The Oscars / Hosting the Oscars!

[jo]

Not sure where to put this, but since Nikki Finke does mention Hugh in a few sentences, I thought it might be an interesting Hugh-related topic:

www.deadline.com/2012/08/no-oscars-host-or-producer-yet-outgoing-academy-president-tried-and-failed-to-hire-jimmy-fallon-lorne-michaels/comment-page-3/#comments

Quote:

>>>>EXCLUSIVE… UPDATED WITH MORE DETAILS: Tom Sherak now will go down in Oscars history as giving new definition to the word chutzpah. The outgoing president of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences tried to pull a fast one on the incoming president Hawk Koch who was just voted in Tuesday night. Choosing the producer and host of the Oscars is probably the most important job of the AMPAS president. Yet Sherak, despite knowing he himself was a lame duck, nevertheless broke protocol and tried to hire the 85th Academy Awards hosts for the February 24th, 2013, telecast which should be Koch’s responsibility. Sherak solicited TV and film producer Lorne Michaels and NBC Late Night host Jimmy Fallon. The choices were understandable because Fallon had done a good job hosting the Emmys in 2010, while Michaels is the longtime executive producer of Saturday Night Live. On the other hand, the recent trend has been away from a TV host like Fallon and instead towards bonafide movie stars. Deadline learned that Sherak went to the Academy’s Board Of Governors on his own initiative and said, “If I can find a producer, would you be interested?” The Board said yes.

But insiders tell me they felt Sherak’s request was blatantly inappropriate. Hawk Koch, who still didn’t know if he’d be voted in as AMPAS president, was 1st VP and openly expressed reservations. Koch told colleagues Sherak shouldn’t be doing this with a mere matter of weeks before the elections and complained to Sherak about it. The two men agreed with the Academy’s COO Ric Robertson to set a deadline for locking in a producer on the Wednesday before the AMPAS president and officers elections the very next Tuesday.

Immediately, Disney/ABC which airs the Oscars objected to Sherak’s choices because Fallon competes with Jimmy Kimmel’s show and is the soon-to-be-successor to Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show. “When the idea came up of Fallon, we made it clear that we were not happy about that. It was ridiculous to think we would want to give him that big platform,” a Disney insider tells me. “We had no objection to Lorne.” Technically, Disney/ABC can’t tell the Academy what to do since AMPAS controls the Oscars telecast. But the objection was an obstacle to Sherak’s plans, and ”he never got the deal done”, one of my sources says. Sherak’s search was called off within 6 days of the new AMPAS president’s election when he couldn’t meet the deadline. “Now the negotiations are dead,” I’m told. An Academy spokeswoman also is confirming that neither Fallon nor Michaels has been hired.


Related: Hawk Koch Elected New Academy President Tonight
Three-Term Academy President Tom Sherak’s Farewell Letter

Back in 2010, the Oscar telecast producers announced that James Franco and Anne Hathaway would host the 83rd Academy Awards because they “personify the next generation of Hollywood icons — fresh, exciting and multi-talented.” It was a disaster even though both had very successfully hosted Saturday Night Live. The feeling was that these young actors could work in front of a live audience, which is why in the past the Academy has gone to so many stand-up comedians. The telecast’s failure was why old reliable Billy Crystal was chosen to host the following year.

The decision to host the Academy Awards is made by committee with a star’s agent, publicist, manager and even network/studio weighing all the pro and con options. Which is why the Academy has such a tough time finding good hosts every year because it can be such a career-altering decision. The list of viable candidates from the recent past can be counted on a single hand: Billy. Whoopi. Steve. Hugh. Always Tom Hanks even though he’s never said yes. Hugh again if only he wouldn’t keep saying no. Reps for actors, for instance, don’t want any joke-telling monologue. Not only are these one-liners usually understood only by the movie industry and leave TV viewers bewildered. But, as Hugh Jackman’s camp told me when he hosted, “He didn’t work the last 20 years to suddenly be a stand-up comedian.”
<<<<


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If Les Miserables is not being projected as a strong contender for coming Oscar honors, including acting honors, it would be great if Hugh reconsider his decision to keep saying NO.

My brilliant idea ( ;D) is to get him as Main Host and to let Russell Crowe and maybe even Anne Hathaway as his support hosts! Hugh and Russell were a good comedic team during their short stint at the BAFTAs. Anne is quite popular these days. And all three can tell jokes ( LOL-ed a lot at RC's twitter humor!)...and SING!

Besides, to the younger demos, they are Wolverine, Jor-El, and Catwoman 8-)

End of fantasy ;D 8-)


Jo

[jo]

PLAYLIST (Indiewire) puts Hugh as # 1 among desirable Oscar hosts for next year!

blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/oscars-10-possible-hosts-for-this-years-academy-awards-20120815

quote:

Oscar Watch: 10 Possible Hosts For The Next Academy Awards

Awards.
by Oliver Lyttelton
August 15, 2012 12:03 PM

For a while, it looked like we had the 2013 Oscar host locked down. After a disappointing few years (Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin felt constrained, Anne Hathaway and James Franco were a flat out disaster, and Billy Crystal was kind of creaky last year), it seemed like we'd be getting some fresh blood, and that did seem to have been the case: "Saturday Night Live" mastermind Lorne Michaels was said to have been approached, and was planning on bringing on one of his former stars, "Late Night" host Jimmy Fallon.

But ABC parent company Disney objected to the idea of giving a competitor a free plug and Fallon was ruled out, with Michaels exiting talks soon after, so they're back to square one again. So with the position vacant, we thought we'd use this week's Oscar column to make a few suggestions. Agree? Disagree? Got your own possibilities? Let us know in the comments section below.


1. Hugh Jackman

Why He Could Do It: The most popular Oscar host of the modern era, Hugh Jackman has both old-school entertainer charms (including the ability to pull off a song and a dance), and appeal to the kids thanks to his role as Wolverine (and with a new film with the character coming up in 2013, the publicity reminder would be a boon). His 2009 hosting gig was one of the most enjoyable in recent memory, and after several disappointing years in a row, the Academy are sure to want him back more than ever.

Why He Might Not: It's been suggested that he's basically been top of the list for the last few years and has turned it down for various reasons. Would this year be any different? This year would also be particularly tricky as he's the lead of one of the hotly tipped contenders, "Les Miserables," and may well be in the running for Best Actor. That wouldn't be unprecedented (James Franco was a nominee two years ago for "127 Hours"), but this is much more high profile, and the Academy might see it as favoritism to pick Jackman this time around. He's currently filming "The Wolverine" and would presumably be free after that, but he is also eyeing a return to Broadway for "Houdini" sometime in the year, so that might be an issue too...


Read on for the rest of the choices, via the above link.

Jo

[Jamie]

He was the Tony host the year he won the award, but this would be much more dicey. I can see a major featured presence but not full host duties, particularly since all three (or more) principals in the film could be up for awards. Still - what a great evening of music that would be!!!

[birchie]

Aug 16, 2012 6:50:18 GMT -5 Jamie said:

He was the Tony host the year he won the award, but this would be much more dicey. I can see a major featured presence but not full host duties, particularly since all three (or more) principals in the film could be up for awards. Still - what a great evening of music that would be!!!

I think you have a good point. Plus, if things go as we would like, he may be singing a nominated song "Suddenly"! I think hosting the Oscars is a tougher assignment than hosting the Tonys. He often talks about watching the Oscars every year with his dad so I think it would be a very emotional night for him if he and his film, co-stars and song are nominated. And if he wins best actor how do you follow that as a host???

[carouselkathy]

Do they still sing the nominated songs live? It seems like that hasn't happened for awhile. Hopefully, it will happen this year.

[jo]

Let's rewatch that magical performance again --

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Terhj8mjPwY&feature=youtu.be&a

I've seen this many times ( and so have some of the 3.9 million who have watched the YouTube clip) and have wondered why it all worked so well.

Hugh was able to combine these elements so well --

*His act was contemporary ( addressing a serious issue by self-mocking himself and putting in the right comedic touch) - the choice of those writers ( not Villanch, not a known group of writers who have worked together in the past, not a Hollywood team) was excellent because they gave Hugh a basic act to work on! The CraigList dancers, the reference to Batman, the arena of the wrestler, the personification of Nixon and Frost, the fanboys of Iron Man - they all seemed so true! And comedy will always lighten up an audience's mood - and he surprised everyone with how good his timing was!

*Unlike other stand-up comedians, he combined the monologue with movement ( dance, acting) and sound ( singing) - reminiscent of when Billy Crystal was very good. But unlike Billy, who sometimes has that slight smugness in his act, Hugh was the embodiment of the word " NICE!"

*Of course, he has the overwhelming advantage of looks and bearing - look at the adoring faces of the women and the knowing smiles on the men's faces. Angelina Jolie seemed very taken with him, despite Brad being right next to her!

*How did he deliver his monologue and song-and-dance routine so well -- on top of his natural but honed gifts ( singing and dancing) he was ACTING! And he did it in the most brilliant way. Of course we know that this is his entertaining secret - act but look and sound completely natural!

*And because he has been a live performer ( and is used to interacting with his fourth wall) - it was easy for him to reach those men and women colleagues who probably did not think, before the event, that Hugh would deliver a winner! He was so comfortable with that audience that it all seemed so easy and natural. At the end, he had all of them on the palm of his hand. When that first man rose in standing ovation, it was a spontaneous and delighted acknowledgement of his performance! It was also an expression of surprise that an actor who specializes generally in action movies can bring in a completely different element to his talent.

And that was the secret - he is such a natural for this kind of performing! Not really a secret to a select few ( like us) but to the world!


Jo

[Kelly]

Aug 16, 2012 17:59:27 GMT -5 jo said:

Let's rewatch that magical performance again --

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Terhj8mjPwY&feature=youtu.be&a

I've seen this many times ( and so have some of the 3.9 million who have watched the YouTube clip) and have wondered why it all worked so well.

Hugh was able to combine these elements so well --

*His act was contemporary ( addressing a serious issue by self-mocking himself and putting in the right comedic touch) - the choice of those writers ( not Villanch, not a known group of writers who have worked together in the past, not a Hollywood team) was excellent because they gave Hugh a basic act to work on! The CraigList dancers, the reference to Batman, the arena of the wrestler, the personification of Nixon and Frost, the fanboys of Iron Man - they all seemed so true! And comedy will always lighten up an audience's mood - and he surprised everyone with how good his timing was!

*Unlike other stand-up comedians, he combined the monologue with movement ( dance, acting) and sound ( singing) - reminiscent of when Billy Crystal was very good. But unlike Billy, who sometimes has that slight smugness in his act, Hugh was the embodiment of the word " NICE!"

*Of course, he has the overwhelming advantage of looks and bearing - look at the adoring faces of the women and the knowing smiles on the men's faces. Angelina Jolie seemed very taken with him, despite Brad being right next to her!

*How did he deliver his monologue and song-and-dance routine so well -- on top of his natural but honed gifts ( singing and dancing) he was ACTING! And he did it in the most brilliant way. Of course we know that this is his entertaining secret - act but look and sound completely natural!

*And because he has been a live performer ( and is used to interacting with his fourth wall) - it was easy for him to reach those men and women colleagues who probably did not think, before the event, that Hugh would deliver a winner! He was so comfortable with that audience that it all seemed so easy and natural. At the end, he had all of them on the palm of his hand. When that first man rose in standing ovation, it was a spontaneous and delighted acknowledgement of his performance! It was also an expression of surprise that an actor who specializes generally in action movies can bring in a completely different element to his talent.

And that was the secret - he is such a natural for this kind of performing! Not really a secret to a select few ( like us) but to the world!
Jo

Well articulated, Jo. That was the night "they" finally learned what we knew! It provided the propellant that had eluded him and had kept his unique talents a, relatively, well kept secret. That night hit all the notes one could hope for for Hugh.

[jo]

The new producers for the Oscar show have been named and there is some mention of Hugh again in the conversation --

www.deadline.com/2012/08/in-craig-zadan-and-neil-meron-oscarcast-gets-stability-in-long-running-team/

BREAKING: In selecting Craig Zadan and Neil Meron to produce the Oscarcast, AMPAS president Hawk Koch has found the rare team that has been producing together since the beginning of the reign of another Koch. These guys actually go back to the origins of the Ed Koch administration, when their first real job together was producing a celebration of the Gotham mayor’s inauguration for Public Theater impresario Joe Papp...


In Zadan and Meron, Koch has chosen producers who by their own admission have worked so long they finish each other’s sentences. They understand the feature game that the Oscarcast celebrates, and they boast a Broadway resume that indicates they know how to produce a live show, and their long resume of landmark TV miniseries and movies shows they know how to produce for the small screen. And they really, really wanted the job.

Now it remains to be seen whether they can overcome the restrictive format of an Oscarcast that almost guarantees that all but the opening and the last half hour will be boring and familiar. Zadan and Meron feel they are up to that task of energizing the awards show in its 85th year.

They’ve never been offered the Oscar producing job before, they said, but it was widely known they wanted it and it didn’t take them long to say yes when Koch called them. The first order of business for them will be to choose a host. While the Fallon flyer would have upset ABC because Fallon hosts an NBC late night talk show, ABC recently minted its own guy, Jimmy Kimmel, in the 11:30 PM slot. That has put him in the conversation. Hugh Jackman, shooting The Wolverine, isn’t going to do it, according to his camp.

Zadan and Meron said they haven’t asked anyone yet, and they don’t know who they’ll court. “We have dealt with a lot of triple threat people who can sing, dance and do comedy,” Meron said. “It’s hard to say who we’ll choose, but we have kicked around some ideas.”...

But it seems Hugh's camp continues to decline any overtures. Not sure who sent out the feelers though. Probably not the new producers as they have only been named.

My only qualms about any Hugh hosting are the implications on whether this would be viewed as negative to his chances of a nomination/win for Best Actor Oscar.

I guess we'll know soon enough who will accept the hosting duties.

Jo

[jo]

It looks like the new producers have Hugh on their wish list --

blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/zadan-and-meron-talk-producing-oscars-hugh-jackman-smash-season-two

Quote:

Zadan and Meron Talk Producing Oscars, Hugh Jackman, 'Smash' Season Two

Awards.
by Anne Thompson
August 23, 2012 4:24 PM
0 Comments

Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have harbored the fantasy of producing the Oscars for a decade. "We've been saying 'one day, please God, let this happen,'" says Meron. "It's a once in a lifetime thing."

Finally two days ago new Academy president Hawk Koch, who they got to know at the Producers Guild, called them up and gave them the job.

Now the duo will try to put on the best Oscar show they can, they say, and picking the right host will be part of that. With the job announced, they can start making phone calls. They're throwing around many possible scenarios; they confirm that "Les Miserables" star Hugh Jackman, who is a friend, is on long their long wish list. "He's perfect for anything," says Zadan. "I would hire Hugh Jackman to come to my house and have dinner. We admire him, he's a lovely and talented human being."

What about reteaming Jackman and Anne Hathaway? "Right now everything is a possibility," says Meron. "Everything is up in the air."

So will these musical producers mount a musical show? "It's something we love to do," says Meron. "It's part of our professional DNA. We'll do something along those lines but it's premature to call it a musical show. We're batting aorund a lot of ideas and don't want to exclude anything."

While the duo both admire Laurence Mark and their "Chicago" director Bill Condon's 2009 Oscars, the Academy will supply them with every show that's ever been done. "We'll cull through that and see the ones we loved," says Meron.

"There were great pieces and moments in all the shows," adds Zadan. "But we hope to do unique and special things this year. So that next year's producers will say, 'let's keep that.'"...

*********************************************

*It looks like the 2009 show is on the way to becoming almost a template for future shows, including getting Hugh Jackman to host

*But will Hugh say Yes??


Jo

[nevaeh777]

My perfect scenario....Hugh hosts and Hugh wins. What can I say? I dreamed a dream.

[jo]

Goldderby is running a poll on the host for the coming Oscars --

www.goldderby.com/films/news/3286/oscars-academy-awards-host-poll-film-news-13579086.html

Hugh is only running third at the moment!


Please vote!


Jo

[carouselkathy]

Hugh is way behind. Robert Downey Jr. is waaaaay ahead. Keep voting!

[carouselkathy]

If you hit "Return to poll" (in small print at the bottom), you can keep voting.

[eugenia]

2013 Oscars Show Hosts: Hugh Jackman, Queen Latifah...John Travolta?!

uk.eonline.com/news/340462/2013-oscars-show-hosts-hugh-jackman-queen-latifah-john-travolta

[foxie]

I dont see a poll on that website!

[jo]

I checked again - the poll is still on the site.

www.goldderby.com/films/news/3286/oscars-academy-awards-host-poll-film-news-13579086.html

Please scroll down until you see the POLL.


Every vote counts


Jo

[JH4HJ]

No. I don't want Hugh to host The Academy Awards... not this year.

I want him to be nominated for Best Actor. I want him to WIN an Oscar. I want him to sit in the audience - next to Deb, both of them all "pins and needles" with anticipation - and enjoy the entire night - every unforgettable moment of it. I do *not* want the gazillion distractions of "working" on a live show anywhere near his mind that night. I want his memory of his (FIRST!) Oscar nomination/WIN to be crisp and clear, not muddled with all the cues, marks, angles, scripts, lyrics and other things that go along with performing.

Yes, I'd love to see him host again -- but NOT this year. This year I want him to savor the experience in a much different way - with NO distractions.

[mamaleh]

Besides, won't he be busy shooting PRISONERS beginning in January? If so, he might be able to attend but certainly not host the ceremony.

I share your hopes, Valerie.

Ellen

[rmtndew]

Is he finally shooting Prisoners? I remember when the script made the rounds, I read it all in one sitting and thought it was amazing!

Also, I agree about Hugh hosting: If he's nominated, I'd rather him be in the audience, watching the show instead of worrying about entertaining everyone. And if they put the original song in Les Mis (and I don't see why they wouldn't) and it's nominated, he'll probably perform it, too. Unless they pull another stunt like they did the year where Beyonce sang everyone's songs. That was just stupid.

- Alicia

[njr]

Ditto! No hosting this year!

[jo]

Does my comment on the Opening Post for this thread also count as a NO ;D

>>>If Les Miserables is not being projected as a strong contender for coming Oscar honors, including acting honors, it would be great if Hugh reconsider his decision to keep saying NO.<<<


LOL!


Jo

[foxie]

why??

[njr]

Sept 4, 2012 19:48:40 GMT -5 jo said:

Does my comment on the Opening Post for this thread also count as a NO ;D

>>>If Les Miserables is not being projected as a strong contender for coming Oscar honors, including acting honors, it would be great if Hugh reconsider his decision to keep saying NO.<<<


LOL!


Jo

That sounds like a YES if you want him to reconsider saying No.

[jo]

I said IF Les Miserables is NOT considered a strong contender for Oscars, including acting honors...then maybe Hugh can reconsider his decision to keep away.

But since Les Miserables ( even if it had not been released yet) is getting very strong buzz for Best Picture and Hugh is usually included in the top 5 likely nominations for Best Actor by Oscar prediction sites and other film sites/print and multi-media,

Then - I guess I am saying that I won't want him to reconsider his decision not to host, if offered.

Convoluted, eh ...but I wanted the best of both worlds ;D

Jo

[njr]

I gotcha now Jo!