Jon Stewart to host 80th Academy Awards

September 13, 2007 Jon Stewart is to return as host of the Academy Awards. It will be the second time he has hosted the awards, having first done it in 2006. The 80th Academy Awards ceremony will be presented at the Kodak Theatre on February 24, 2008.

When Stewart last presented the Oscars, he received mixed reviews. Tom Shales called him, "a sad and pale shadow of great hosts gone by." However, Roger Ebert called his performance a "home run". The 2006 awards performed poorly in terms of ratings. It attracted 38.9 million viewers, compared to 39.9 million last year when it was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres and 42.1 million when hosted by Chris Rock in 2005.

However, the producer for the Oscars, Gil Cates, said that, "He is smart, quick, funny, and loves movies. What else could one ask for?" Stewart is said to be thrilled to be asked to host the awards again, "Because third time's the charm."

Stewart is most famous as host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.