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It looks like Jon Stewart's streak of consecutively hosted Oscars telecasts is going to end at one, as the Academy has this afternoon announced that it's repossessed his tuxedo pants and already handed them over to his successor, daytime television's most nonthreatening, proudly uncloseted chat-lesbian, Ellen DeGeneres. And if the level of humor presented in the press release is any indication of what DeGeneres will bring to her hosting duties, America should brace itself for a magical evening of semi-amusement:

"Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards," said Ziskin. "There is no more challenging hosting job in show business. It requires someone who can keep the show alive and fresh and moving, as well as someone who is a flat-out great entertainer. Ellen completely fits the bill. I can already tell she is going to set the bar very high for herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on the show. Now all we need is a lot of great movies." [...]

"When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled," said DeGeneres. "There's two things I've always wanted to do in my life. One is to host the Oscars. The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that day's diary entry."

Should you require further information about DeGeneres' many career accomplishments (we'd totally forgotten about Mr. Wrong), or merely wish to read the glowing words that Academy president Sid Ganis offers in praise of his safest choice since he decided to have Billy Crystal host the 1993 awards ceremony with a tranquilizer dart lodged in his neck, feel free to spend some quality time with the press release.