At last year's Oscars, the subdued performance from hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin was the second-biggest disappointment of the evening. (The first-biggest: nowhere near enough head-to-toe leer shots of "The Hurt Locker" hottie Jeremy Renner in his finely-tailored suit. MEOW.) So it's no surprise that this year, the Academy decided to pluck a pair of hosts straight from the young Hollywood A-list; the upcoming 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be hosted by none other than James Franco and Anne Hathaway.
This will be the first major hosting role for both actors, although Anne appeared onstage at the Oscars two years ago for a song-and-dance number with then-host Hugh Jackman. (The biggest disappointment of that evening: only one "X-Men" joke from Hugh and no Wolverine sideburns in sight.) But after a grueling year of soap opera appearances, college studies and a leading role as a stranded mountaineer who has to cut off his own arm to survive, we're sure that James is more than capable of handling the Oscar crowd —and he was bound to be at the awards anyway, since his incredible performance in "127 Hours" makes him a front-runner for a "Best Actor" nomination.
Of course, the hot topic now is just what sort of stage shtick we can expect from Anne and James. Our predictions? A musical number that allows Anne to showcase her singing skills; a jab or two at James for his recurring role on "General Hospital" and at least 20 "poking" jokes tied to the release of the Facebook-inspired "The Social Network".
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