Hugh Jackman to Host the 2009 Oscars

Published by Jeff Leins on December 12, 2008

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has selected Hugh Jackman to host the live 81st Annual Oscar telecast scheduled for February 22, 2009.

Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the organization, confirmed the new host to USA Today and says a formal announcement is due later today.

This is a major shift for the Academy Awards ceremony, which has seen a comedian trying to make one-liners between presentations since 1989 (when there wasn’t a host at all).  1988 was the last year a “movie star” hosted and that was Chevy Chase.  The producers (Larry Mark and Bill Condon) plan to get rid of the joke-telling portion of the show this year.

The reason for the change is because last year’s Oscars were the least watched ever.  Thanks in part to the writers strike, viewership in February 2008 was down 14% from the worst ratings in Academy Award history.  AMPAS believes putting a movie star at the mic is the best move to adapt the show.

Jackman has presented an award at the Oscars, but has never received one.  In fact, he’s a relatively new Hollywood A-lister, only making the migration to the screen in 2000 when he started playing Wolverine.  He starred in this year’s Australia, which was considered an early contender until, well… people saw it.  The reviews were mediocre at best and it did poorly at the box office.  Jackman hosted the Tony Awards from 2003 to 2005, so at least he’s sort of qualified…

After all, he was People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” this year.  Speaking from experience, that will open all kinds of doors.  Sometimes literally.