When Alec Met Steve

I like this. I like this a lot. Bravo Oscars:

Breaking with tradition, a pair of hosts -- Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin -- will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards, Oscar telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced today.

"'We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars,' said Shankman and Mechanic. "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,' said Martin.

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

Read a nice piece that echoes my excitement at the LA Times. Here's a bit of it that's spot on:

"Once professionally frenetic, Martin has recently taken roles that played upon an almost psychotic sense of calm.

"And Baldwin has never been afraid to do anything, be it David Mamet, 'The Cat in the Hat' or 'Nip/Tuck.' Even if what surrounds him tanks, he remains a pillar of entertainment, capable of surviving even the horror of having his ill-chosen phone messages replayed ad nauseam.

"Together, they have played to virtually every sort of house in every sort of role -- if nothing else, they will no doubt be the most unflappable hosts in Oscar history."