January 06, 2006|By LOS ANGELES TIMES
HOLLYWOOD -- He's made himself the nation's most trusted source for fake news and written a best-selling book of fake history. But this much is real: Jon Stewart, the Emmy-winning star of Comedy Central's mock newscast The Daily Show, is going Hollywood - as host of the 78th annual Academy Awards.
The 43-year-old comedian will make his first appearance as host of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards show, which will be broadcast on ABC on March 5, the academy said yesterday in an e-mail statement.
Stewart succeeds comedian Chris Rock as host of the Oscars show, which ranks among the most-viewed broadcasts each year. This year's show may bolster ticket and home-video sales of Oscar winners released in 2005, when Hollywood had its worst year at the box office in two decades.
"By choosing Jon Stewart they have someone who can attract the targeted audience" of young male viewers, Bill Carroll, director of programming at New York-based Katz Television Group, a television consultant, told the Associated Press. "There's nobody more contemporary than Jon Stewart."
The academy and longtime broadcast partner ABC have, in recent years, battled a sharp erosion in Oscar viewership among young adults, those most sought by advertisers.
Although the Oscars are typically second only to the Super Bowl in their ability to draw a large TV audience, the size of that crowd is often influenced by the popularity of the films nominated for best picture. Last year, when Clint Eastwood's relatively small-scale Million Dollar Baby was honored, an average of 42.1 million viewers watched, down 3 percent from the previous year, according to Nielsen Media Research.
In 2003, host Steve Martin drew the smallest audience in at least 20 years with 33 million viewers. Billy Crystal emceed in 2004.
Unlike such perennial Oscar hosts as Bob Hope and Billy Crystal, Stewart - who once told 60 Minutes that he dropped his real last name, Liebowitz, because it "sounded too Hollywood" - does not have an extensive movie career (his credits include Death to Smoochy and Half Baked) and is still an unknown quantity to many Americans. But his Daily Show perch has made him one of the hottest commodities on cable.
The comedian will be hosting the Oscars in a year when several of the best-picture contenders are small, specialty films with political messages, including Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Syriana, The Constant Gardener and Good Night, and Good Luck.
It's expected that Stewart will take at least one week off from The Daily Show to prepare for the Oscars and that some of the show's writers will help write jokes and other material.
In November, a representative for Chris Rock confirmed that his client had not been asked back as host. Rock was credited with helping boost the ratings last year, but the academy's executive director, Bruce Davis, has admitted to hearing complaints from some academy members about the comic's performance on the show, during which Rock memorably riffed on Jude Law's shortcomings.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
