Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin to host Oscars

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards, producers of the Oscars telecast said Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif.

"We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars," producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman said in a news release. "Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event."

"I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin," Martin said in the release, issued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"I don't play the banjo but I'm thrilled to be hosting the Oscars -- it's the opportunity of a lifetime," Baldwin said.

Martin was the host for the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards shows and was nominated for an Emmy for his first appearance as host. He is a three-time Grammy winner and a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Baldwin was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar in 2003 for "The Cooler" and has won two Emmys for his performance on the NBC comedy "30 Rock."

The 82nd Academy Awards will be presented March 7, 2010, in ceremonies at Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, to be televised live by ABC.