Stewart Back for Hollywood's Biggest Night

Feb. 22, 2008 — -- Jon Stewart says he is up for the challenge of hosting the Oscars, Sunday, even though the writers strike means he only has only eight days to prepare this year.

The Emmy-winning king of political satire says he thinks of hosting Hollywood's biggest night as he thinks of having a baby.

"Maybe it's one of those things like pregnancy where, you know, [my wife tells me], you have a baby and it's really painful. But then a couple weeks later you're like, 'man, maybe we should have another baby.' You know, you sort of forget. But the truth of the matter was, for me, it's the Super Bowl," Stewart said.

This will be Stewart's second turn as emcee following in the footsteps of comedic legends such as Bob Hope, Johnny Carson and Steve Martin as returning host of the Academy Awards. Getting ready for the big night, he says his strategy is "just be funny."

Stewart first hosted the Academy Awards in 2006. His performance then was a hit, with memorable lines such as, "Bjork couldn't be here tonight. She was trying on her dress and Dick Cheney shot her."

Last year Ellen DeGeneres took the reigns, but Stewart says he was thrilled to get the call again this year.

"That's a good call. Better than other calls. And I got it early this year. They called me in September and said, 'This'll give you plenty of time to prepare. You and the guys can work on it over a long period of time. It's gonna be a really nice leisurely stroll towards the Oscars.' And then about three weeks later, yoinks."

That "yoinks" was a painful 100-day writers strike, which was hardly a good time for anyone on Stewart's staff to think about Oscar comedy. But the strike ended and since then, Stewart and his team have been back on track.

Stewart says he will watch some of the greats, "Steve Martin, [David] Letterman, Billy [Crystal]," to prepare, but he won't go back and watch himself.

"I don't care for me. … I find me crass. I haven't gone back and seen it," he said with a laugh.

Still, looking back, Stewart described his 2006 performance as "a ball."

"Not everybody gets to do it. Not everybody gets a chance to be here. And I wouldn't do it if I didn't really believe that it would be a great experience for me. It's not a job that you go into because you think it's got a good health plan. You do it for challenges and because you want to write a good show."

Though you might think that as a host, Stewart gets to rub elbows with all stars, he says they actually to try keep him quarantined from the celebrities.

"You can't see it but I'm kept in a small cubicle … away from everybody. … It's hilarious. … During the actual Oscar show I'm on a little chair with two other guys and we're watching it on a video monitor. … It's like literally I was invited to the basement of somebody's house to watch the Oscars but not with them in the closet near them," he said with more laughter.

Tune in to "Good Morning America Weekend" to watch an extended interview with Jon Stewart.