ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES

In a day of drama befitting Hollywood, Oscar organizers on Wednesday said comedian Eddie Murphy was bowing out as host of the world's top film honors and producer Brian Grazer was stepping in to run the show.

Comedian Eddie Murphy bowed out on Wednesday as host of the upcoming Oscars, one day after producer Brett Ratner who had lured Murphy into the role also exited following an uproar over his use of a gay slur.

The 50-year-old drops out one day after Ratner's exit from the award show.

Brett Ratner may have been a bold, unconventional choice to produce the 84th Academy Awards, but the bad boy director is stoking controversy among Academy members who worry he might not be the best choice to shepherd the cherished, historic and fairly conservative property.

This was supposed to be a weekend when ground zero for Southern California movie lovers was Hollywood, site of the AFI Fest.

Film, television and Broadway producer and director Gil Cates, who ran the show for 14 Oscar ceremonies and was an entertainment industry leader, has died at age 77.

The 50-year-old funnyman is done with clubs, but he's not a recluse.

Mary Blair, a Disney artist who has left her colorful stamp on 1950s

Several leading Hollywood organizations representing writers, directors, actors and the group that awards the Oscars, issued a sharply-worded statement on Wednesday lending their support to jailed Iranian filmmakers.

Oscar organizers Thursday said they received entrants from 63 countries for this year's foreign language film award, including a first-time submission from New Zealand called The Orator.

The motion picture academy has confirmed an agreement with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to locate a new museum in a former department store owned by LACMA.

Oscar organizers on Wednesday unveiled a tough new set of rules that cracks down on the types of events Academy Award voters can attend before making their picks for the world's top film awards.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Eddie Murphy will host the Academy Awards next year which will be telecast on Feb. 26 on ABC.

A look at past Oscar hosts.

Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway and Serbia have become the latest countries to choose their 2011 submissions for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's Foreign-Language Film competition.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is underwriting the Telluride Film Festival's Guest Director program, the Academy announced on Wednesday.

Google Inc. has agreed to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for $12.5 billion or $40 a share in cash, valuing each essential patent at about $20 million, to defend its Android ecosystem. RBC Capital Markets said the deal value of $12.5 billion equates to 0.7 times trailing twelve months (TTM) of equity value-to-sales.

It seems everything going Apple's way. A day after the consumer technology giant briefly surpassed Exxon Mobil to become the world's largest public company by market capitalization, it won a legal battle against Samsung in Europe.

Tom Sherak has been re-elected to a third term as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, AMPAS announced on Tuesday night following a meeting of its Board of Governors.

Actor James Earl Jones will receive an honorary Oscar this year and Oprah Winfrey will be presented with a humanitarian award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced.

The popular talks how host will receive the golden statue in November.