The 82nd Academy Awards are going to be good!

The Academy has announced that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will cohost this season’s Oscar telecast on March 7, 2010.

The announcement that Martin and Baldwin are hosting the 82nd Academy Awards telecast will bring joy to the hearts of those of us who still long for the days of Billy Crystal or Johnny Carson. Plus, they’re both adept comedians who’ll certainly play off each other well.

Where Hugh Jackman brought a no-holds-barred theatricality to this year’s broadcast, Martin and Baldwin will, one imagines, go more for deft patter and a been-around-the-block industry sophistication. Certainly, they are men of elastic talents who have proved themselves on the requisite stage, screen and television. Martin created the template for the modern stand-up-turned-serious-movie-star, while Baldwin’s career morphed from handsome young romantic lead to handsome older master of comedy. Both look quite splendid in a tux and both, I am certain, could participate in a dance number if it is required.

Most important, however, is their comfort level with television and the air of professional ease both have cultivated over the years.

Once professionally frenetic, Martin has recently taken roles that played upon an almost psychotic sense of calm.

And Baldwin has never been afraid to do anything, be it David Mamet, “The Cat in the Hat” or ” Nip/Tuck.” Even if what surrounds him tanks, he remains a pillar of entertainment, capable of surviving even the horror of having his ill-chosen phone messages replayed ad nauseam.

Together, they have played to virtually every sort of house in every sort of role — if nothing else, they will no doubt be the most unflappable hosts in Oscar history.

For Martin, of course, it’s old hat. His spontaneous riff after an onstage crash caused by a crew member’s falling cellphone interrupted the telecast is the stuff of Oscar legend. It’s live television, people, so it’s nice to have television people in front of the camera.

Having two hosts instead of one opens up all sorts of possibilities, and not just in the costume-change department. It’s a long night and a big stage; even the most energetic host can seem small and lost (David Letterman) or dutifully chugging to the finish line (Jon Stewart, though I say it with love because he always made me laugh).

Of course, much depends on the chemistry of the two involved, but 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.

Alec Baldwin won the Emmy Award for lead actor in a comedy series.

Baldwin won for the second year in a row for his role as ambitious television executive Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock.

30 Rock is a great show and we love the Jack donaghy character!

The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards were full of plenty of sparkle and major celebrities. Low-budget movies ruled, as “Slumdog Millionaire” won a leading four honors, including best drama to give it a push in the race for Oscars. “John Adams,” and “30 Rock” were the big television winners at the Globes.

Here is the complete list of winners for the 2009 Golden Globe Awards. (more…)

Here is the complete list of 2008 Emmy Award winners. 

Comedy Series: 30 Rock

Drama Series: Mad Men

Mini-Series: John Adams

Television Movie: Recount

Reality Competition: The Amazing Race

Actor in a Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin

Actor, Mini-Series or Movie: Paul Giamatti

Actress in a Comedy Series: Tina Fey

Actor in a Drama Series: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Reality Host, Jeff Probst

Directing for a Drama Series, Jeff Yaitanes, House

Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Zeljko Ivanek, Damages

Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Dianne Wiest, In Treatment

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Jeremy Piven, Entourage

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Jean Smart Samantha Who?

Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Linney, John Adams

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Tom Wilkinson, John Adams

Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Eileen Atkins, Cranford

Writing for a Comedy Series: Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Writing for a Drama Series: Matthew Weiner, Mad Men

Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program: Louis J. Horvitz, 80th Annual Academy Awards

Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program: The Colbert Report

Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: Jay Roach, Recount

Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: Kirk Ellis, John Adams

Directing for a Comedy Series: Barry Sonnenfeld,
Pushing Daisies

Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, Don Rickles

This is a pretty juicy story!

A few days ago, Alec Baldwin blamed the low ratings on his show, 30 Rock, due to NBC playing favorites with their TV shows.

Criticizing NBC, Baldwin said in the interview, “NBC hasn’t done a thing to help this show (30 Rock). They’ve gone out of their way to wring the last drops out of My Name Is Earl and Scrubs. Those shows are done! They’re cooked! Yet they do a one-hour episode of ‘Earl.’”

After hearing the news, Earl creator Greg Garcia is infuriated and is firing back, calling Baldwin “unlikeable” and “distasteful,” according to SFGate.com.

In a scathing retort, Garcia said, “[Baldwin] sounds like a psychotic narcissist. Instead of blaming NBC, I think Alec should consider that some people in America may not want to watch a man who cusses out his own 11-year-old daughter on a phone message. Oh, and the reason NBC occasionally puts on an hour long episode of Earl is because an hour of Earl gets better ratings than an Earl followed by a 30 Rock. It’s called math, stupid.””

Upon realizing his insulting words, Baldwin wrote in The Huffington Post:

“My apologies to the cast and crews of My Name Is Earl and Scrubs. In my frustration with NBC’s reprehensible promotion of 30 Rock, I took an unfortunate swipe at both of those shows and that was not cool.

“But, for Earl’s creator, Greg Garcia, who referred to me as a “psychotic”, I have only one question. Why are you Scientologists always rendering these medical opinions you aren’t qualified to give?”