Broadway-style musical interludes.

Bringing in a pair of hosts, while not unprecedented, continues the theme of change.

The inaugural Oscar ceremony in 1929 was co-hosted by Douglas Fairbanks and William DeMille, then president and vice president of the film academy. The last time multiple hosts graced the Oscar stage was in 1987, when Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan shared hosting duties.

“In the modern television era, this is the first time there will be two co-hosts on the same stage,” academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger said.

Hugh Jackman sang and danced as host of last year’s Academy Awards, which saw a ratings boost from the previous year. The 41-year-old actor declined to reprise his hosting role, according to the Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety.

Martin has hosted the show twice before, in 2001 and 2003, and has appeared as a presenter several times. Baldwin is a first-timer as Oscar host, but was a co-presenter in 2004.

Baldwin, 51, who stars on 30 Rock, called the Oscar gig “the opportunity of a lifetime.” He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in The Cooler.