LOS ANGELES (AP) - Chris Rock won't be back to hand out Oscars next year. "He is not hosting the Academy Awards," the comedian's publicist Matt Labov said Friday in a brief statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. He did not elaborate.

Labov told The New York Times that Rock did not want to do the show "in perpetuity" but would "like to do it again down the road".
Rock took over as host for the first time last year. He drew younger viewers, but his barbs skewering stars like Jude Law, Tobey Maguire and others alienated some members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In one bit, Rock suggested filmmakers should wait for better talent instead of rushing bad movies into theatres.
"You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law. Wait," Rock joked. "You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait. 'Alexander' is not 'Gladiator."'

He also poked fun at himself.
"You want Denzel (Washington) and all you can get is me? Wait," he joked.

The 77th annual Academy Awards is scheduled to air Feb 27 from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

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