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Comedian Chris Rock to host Academy Awards

 
Published Oct. 15, 2004|Updated Aug. 28, 2005

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday announced Chris Rock will host the next Academy Awards telecast.

Rock, who has been in the films Head of State and Dogma, is best known for his standup comedy specials Bigger & Blacker, Bring the Pain and Never Scared.

Rock, 39, has hosted the MTV Movie Awards. The one-time Saturday Night Live regular has won three Emmys and two Grammys. The 77th Academy Awards telecast is set for Feb. 27.

"Smallville' script deals with death of Dr. Swann

Alfred Gough, executive producer of the WB's Superman-as-a-teenager drama Smallville, said the late Christopher Reeve's recurring character, Dr. Swann, will pass away in an episode airing later this season, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Margot Kidder, who has already filmed two episodes as Bridgette Crosby, Dr. Swann's emissary, will continue as a link between the young Superman (Tom Welling) and Dr. Swann's research about the teen's alien origins. Kidder played Lois Lane opposite Reeve's Clark Kent in the Superman movies.

NFL names new producer for Super Bowl halftime

Right after Janet Jackson's Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," National Football League officials made it known they would never again allow MTV to produce a halftime show. And on Thursday, the NFL made it official, hiring Don Mischer Productions, whose most recent projects have been the Grammy Awards and the Democratic National Convention, for the job.

Performers and other details have yet to be announced. The game will be Feb. 6 in Jacksonville and televised on Fox. Last year's game was broadcast by CBS, which like MTV is owned by Viacom. This will be the second time Mischer Productions, which also produced the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, will produce a Super Bowl halftime. The last one was the 1993 show, which also featured a Jackson _ Michael Jackson _ who got through that show with his wardrobe intact.