Academy Awards

Tonight, ABC will broadcast the 81st Annual Academy Awards. There's a new company running things over there, and they're trying to mix things up a little bit.

First of all, they've chosen someone who is not a professional comedian to host the show. That hasn't happened for a very long time. From the interviews that Hugh Jackman has done before his performance, he seems to be pretty funny. I hope he hosts the show "drunk and nude" like he said he would.

The largest, well, the most interesting changes, include not revealing the identity of the celebrities presenting the awards and asking some celebrities to avoid the red carpet so people will tune in to the show to see what, or who they are wearing. I have to admit, I'm interested in seeing what happens.

Here's a couple did you knows.....

Heath Ledger is a lock to win a Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Only two people, Sidney Howard for the Best Screenplay Award for Gone With The Wind and Peter Finch for the Best Actor Award for The Network, have won an award posthumously.

Bob Hope holds the record for hosting the Academy Awards 18 times. Billy Crystal comes in second, having hosted 8 times.

Three actors, Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda in 1948, John Mills in Ryan's Daughter in 1970 and Holly Hunter in The Piano in 1993, have won an Academy Award for playing characters that do not utter a single word throughout their respective films.

Oscar is just a nickname given to the award received by the actors. The Academy Award of Merit is the official name of the statue given to the winners.

Oscar Hammerstien II won Best Song Academy Award for his song "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in the movie Lady Be Good in 1941. P.S. Hugh Jackman has a son named Oscar.

The only X-Rated movie to receive an Academy Award was Midnight Cowboy in 1969 for Best Picture.

Robert Opal streaked (naked) across the stage while David Niven was presenting the Best Picture Award during the ceremony in 1974.

Until 1989, every award was presented with the phrase "And the winner is.....". The phrase was changed in 1989 to "And the Oscar goes to.....".