In the wake of the 81′st Academy Awards in February, I took it to a poll asking what people thought of Hugh Jackman as the host. Leading up to the event, I confess that I was skeptical; Hugh isn’t exactly the first name that springs to mind when you think ‘Oscar host’. The underwhelming performance of Australia also loomed over his name, furthering my concern that people simply wouldn’t take to his Aussie charm any more than they did to the film.  However, given the poor television ratings of the ceremony over the last few years, it was probably a good thing he was not the ‘typical’ choice. I think many of you interested in the industry can safely say that the choice of Hugh, whether you thought good or bad of it, intrigued you enough watch the Oscar’s to see how he handled the gig. I know I was.

Well it turns out I, like a lot of you, were pleasantly surprised; the general consensus from last month’s poll being that Hugh handled the gig well.

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Surprisingly, only two people seemed to think that Hugh truly wasn’t suited to the role. I say surprisingly because after the Oscar’s I read quite a few blog entries that didn’t speak to favourably of his efforts, whilst many news sites seemed to swing in the opposite direction. Either these people didn’t vote, or they gave Hugh the benefit of the doubt, and were one of the 8 people who voted in the middle. I’m willing to bet that the 9 people who didn’t see the Oscar’s were mostly Australian, where little coverage or build up is given to the event.

Yet at the top of the tally, with 12 votes, are those who thought he did a great job. I am one of these voters. His opening performance was great; I loved the “recession” theme, and I think his undeniable charm and stage presence made up for the deliberately tacky set pieces. His joke about not seeing The Reader, because he was too busy seeing Iron Man again, certainly made me chuckle. In fact, it felt like to me that nearly all of his jokes hit the mark (bar the one aimed at Brad Pitt about being the world’s sexiest man, but he quickly recovered with the “contracted to mention Angelina and Brad five times tonight” joke). I also thought it was good how he never overstayed his welcome; they didn’t overuse him, instead his presence just tied it all up nicely.

But the Oscar’s are done and dusted now, so who really cares anymore, right?

That’s why this month’s poll looks ahead towards the next big releases of ’09. The blockbusters that Hugh Jackman will be seeing instead of Oscar contenders. So the question is; what blockbuster release are you most looking forward to?

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