This just in: to counter the widespread belief that the Motion Picture Academy is dominated by old white guys, the 82nd Academy Awards will be hosted by... two old white guys! Okay, Alec Baldwin is barely past the half-century mark, and doing what many consider the best work of his career on "30 Rock," but Steve Martin will be eligible for Medicare next year. (Man, now I feel old.)
Martin has proven his chops writing as well as performing, and it's a good bet they'll make at least a few references to the comedy "It's Complicated," which comes out this Christmas and stars Baldwin and Martin as rivals for Meryl Streep's affections. And Baldwin will probably take a jab at his co-host by mentioning his 2004 Oscar nomination, as Best Supporting Actor for "The Cooler," a few times: Martin has never received a nod from the Academy, not even for his marvelous screenplay for 1987's "Roxanne."
As for hosting, Baldwin is something of a novice, but Martin hosted the Academy Awards in 2001, earning an Emmy nomination, and again in 2003. Interestingly, when our Denise Quan interviewed Martin this May about his new bluegrass album, she asked him about a possible return as Oscar host. His reply: "I don't think so... I did it twice, that was enough... as soon as you say yes to the Oscars, that's the only thing you think about for three months." Guess we know what he'll be thinking about between now and next March 7.
The "mature" pair probably won't dance about the stage as Hugh Jackman did last year, though there's a good chance Martin will pull out his banjo at least once... and they're definitely both funny. How do you think they'll do as Oscar hosts?