Hosts Galore, Michael Jackson, and Animation

What an exciting last few weeks for the Oscars (note: with the awards season coming up soon, expect most of my posts to be about the plethora of awards: Oscars especially, but also Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Independent Spirits, Grammys, etc.)! However I feel like the roller coaster may just be starting. Hold on tight. - The choice of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, in my opinion, is fantastic. Both have proven to have very dry wits (always a plus), and both can skew younger, despite their age, which is what the producers and ABC wanted. There is some talk about it being an unofficial advertisement and Oscar campaign for It's Complicated, but that's nothing to worry about: like Nancy Meyers' other films, I doubt it will gather any nominations.
- There's talk about This Is It, otherwise known as The Michael Jackson Movie, being a Best Picture contender. That's not going to happen, though. There's a lot of Jacko sentiment going around the entertainment industry, but that won't change the fact that no documentary has ever been nominated in that category, especially not a concert film.

- Ricky Gervais is hosting the Golden Globes! Its the first host that the ceremony has had in 15 years, and since the Globes are famous for their free-flowing booze, this could get fun....
- Animation's officially going to have 5 nominees at this year. This is big, considering that in the category's short 8 year history that's only happened once. The Academy's rule is that if 15 or fewer films are submitted, then the category will have 3 nominees, but if 16 or more are submitted than it will have 5 nominees, and thanks to Spain's El Lince Perdido, there are 16 official submissions this year. Competition-wise, this only means that 4 films instead of 2 will lose to Up, but it gives more films a chance to be recognized. My personal dream shortlist: Up, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Ponyo, Princess and the Frog.