The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will air live on ABC from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on March 7 to avoid coinciding with the Winter Olympics, said Leslie Unger, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The 2010 Winter Games are scheduled Feb. 12-28.

The 52nd annual awards will air live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 31.

Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy, says the academy is "delighted to host the world's premiere music event in our hometown again."

Sunday night's 81st Annual Academy Awards on ABC climbed 13 percent to 36.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen estimates. Viewership was up in all age groups, and the biggest increases were among men ages 18 to 34.

Tim Gunn wasn't the only nod to "Project Runway" at Sunday's Oscars. The show also featured a behind-the-scenes competition for dress designers. And a Chicago boy won it!

Anyone notice something missing from the Oscars on Sunday night? Why, for instance, did Hugh Jackman, during his opening front-row schtick, wind up sitting in Frank Langella's lap instead of ... Jack Nicholson's?

Spain gushed with pride today over Penelope Cruz's Oscar for best supporting actress.

Among the most effusive was two-time Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodovar, who praised Cruz as having a history of "jumping head first and without a parachute, and taking on very risky roles."

"I cried with joy when I heard her name after the classic line 'and the Oscar goes to,"' Almodovar said in a statement.

"What I mentioned from the stage earlier tonight is to see this culture of ignorance, it breeds this kind of hateful expression," he said. "These people had the [anti-gay] signs outside essentially telling you you're less than human."

Just before he died, Heath Ledger had an inkling that he might get a statuette for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight," which earned him a posthumous supporting actor Oscar on Sunday. After alluding to it on the podium, the Ledger family elaborated backstage on a conversation they had with him.

"When he came home for Christmas a year ago, he had been sending me shots and bits of pieces from the film," sister Kate Ledger said. "And I said to him, 'I have a feeling this is it for you; you're going to get a nomination for this from the Academy.' And he just looked at me and smiled. So he knew."

A full accounting will be ready later today, but preliminary numbers show a 6 percent uptick from last year's show. But that means last night's show is still among the bottom three least-watched Oscars ever.

The '09 Oscars show. Not great, not horrible. Certainly long, but that's not surprising.

What did YOU think?

Comment below. Some talking points:

-- Hugh Jackman: Was he a host, or just a performer?

-- The extended acting tributes: Gallant way to honor achievement, or painful time-filler?

-- The results: Who won well-deserved awards? Who got robbed?

-- The death reel: Who did they leave out? (Rudy Ray Moore, anyone?!)

-- The speeches: Is Sean Penn a valiant crusader or a blowhard?

By SOLVEJ SCHOU

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- The glitzy, global spirit of Hollywood raged into the wee hours after the Oscars, with parties around town feting everyone from British best actress winner Kate Winslet down to the youngest "Slumdog Millionaire" star, drinking caffeine to keep up his strength.

Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, only 8, slurped on a can of Coca-Cola at Fox Searchlight's packed after-party Sunday night at ONE Sunset in West Hollywood honoring "The Wrestler" and "Slumdog Millionaire." Filmed in the slums of Mumbai, "Slumdog" snagged eight Oscars, including best picture and director.

Ayush, who lives in India and plays the youngest version of the movie's protagonist Jamal, sat on a sofa at the club, nursing his soda after midnight.

"Very excited," said Ayush, when asked about the wins. "It's unbelievable. I never thought I would get an Oscar. Daniel [director Danny Boyle] told us, 'If you work hard, the Oscar will come to you.' And it came."

As for being tired?

"No, that's why I'm drinking this," he added.

"Slumdog Millionaire"
OSCARS: Eight, including best picture and director.
RELEASED: November.
BOX OFFICE: $98 million so far.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
OSCARS: Three, including best art direction and visual effects.
RELEASED: December.
BOX OFFICE: $124.2 million so far

"Milk"
OSCARS: Two, including best actor and original screenplay.
RELEASED: November.
BOX OFFICE: $28.2 million so far.

"The Dark Knight"
OSCARS: Two, including best supporting actor and sound editing.
RELEASED: July.
BOX OFFICE: $533 million so far.

AP

"You commie homo-loving sons of guns. I did not expect this, and I want it to be very clear that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often, but I am touched by the appreciation." -- Sean Penn, accepting the best actor Oscar for his role in "Milk."

More quotes from tonight's 81st annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles ...

BY BILL ZWECKER
Sun-Times Columnist

Moments after winning her Oscar for ''Vicky Cristina Barcelona,'' Penelope Cruz was still in total shock backstage, wanting ''to call Woody Allen right now -- maybe that will make it real.''

Yet, Cruz revealed she didn't believe an Academy Award would cure her of her well-known sense of insecurity about her talent. ''I have always been insecure on the set [of all my movies] no matter what. Working with Woody Allen helped, because I never doubted the genius of Woody Allen.

''Yet, when I read the script, I laughed a lot, but when I got into the character of Maria Elena on the set, I didn't want to laugh. We all knew it was a comedy, but when you're making it, you can't think about what is funny or where the jokes are. It wasn't until I finally saw it at Cannes -- and people were laughing so much. I found that so surprising.''