Meghan McCain, Chelsea Clinton and TV's Shameful Love Affair with Political Daughters (Opinion)

This story appears in the Dec. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Wanted: Reporter for regular feature segments on NBC Nightly News. No journalists need apply. NBC sent its viewers a miserable message about its brand with the addition of Chelsea Clinton (qualification: onetime residency in the White House, boldface parents) as a reporter for Making a Difference, its segment about volunteerism and community service. The quality of journalism that we deliver, NBC News implicitly states, is of such a low standard that a rank amateur is qualified to stand in front of our cameras, just as long as she has a famous last name. Chelsea the newswoman joins colleagues Meghan McCain, whose father was the Republican nominee for president, and Jenna Bush Hager, a double threat as both former first daughter and first granddaughter. NBC News did not initiate this trend: Former first son Ron Reagan's qualification to be a contributor for ABC's Good Morning America during the 1980s and '90s was as a professional dancer (and that famous name). PHOTOS: The Clinton Foundation's Decade of Difference Fundraiser This Clinton scion's hiring means that every former president since 1980 has a network TV journalist in the household or extended family. Why? The urge to hire from political families is an example of what NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen calls the "quest for innocence" in the political press. News organizations try to square a circle by asserting that they are inside players with access to the corridors of political power while at the same time remaining neutral outsiders, "innocent," without a partisan ax to grind. Hiring someone whose access derives from blood rather than political activism solves this problem. Clinton certainly has an insider's knowledge about West Wing crises, but as a reporter, she carries none of the ideological baggage that hiring a converted political operative (Tim Russert), onetime White House press secretary (George Stephanopoulos), former presidential aide (Diane Sawyer) or ex-speechwriter (Chris Matthews) entails. The other benefit of hiring a political heir is the freshness of telegenic youth: Chelsea, 31, is less grizzled than James Carville and has a less risque résumé than Eliot Spitzer. Nightly News likely hopes to improve its aging demographic with an on-air face in the target demo, a shift from 15 years ago when inspirational segments were filed by another nonjournalist impostor, "Stormin' " Norman Schwarzkopf. Nevertheless, this particular choice is peculiar: Clinton might know what an inside-the-White-House crisis feels like, but she has zero knowledge of how such a crisis -- or any news event, for that matter -- is covered by working journalists. Her parents kept her in a reporter-free bubble throughout her childhood; she stonewalled reporters when she stumped for her mother during Campaign 2008; and as recently as 16 months ago, she tried to block the press from covering her wedding, keeping the location secret in an attempt to thwart the paparazzi; and she wouldn't even give interviews in connection with her hiring by NBC. STORY: Chelsea Clinton Joins NBC News as Special Correspondent And the hiring of the hedge fund alumna reveals NBC News to have a particularly tin ear at a time when mainstream media stand accused by Occupy Wall Street of being complicit in an undemocratic political system as members and mouthpieces of the "one percent," rather than watchdogs scrutinizing corruption. NBC News has enough baggage with its CNBC brand; now imagine Clinton and Andrea Mitchell appearing on Nightly News during coverage of the next financial crisis: the daughter of the president who deregulated high finance with the wife of central banker Alan Greenspan, who allowed it to run amok. NBC News is reporting from that worldview rather than on it. You could say Clinton, Hagen and McCain are being exploited as eye-catching props by powerful men projecting an image of insider access. You could say this amounted to their being "pimped out" -- unless, of course, you happen to work for NBC News, in which case you would be suspended. Just ask David Shuster, who was suspended from MSNBC in 2008 for using that phrase in connection with Clinton. There is one group of professional journalists that should feel gratified by her arrival: field producers. Their reporting chops are all the more indispensable as the figures in front of their cameras become purely symbolic. Andrew Tyndall is publisher of Tyndall Report, which monitors network TV news. Related Topics NBC ABC News Good Morning America Today

Bella and Edward's 'Breaking Dawn' Mishap, and Other Movie Honeymoons Gone Awry

ZOMG, Bella and Edward are getting married! Their love has overcome all obstacles, and these two crazy kids (OK, one crazy kid and one sparkly old guy in a crazy kid's body) are finally gonna make the ultimate commitment in 'Breaking Dawn, Part 1.' To be followed, of course, by an extra-romantic super-sparkly honeymoon. Or not. Yes, as everyone who's read the books knows, it's not exactly smooth sailing for Bella and Edward as they head off on their romantic retreat to the private island of Esme. Their starry-eyed honeymoon comes to an abrupt halt when Bella realizes there's a little monster kicking inside of her belly. That's right -- a little half-human, half-vampire bundle of joy. Since it's not your average fetus, Bella's pregnancy accelerates at a rapid rate, effectively serving as a major buzzkill for their honeymoon as Edward frets about the effects on Bella's body. They have to say goodbye to exotic Esme early and rush back to scenic Forks. Bummer, huh? But theirs isn't the first movie honeymoon to go awry. In fact, movie honeymoons rarely go smoothly. Remember when Charlton Heston got totally sidetracked by work on his honeymoon in 'Touch of Evil'? It completely ruined their romantic getaway, and even put his lovely new bride (Janet Leigh) in danger! Bella and Edward's preempted honeymoon got us thinking about other movie honeymoons that don't go as planned. Movie Honeymoons Gone Awry Edward and Bella aren't the first movie newlyweds to have their honeymoons cut short. Don't you just hate it when candlelit dinners and walks on the beach are ruined by creepy propositions, flesh-eating zombies and murderous psychos? A Perfect GetawayZombie HoneymoonThe Heartbreak KidHaunted HoneymoonHoneymoon in Vegas See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Lionsgate Wants Gary Ross, Slumdog Writer for Hunger Games Sequel Catching Fire

The jury’s still out as far as I’m concerned on whether or not director Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) was the right director to helm Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, even with the mostly-satisfying first trailer debut earlier this week. Lionsgate, however, seems more confident in Ross, as they want him to return to helm the second Hunger Games installment, 2013’s Catching Fire, with writer Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) reportedly in the running to script. From Deadline: I’m told that Gary Ross, who directed The Hunger Games, is coming back for the sequel. He originally intended to write the outline for the second film and script it with author Suzanne Collins (they teamed to do a lot of writing on the first film), but the post production schedule on The Hunger Games has made that difficult. The highly anticipated trailer debut on Monday revealed a solid visual sense for the world inhabited by teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a working class girl in a future dystopia who winds up competing in a televised death match against 23 other youngsters. The trailer teased the events leading up to said Hunger Games and showed fans of Collins’ novel glimpses of the characters they know well, including Katniss, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Gale (Liam Hemsworth), and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). What remains to be seen is if Ross and Co. capture the internal drama within Katniss as she begins to navigate the worlds of politics, love, and responsibility while trying to stay alive, not to mention how well Ross is able to evoke a sense of real danger and brutal violence in his tween and teen-oriented adventure. A more daring director would have been my preference — say Joe Wright, building off of the visceral action and style he lent to Hanna earlier this year — but Ross might be just safe enough to help make this the next MTV-safe franchise, a la Twilight. The Hunger Games as a story sets up the world of Panem and the inciting annual battle royale, but Catching Fire, the first of two sequels, expands Katniss’s world so much, and in such specific ways, that scripting it both for an established audience and for non-readers will be a trickier job. So while Collins adapting her own novel for the first film is a boon in many ways (a vote of confidence in the project, insurance against taking too much creative license or deviating from the material), it might take someone with more of a cinematic bent to translate the plot turns of Catching Fire to the screen. Is Beaufoy the right writer for the job? I don’t see why not; he’s notched solid films thus far, even if, as with Ross, there’s nothing in his resume that suggests he’s a particularly good match for a dystopian action adventure about a lethal teenage girl. Of course, Beaufoy’s Oscar statuette (and two additional writing nods) would give the Lionsgate series an added sheen of Oscar cred on top of Ross’s three nominations, so there’s that. Lionsgate Courts Simon Beaufoy To Script ‘The Hunger Games’ Sequel [Deadline]

Exclusive: Meredith Baxter to Guest-Star on Switched at Birth

Meredith Baxter Meredith Baxter will guest-star on ABC Family's Switched at Birth, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively. Baxter may have Bonnie Tamblyn Dixon, mother to Jum Thompson's character Kathryn and biological grandmother to Daphne (Katie LeClerc). Sparks fly and tension arrisses when she arrives for just about any family visit. ABC Family sets return dates for Pretty Little Liars, Lounging Game plus much more The guest place also marks a reunion between a few Michael J. Fox's imaginary moms Baxter was his mother on Family Ties while Thompson carried out his mother with the spine for the Future. Baxter look in one episode when the show returns Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 8/7c.

Passion for Existence (Zui ai)

A Superb Mega Films, Hing Lung Worldwide Group, Beijing Harmony & Harvest Media, Beijing Forbidden City Film, Pioneer TV & Movie Push. of Chengdu Media Group production. (Worldwide sales: Edko Films, Hong Kong.) Produced by Gu Changwei, Chen Xiaodong. Executive producers, Qin Hong, Bill Kong, Ma Hefeng, Zhang Qiang, He Bing. Directed by Gu Changwei. Script, Yan Laoshi, Yang Weiwei, Gu Changwei.With: Zhang Ziyi, Aaron Kwok, Pu Cunxi, Jiang Wenli, Sun Haiying, Tao Zeru, Wang Baoqiang, Cai Guoqing, Li Jianhua, Li Danyang, Jiang Wen, Feng Xiaogang, Lu Chuan, Guo Yongzhang, Guo Zetao. (Mandarin dialogue)Where you live now China's first Helps-related pic, "Passion for Existence" is certainly an anemic mess, notwithstanding stars Zhang Ziyi and Aaron Kwok (neither inspired) and rising helmer Gu Changwei. It's possible the first 2 1/2-hour conception was more coherent, nevertheless the current version feels sliced up and set together by multiple editors with limited communication capabilities. Occur a web-based northern Chinese village, the pic functions as neither Helps tale nor love story, having a defunct 12-year-old boy narrating and several risible sex moments, the crowd is unclear. Even most fests will remain away. Narrator Xin (Guo Zetao) died from Helps, like many infected when his unscrupulous father (Pu Cunxi) offered the town tainted blood stream. The asymptomatic isolate themselves in the school, including uncle Deyi (Kwok). Forlorn Qinqin (Zhang) arrives began out by husband Xiao Hai (Cai Guoqing), and he or she and Deyi fall crazily for each other. Villagers succumb as if Helps might be the bubonic plague, as well as the script, definately not demystifying the problem, is tonally everywhere. Zhang's red-colored-colored clothes set her apart but, like the attractive pictures from lensers Yang Tao and Christopher Doyle, aren't meaningfully built-in to the story.Camera (color), Yang Tao, Christopher Doyle editor, Li Dianshi music, Zuoxiao Zuzhou production designers, Wang Weiyuan, Han Dahai costume designer, Zhang Yongyi. Examined at Rome Film Festival (competing), November. 1, 2011. Running time: 99 MIN. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Summit And Twilight Sagas Temple Hill Acquire Frankfurt Hit Novel Deadmail

EXCLUSIVE: Summit Entertainment has acquired feature rights to Deadmail, a novel by Laurie Frankel that created a stir at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair. Twilight Saga producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey of Temple Hill will produce. The novel is a love story about letting go, where a computer genius invents a way for people to email loved ones who have passed on. When he unexpectedly loses the woman he loves, he must face his own creation to keep her close or lose her forever. Summit production president Erik Feig and exec Jeyun Choi will oversee it along with Temple Hill’s Adam Londy. The book won’t be published until next year by Doubleday, and Deadmail sold in 14 other territories at Frankfurt. That gives Summit and the producers a chance to be far along on a script when the book comes out. Summit and Temple Hill release Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 next Friday (fans already are camping out for it). The book deal was brokered by UTA for The Friedrich Agency. Deadmail is the second novel by Frankel, who debuted with The Atlas Of Love last year.

Sneak Peek: Glees Troubletones Perform an Adele Mash-Up

Naya Rivera and Amber Riley The Brit is back on Tuesday's Glee! While Adele's songs have been covered on the show before, The Troubletones' performance may very well be the best yet.Santana, (Naya Rivera), Mercedes (Amber Riley), Brittany (Heather Morris) and the rest of the newly formed girl group take on a mash-up of "Rumour Has It" and "Someone Like You." The performance is also the show's 300th musical number.Harry Potter, Glee lead People's Choice Awards nominationsCheck out the sneak peek: The Glee episode titled "Mash Off" airs Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Desperate Housewives Star Vanessa Williams Signs Talent Holding Deal With ABC

EXCLUSIVE: Vanessa Williams has been on an ABC primetime series for six consecutive seasons now: four years on Ugly Betty, from which she segued into a starring gig on Desperate Housewives, now in its eighth and final season. The actress and the network are looking to extend their run together with a new series. ABC has signed a talent holding deal with Williams, who will headline a new hourlong or half-hour project targeted for next fall. Williams is the first star from departing Desperate Housewives to book a potential new series gig. She earned three Emmy nominations for her role as the cunning Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty. The multiple Tony nominee and Grammy winner, repped by UTA and manager Geordie Frey, just landed a cameo in Tyler Perry’s The Marriage Counselor. She is currently writing her first book, a memoir in conjunction with her mother Helen Williams, which will be released by Penguin Group around Mother’s Day.

Andy Samberg, NBC Prosecuted Over 'Saturday Evening Live' Sketch Featuring Beyonce (Video)

NBC Saturday Evening Live is facing accusations it stole material for 2 sketches, including an Emmy Award-nominated short featuring Andy Samberg and pop star Beyonce. Inside a suit filed in NY federal court on Thursday, Aleric Banks (also known as "Ron tha Ruler") and Monique Hines say they produced the background music that will make up the foundation of two skits on SNL, including "Shy Ronnie" and "Just Like A Boss." The 2 litigants really are a St. Louis-based production team. Based on a job interview provided to a nearby press outlet captured, Banks and Hines were built with a mutual reference to Samberg and posted some tracks because the comedian ready to release his first album like a person in this guitar rock band The Lonely Island. PHOTOS: 'SNL' Stars Salute Kennedy Center Honoree Will Ferrell Samberg's band recorded the tracks, allegedly using the litigants' copyrighted master tracks "verbatim," and added lyrics. In regards to a year later, after Lonely Island's album arrived on the scene, Samberg reprised a few the tunes on SNL.On April 4, 2009, Samberg and actor Seth Rogen carried out "Just Like A Boss." On December 5, 2009, Samberg and Beyonce carried out "Shy Ronnie," a sketch in regards to a bashful music performer that has trouble speaking up if this's his time for you to get rid of a verse. (See video below.) Initially, Banks and Hines were thrilled in the breakthrough, especially after "Shy Ronnie" was nominated to have an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. Now, after neglecting to receive stated credit and compensation, the 2 have filed a suit stating that the background music wasn't really original. VIDEO: Charlie Day-Located 'SNL' Draws Best Rankings in Greater than a Month The litigants state that prior to the discharge of Samberg's album and skits, a Universal Group subsidiary label sent them a "producer declaration" form. Banks filled it by proclaiming that because the author and producer of "Just Like A Boss," he would be a 50 % who owns the copyright. Banks states he got an answer letter declaring he had joined into a contract with Lonely Island that only titled him to some 25 % copyright interest. Nonetheless, Banks states he hasn't received any producer royalties nor any profits from SNL's exploitation of his music. NBC Universal, Samberg, The Lonely Island, and Universal Republic Records are increasingly being prosecuted for willful copyright violation and illegal enrichment. NBCU states it's no comment. Here's SNL's "Shy Ronnie" featuring Beyonce... E-mail: eriqgardner@yahoo.com Twitter: @eriqgardner Andy Samberg Beyonce Saturday Evening Live

Kim Kardashian's Divorce Exposes Her Ambition for Fame and funds, Say Brand Experts (Analysis)

Kim Kardashian may not understand fully how Monday's quickie divorce filing has affected the means by which individuals have a look at her, also called her brand. Yet, experts inside the marketing area realize that her actions have damaged her brand identity and threaten to change how a public and future companies view her.our editor recommendsKardashians, Charlie Sheen Among Stars Producing Around $71 Per Character for Backed TweetsE! Network's Kim Kardashian Wedding Encore Adds Special Divorce AnnouncementKim Kardashian Talks Out About Divorce: 'It's Tough to undergo Everything Right Now' (Video)Kris Jenner Tears Up While Speaking about Kim Kardashian's Divorce on 'The View'Kim Kardashian's Marriage 'Wasn't a Sham,' Mother States on 'Today' (Video)Related Subjects•Kim Kardashian PHOTOS: 19 of Hollywood's All-Time Least Close ties "She's completely fooled the anticipation of her brand, because she will be a girl with regular values, regular hopes and dreams who been very glamorous and exotic and lived a very amazing existence," Leader and Brand Strategist at NY's Truth Speaking to, Linda Ong, notifies The Hollywood Reporter. Ong's company produces an extensive biannual cultural analysis of reality TV, they started within the month of the month of january 2010. "Now, what she's done is proven they can be as shallow as people like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan as well as the train wrecks of Hollywood that individuals dislike," Ong continues. "She's uncovered herself as not necessarily in our midst, but somebody who might be the kind of person we thought she wasn't." PHOTOS: Inside Kardashian Corporation. Christine Kirk, Boss and founding father from the La-based boutique PR and social media marketing firm, Social Muse Communications, also thinks that damage remains implemented to Kardashian's brand, though she doesn't call the affect "shallow." "Now, what shes done is proven they can be as shallow as people like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan as well as the train wrecks of Hollywood that individuals dislike" -- Linda Ong, brand strategist "In my opinion it's a little more about revealing her desire, her hunger for ongoing to build up this empire that she's built," Kirk states. "Which I do not always think it's shallowness, In my opinion it's getting taken up in maybe money involved as well as the overall potential the marriage may have on her behalf account overall logo design and her empire. But they states.Inch PHOTOS: Hollywood's Top Earners Kardashian's actions following a divorce filing was confirmed didn't assist with the concept that they was driven by profit either. Kirk highlights that immediately after what is the news broke, Kardashian tweeted that she's departing for Australia to create her and her sisters' Kardashian Kollection handbag line. "It absolutely was literally released approximately one hour following a divorce announcement is created,In . Kirk states. "That was kind of the ultimate message online not under 24 several hours which i simply believe it is an ill-timed tweet." STORY: 10 Signs Kim Kardashian's Marriage Was One Large Hoax All Along After which it there's the statement she released on Tuesday where she recognized that they have to have cancelled the wedding, but she was taken up inside the "hoopla" in the event, E!'s filming from this, and her nervous about disappointing everyone involved. "It might be a really calculated effort to produce her more relatable," Ong states in the statement. "In my opinion exactly what it did was prove she was materialistic, because the fact she's reported the tv show can be a large clue, right? It is not that 'I didn't desire to dissatisfy my family members.A It absolutely was like 'We stood a Tv program.A It notifies the goals were fame and funds.In . COVER STORY: How a Kardashians Made $60 5 million A Year Ago "And you also know the fact she didn't want dissatisfy people, sure everybody can interact with that," Ong adds. "Nevertheless the reasons they gave for happening while using show are really that her primary motivation was she required to make good TV, so she will make money, and remain famous and acquire endorsements that is what's apparent in their statement." "While she's recognized for her sponsorships and things like that," Kirk states. "Maybe people didn't realize the amount this kind of factor will get control. And we view it's kind of absorbed Kim because way." STORY: Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries' Divorce With the Amounts So, the big question for you is will Kardashian's divorce and subsequent actions affect her ability to generate money. Professionals reveal you will discover still options on her behalf even if the public's take a look at her has changed. "When people hire so when they're doing endorsement deals they are searching to offer the same qualities as well as the same credibility since the person that's marketing them," Ong describes. "She was impulsive and flighty and naive or money hungry. I'm speaking about none of individuals the situation is good qualities." "It'll depend on the organization,Inch Kirk states. "Certainly, conservative, family-oriented brands won't desire to hire her for representative. But, you will notice individuals that don't care and may decide to ride the wave in the buzz with this.In . STORY: Kim Kardashian Divorce Caught E! suddenly, Holding Emergency Conferences One factor is undoubtedly among the brand experts that THR has spoken to, though. The arrival year of Kourtney and Kim Take NY might have a good amount of audiences. "Contrary, there's really the passion for Kim Kardashian," Bob Horowitz, Leader of Reality TV production company, JUMA Entertainment (Ultimate Merger, The Singing Bee) notifies THR. "This really is huge for your Kardashian brand on E!." "It'll be kind of such as the Taylor Remedy situation while using Real Regular folks,Inch Kirk, who's careful to point that large fans in the reality star will in all probability rally round her, but brand identity includes how a public watch a product. And he or she states that curiosity will definitely lead to considerable amounts for your approaching series. STORY: Kim Kardashian Flees Australia Among Divorce Debate "Young people need to remain updated only to see whatever they are able to see, to determine involving the lines and discover the occasions just before a tragic event," she states. However, while Kardashian's brand has experienced consequently in the not successful marriage and her actions following a divorce filing, professionals agree that her family's brand remains greatly elevated by their support of Kim at this time around around. "In my opinion they're doing everything right," Ong states. "In my opinion you understand their whole message is family, family, family. 'We uphold our sister. We uphold our daughter.' What they're interacting for the public are exactly this regular person values. Lots of people will purchase it, but others will probably say "yeah right.' In my opinion essentially was their communication strategist, I'd give them the identical advice. The worst your family could do is turn against her." Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com Twitter:@TheRealJethro Related Subjects Khloe Kardashian Kim Kardashian Kourtney Kardashian Kris Jenner E! Maintaining While using Kardashians

Fox Buys Comedy From HIMYM EP, NBC Buys Drama From St. Elsewhere Co-Creator

Two more projects have sold to broadcast networks. Fox has bought a multi-camera comedy from How I Met Your Mother executive producer Chuck Tatham and 21 Laps/Adelstein, while NBC has bought a drama from Northern Exposure and St. Elsewhere co-creator Joshua Brand and Peter Horton. Tatham’s 20th TV-produced project is about an estranged couple reunited under less than ideal circumstances. Tatham, repped by WME and The Collective, is writing and will executive produce with Shawn Levy, Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements. Joshua Brand’s The Other Reality is a show-within-a-show social satire about the life of Eric Bittman, an enormously successful reality-show-producer and a less-than-successful family man. Brand will write and will executive produce with Horton for Universal TV.

Ranking the Late, Great Gilbert Cates's 14 Oscar Ceremonies, From 1990 to 2008

Say what you will about the legacy, taste and accomplishments of Gilbert Cates, the veteran producer and director who died today at age 77, but few people over the last quarter-century had more influence over the public perception of the Academy Awards. Maybe eight-time host Billy Crystal — except that 14-time producer Cates was responsible for hiring him. Among those 14 Cates-produced Oscarcasts — more than any other producer in the show’s 83-year history — is a trove of milestones, meltdowns, snafus, poignancy and otherwise peerless instants Hollywood history. Movieline looks back now at each, ranking Cates’s work and its impact on the Oscars, its attendees, its viewers, its organizers and the world as a whole. Re-order as you like in the comments. 14. 63rd Academy Awards (1991) Host: Billy Crystal Most Remembered For: Kevin Costner’s Dance With Wolves punking Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas for both Best Director and Best Picture. Highlight: Maybe not a “highlight” per se, but the Best Director presentation has everything: Tom Cruise butchering “Good Fellows,” Scorsese clapping with resignation, and Costner’s quaint tribute to Michael Ovitz, his wife and children, and his parents —in that order. 13. 62nd Academy Awards (1990) Host: Billy Crystal Most Remembered For: The utterly unremarkable run of Driving Miss Daisy to Best Picture. Helmer Bruce Beresford was snubbed by the Academy, prompting Crystal to quip in his opening song, “Did Driving Miss Daisy direct itself?” Highlight: While many purists would lean toward Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s presentation of an Honorary Oscar to Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa, I’ll stand by the awarding of Best Original Song to Alan Menken and his late partner Howard Ashman for “Under the Sea.” It was everything great, poignant and powerful that the Oscars stand for — not to mention weird, featuring presenters, um, Paula Abdul and Dudley Moore: 12. 80th Academy Awards (2008) Host: Jon Stewart Most Remembered For: Nobody watching it. Highlight: Dark horse Best Actress winner Marion Cotillard’s thrilled, emotional acceptance speech (sadly not embeddable, but available here.) 11. 65th Academy Awards (1993) Host: Billy Crystal Most Remembered For: Incumbent Supporting Actor winner Jack Palance hauling Crystal onstage aboard a huge Oscar. (Palance’s IMDB credit for the night actually reads “Himself - Presenter: Best Actress in a Supporting Role & Pulling Billy Crystal on giant Oscar”) Highlight: It took them a while to get to their actual introduction, but Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni’s Honorary Oscar presentation to Federico Fellini — and the maestro’s subsequent speech (“I didn’t expect this, but maybe I did!”) — narrowly edge out a night that also saw Elizabeth Taylor collect the Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a WTF performer roster including Placido Domingo, Sheila E., Natalie Cole and Nell Carter. Bonus: Watch for Robert Downey Jr.’s glassy-eyed equanimity in the standing ovation.