Cult comic goes mainstream

Jon Stewart has stepped up from a satirist with a cult following to a mainstream entertainer by landing the job of hosting this year's Oscars.

Stewart is best known as the irreverent anchorman of the mock television newscast The Daily Show.

It will be his first stint at the Academy Awards, to be held on March 5.

Meanwhile, nominations are out for the awards most thespians wish to avoid - the Golden Raspberries.

Nominees include Jennifer Lopez (Monster-in-Law), Jennifer Garner (Elektra) and Orlando Bloom (Elizabethtown).

The winners will be announced on March 4.