New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Of course, I’m the kind of person who got a big kick out of Ricky Gervais hosting at the Golden Globes last month, so I guess I’m the wrong person to look for good advice about how to change the hosting at the ceremony. I’m still scratching my head about why Jon Stewart isn’t doing it this year. While he’s never been as funny on the Oscars as he is on The Daily Show, I found that he improved in his most recent appearance, on the 2007 ceremony (and not just because he actually seemed interested in some of the nominees and winners). While Hugh Jackman is nothing if not charismatic, I find his hosting to just be amiable and friendly; he’s Billy Crystal without the jokes. Chris Rock was plenty funny a few years back, but we learned then that people in Hollywood don’t actually want to be made fun of, so he’s out.

I don’t think that Franco and Hathaway are going to be a huge mess, mind you. I just don’t see them as being the best possible hosts the Oscar producers could have found. Franco, in particular, is the odd choice. Hathaway has proven in film and in her awards-show appearances that she has good humor and is game for anything. While Franco may also be game for anything, he’s more low-key in public, which would seem to be the quality the producers want little of. Mind you, reader, if both of these young actors hit it out of the park on February 27th, I will be the first to say I was wrong. Frankly, I want to be wrong: as I’ve mentioned in past columns, most of the awards seem pretty easy to predict this year, so if there aren’t any surprises among the winners and losers, I want the hosts to be the source of unpredictability.

There are only a few weeks left before the show, as you well know. There haven’t been any sea changes in the past week, just those who assume The King’s Speech will win and the few dreamers who want to cling to the idea that The Social Network will steal it from the stuttering king. All we have left is to wonder if any machinations from the nominees (notably Best Supporting Actress nominee and frontrunner Melissa Leo, who has taken out ads for…herself in the trades) will throw things into disarray. Still, as of right now, your Oscar pool can remain the same. There could be surprises, but don’t count on it. All we can hope for is a pleasant surprise from Daniel Desario and Ella Enchanted. Those are Franco and Hathaway’s most memorable roles, right? Anyway, keep hope alive, just not for the awards.

Continued:       1       2