Eddie Murphy said of the hosting gig: “I am enormously honored to join the great list of past Academy Award hosts from Hope and Carson to Crystal, Martin and Goldberg, among others. I’m looking forward to working with [producers] Brett [Ratner] and Don [Mischer] on creating a show that is enjoyable for both the fans at home and for the audience at the Kodak Theatre as we all come together to celebrate and recognize the great film contributions and collaborations from the past year.”

Should be a great show… looking forward to seeing what Eddie Murphy brings to the Oscars!

Whoopi Goldberg smoked pot to relax before the Oscars, explaining during a recording session for film “The Pagemaster,” “I learned a great lesson: Never smoke pot before there’s a possibility of having to talk to unfamiliar people.”

Goldberg further says, “Smoking cigarettes and pot every now and then are my habits. And so I said, I’ve got to relax — so I smoked this wonderful joint, which was the last of my homegrown.”

Whoopi then explains getting up to accept the award – and after, when her mother called and knew Goldberg was stoned at the Oscars: “My mother called me and she said, ‘You smoked, didn’t you?’ I said, ‘yeah.’ She said, ‘Your eyes were glistening.’ So I panicked and I got the Oscar tape to see whether you could tell. And you couldn’t! You couldn’t tell.”

You can watch Whoopi Goldberg’s stoned Oscars acceptance speech for yourself – what do you think?

Also, check out Whoopi Goldberg and Donald Trump’s fight about Obama’s birth certificate (video) – Whoopi’s making headlines twice today!

Watch PS22′s Oscars performance of the Wizard of Oz classic “Over the Rainbow,” as the night’s Oscar winners take the stage one last time.

Learn more about the PS22 Chorus, a Staten Island 5th- and 6th-grade whose YouTube videos have become a viral internet sensation.

Who is on your worst dressed Oscars 2011 list? You can check out Gwyneth Paltrow’s dress in the video clip above – I hated the neckline so much, I couldn’t see past it. And don’t get me started on the hair.

Other worst dressed Oscars contenders included Nicole Kidman’s Oscar dress, which was just sort of “meh” all around with its weird shape and detail.

And Cate Blanchett’s Oscars 2011 dress was the head scratcher of the night – people either loved or hated it, but I thought the center circle looked like a picture frame. Just… strange.

Colin Firth says during his Oscar acceptance speech: “I’m afraid I have to warn you that I’m experiencing stirrings somewhere in the upper abdominals which are threatening to form themselves into dance moves,” adding, “Joyous as they may be for me, it would be extremely problematic if they make it to my legs before I get off stage.”

Aw, I could do with a little joyous Firth dancing!

As predicted, The King’s Speech won Best Picture, and Colin Firth picked up a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the film.

2011 Oscars winners list:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: “The King’s Speech”

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth – “The King’s Speech”

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman – “Black Swan”

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christian Bale – “The Fighter”

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Melissa Leo – “The Fighter”

Achievement in Directing: Tom Hooper – “The King’s Speech”

Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin – “The Social Network”

Original Screenplay: David Seidler – “The King’s Speech”

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: “In a Better World” (Denmark)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: “Toy Story 3″

Best Documentary Feature: “Inside Job”

Best Documentary Short Subject: “Strangers No More”

Best Short Film (Animated): “The Lost Thing”

Best Short Film (Live Action): “God of Love”

Achievement in Art Direction: Robert Stromberg and Karen O’Hara – “Alice in Wonderland”

Achievement in Cinematography: Wally Pfister – “Inception”

Achievement in Costume Design: Colleen Atwood – “Alice in Wonderland”

Achievement in Makeup: Rick Baker and Dave Elsey – “The Wolfman”

Achievement in Film Editing: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter – “The Social Network”

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score): Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – “The Social Network”

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song): “We Belong Together” – Music and Lyric by Randy Newman – “Toy Story 3″

Achievement in Sound Editing: Richard King – “Inception”

Achievement in Sound Mixing: Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick – “Inception”

Achievement in Visual Effects: Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb – “Inception”

Watch James Franco’s Oscars 2011 hosting gig in Oscars Real Time, videos posted by Franco to document the behind-the-scenes Oscar ceremony.

Watch James Franco in this pre-Oscar hosting video, as well as Franco and co-host Anne Hathaway’s entrance:

Follow along with James Franco for more behind-the-scenes videos at the Oscars.

Watch the Oscars 2011 starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, but first… watch the Academy Awards 2011 / Oscars red carpet arrivals at 6:00 p.m. in this live stream video online.

Get your Oscars 2011 Ballot!

Watch Oscars 2011 live streaming video red carpet coverage at LiveStream.com and at The Oscars website.

Watch red carpet arrivals for Oscars 2011 in this live streaming video and follow along with an Oscars 2011 live blog.

Video chat rooms at Ustream

Oscars 2011 MTV red carpet coverage:

You’ve got the Oscars 2011 time start information, but what about other Academy Awards 2011 coverage?

Watch Oscars 2011 online red carpet coverage.

Look for the 83rd Academy Awards red carpet coverage to kick off at 6 p.m. EST on E! and TVGuide and check back with TV Crunch to watch the Oscars 2011 online with live streaming video.

Watch the Oscars on February 27 and find out if we’ll see more of James and Anne as Danny and Sandy!