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According to a story in The New York Times (who, surprisingly enough, have appeared to scoop the scoopers, and their scoopers), The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce today that Jon Stewart will be invited back to host the Oscars this year. The event, which is scheduled to air on ABC this coming February 24, will mark Stewart's second time hosting; he last took the reigns reins back in 2006. Although this is The New York Times, I do have to throw out the requisite "rumor" warning since they claim their sources are "two people involved with the plan who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to the news media." And I imagine those two people would suffer a major beatdown if someone were to find out who they were. It was you Colbert! Wasn't it! Damn you! Damn you I say!

So now we have to raise the obvious question: Should Stewart be back? Last time out the man was fairly well received, but not according to the numbers. Last year, Ellen DeGeneres helped score the show 39.9 million viewers, whereas Stewart took in only 38.9 million. Compared to Chris Rock's 42.1 million in 2005 and Billy Crystal's whopping 55 million in 1998 (when Titanic was pretty much guaranteed to win everything -- and it did!), Stewart doesn't seem like the obvious choice ... on paper. But he's a likable enough guy, his jokes and mannerisms are usually pretty funny, and he's tame. He'll most likely be asked, once again, to hold back on all the political humor -- everything will be fine and dandy -- and we'll live-blog the whole thing. Sweet. Now all Hollywood needs is a big fall, because nothing looks appetizing from a viewer's standpoint thus far. And Stewart had Brokeback Mountain (as well as all the jokes that went along with it) back in 2006; will anything even come close this year. I doubt it. What do you think?

Though the Pilot Frenzy! that's currently sweeping Hollywood leaves us movie kids pretty much out in the cold, Court TV did throw us a bone yesterday with the announcement that director John Waters will acts as a host of sorts for 'Til Death Do Us Part, the channel's "first original drama." The series will examine real cases in which one spouse murders the other and, as the "Groom Reaper," Waters will guide viewers through the stories with his characteristic morbid oddness. At least, I assume that's what the Court TV CEO meant when he said that Waters would "bring a sort of tongue-in-cheek 'top spin' to his role."

By telling reporters that he took the job because he mistakenly thought he would get to play the "Groom Raper," Waters surely upped the discomfort level in the room rather dramatically. Nice. How is it, do you think, that he can get away with saying stuff like that? 95% of actors would be raked over the coals for that sort of thing. If he brings non-PCness like that to the series, it could become fall's first must-see.

According to wire reports, poor Jon Stewart was very much not first choice to host the Oscars. In fact, former host Billy Crystal claims that show producer Gil Cates wanted him for the job, so much so that he "repeatedly" called Crystal, who refused because of his commitment to 700 Sundays (his one-man show). Despite being turned down, Cates was still calling as late as Christmas, fewer than two weeks before the triumphant Stewart announcement.

Hey, movie history is jam-packed with second choices that totally rule - personally, despite my soft spot for Crystal's work on the Oscars, I'm pretty confident that Stewart will do a great job. Here's my question, though: why the hell did Crystal go public with this? He's always struck me as a reasonably (for Hollywood, anyway) ego-free guy, but apart from the need for attention I can't think of any reason for him to talk. His words can't possibly do any good for the show; if anything, they'll just make people worry about how right Stewart could be for the gig, if he's not who Cates really wanted.