A.M.P.A.S./ABC Angelina Jolie, work it! Daniel Radcliffe, say it! Billy Crystal, watch out?!
The lastest look at which Oscar players are up—and which are going down.
HOTTER
1. Angelina Jolie: No, she's not just going to the show as Brad Pitt's companion, she's going to present, too.
2. Geeks: They snagged Milla Jovovich to host Saturday's Sci-Tech Oscars; they got the respect of a big-time Oscar campaign in the form of TV ads, hyping the awesome special effects of Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
3. Daniel Radcliffe: "I was watching Hugo the other day and going, 'Why is this nominated, and we're not?" the Harry Potter star groused astutely asked. "…There's a certain amount of snobbery."
COLDER
1. Billy Crystal: The Academy's snobbery could put a dent in the comic's reputation as an Oscar savior. Since the nominations came out, moviegoers have shown little interest in Best Picture front-runner The Artist and hangers-on such as War Horse and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The telecast could be the next thing to get the cold shoulder. In Crystal's own Oscar history—he's hosted eight times to date—his highest rated show was the one that raised Titanic, while his least watched show was the one that featured The English Patient, an acquired taste, which, like The Artist, failed to clear $100 million at the domestic box office.
2. Guys Who Don't Look Like Milla Jovovich: How come Paul Giamatti or Philip Seymour Hoffman never gets to host the sci-tech Oscars?
3. Jason Segel and Tropical Birds: You'd think with only two nominees up for Original Song, the Oscars wouldn't have trouble fitting the tunes into the telecast, but you could be thinking wrong. Deadline is reporting that "as things stand now," the songs, The Muppets' epic "Man or Muppet" and Rio's zippy "Real in Rio," will not be performed. The Academy didn't respond to a request for a comment.