The Oscar shows have long had a problem attracting the younger crowd, or at least the part that doesn't spend every waking moment organizing the AV club's equipment cabinet. So this year they have tried to "hip it up."

The Academy has hired DJ Joel Madden to serve as the ceremony's "house DJ" for the broadcast.

Producer Adam Shankman said he wanted the show to have more of a party atmosphere. Does that mean there will be a birthday clown and a "Pin the Tail on the Fellini" game too?

[via TV Tattle]

The history of the Academy Awards telecast has been generally a pretty traditional show. You've had historic moments of bad taste like Rob Lowe dancing with Snow White, bizarre musical opening numbers from the likes of Lucie Arnaz and Liza Minnelli -- not together -- and, of course, great highs like most of the Billy Crystal musical medleys of the Best Oscar nominees.

This year if Billy were there, his medley would be about 20 minutes long to include all ten nominated movies! They'd have needed an oxygen tank in the wings to revive him after that.

But here's a wickedly wild idea that might have set the Oscars into to fierce wilderness of 'oh-my-God' TV. The Oscar producers were toying with the idea of having Sacha Baron Cohen host the show. Yep, believe it. Producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic were on NPR's 'Fresh Air' with Teri Gross, and they said when they contemplated shaking up the broadcast, they thought of 'Borat.'