Academy Presenters & Our Annual Academy Nudging

Will Anne & Hugh sing together again this year?UPDATED WITH NEW PRESENTERS
We're getting so close to the big night. Here's who we know will be lighting up the Oscar stage on February 27th thus far for various reasons, mostly as presenters.

Alphabetically speaking...

• Annette Bening
• Halle Berry
• Cate Blanchett NEW
• Russell Brand NEW
• Jeff Bridges
• Sandra Bullock
• Celine Dion (perforrming) NEW
• Robert Downey Jr.
• Florence and the Machine (performing)
• James Franco (host)
• Tom Hanks
• Anne Hathaway (host)
• Hugh Jackman
• Nicole Kidman
• Jude Law
• Zachary Levi (performing)
• Alan Menken (performing)
• Helen Mirren NEW
• Mandy Moore (performing)
• Randy Newman (performing)
• Gwyneth Paltrow (performing)
• A.R. Rahman (performing)
• Marisa Tomei
• Oprah Winfrey
• Reese Witherspoon NEW

Some of those names are gimmes of course. We all knew this time last year that Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges would be asked back and more power to them. They're fun celebrities and completely worthy of our collective eyeballs. The inclusion of both Marisa Tomei and Jude Law fills my heart with joy. Not only because I love them both but because they belong to that small class of celebrity that are far more famous and far more talented than people ever remember them to be. When people (i.e. Academy producers) think on the Household Name set, they don't often go to this unique group of perpetual surprises like... 'oh yeah, THEM, love!' As we've seen in several previous years, the Academy is loathe to have only mildly famous people on the stage unless there is a very very specific reason that they're there (usually performing or because they won an Oscar the previous year.) They'd rather have someone who has no business being equated with the movies who happens to be very famous than someone like Pedro Almodovar or who contributes so much to the cinema.

When they announced the Hallowed name of Hanks two weeks back my heart sank a little. Not only because it's so so predictable but because I immediately assumed that that meant "Best Picture" and as I've stated annually and will continue to state annually in the absurd hope that someone in the Academy will listen just once, they really and truly need to break out of their ruts when bestowing this particular honor. Other awards shows sometimes throw a curveball or allow a woman to do it but the Academy is notoriously samey-samey in regards to Best Picture, regularly choosing the same people year after year hoping perhaps that their dwindling viewing audience will be so comatose with boredom that they are physically unable to change the channel.

Herewith a completely sensible generous reminder /suggestion list of Household Names that have never had the honor so how the hell you gonna have Nicholson-Hanks-Streisand-Spielberg do it AGAIN? There's no excuse for such laziness when Hollywood has abundant glitterati available!

THEY'VE NEVER PRESENTED BEST PICTURE

Kidman, Cruise and Streep at the Oscars in the 1990s. None have ever presented Best Picture.

• Meryl Streep
• Jane Fonda
  
• Michelle Pfeiffer 
• Julia Roberts
• Nicole Kidman
• Tom Cruise
• Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio
• Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
  
• Dame Maggie Smith (give the Harry Potter fans, the anglophiles, the Oscar buffs and the cinephiles a thrill! You've covered a lot of audience base there.)
• Goldie Hawn
• Jodie Foster & Anthony Hopkins (20th reunion of Silence of the Lambs, why not?)
• Will Smith
• George Clooney
• Liza Minnelli
• Drew Barrymore
• Johnny Depp
• Susan Sarandon
• Matt Damon with Ben Affleck

George & Julia have never presented Best Pic either.I could go on. But do I need to? The point is Step Away from the Nicholsons, Hanks, Spielbergs and Streisands who have all done it multiple times.

ENOUGH.

(P.S. My guess as to who it's going to be? I think Michael Douglas. He's done it before and they love the repeats. He'll be a sentimental favorite.)