Oscar Host Eddie Murphy?

[Mister Tee]

And it's official.

The bright side: Ratner might have chosen the OTHER co-star of his upcoming movie, Ben Stiller. Which for me would have been close to water torture. Murphy at least has been very funny at some point in his career.

[Sabin]

My motto with the Academy Awards is "Try it." I resisted Hugh Jackman and he wasn't bad. I didn't like the entire show but some of it was a step in the right direction. The Alec Baldwin/Steve Martin show was a better step in the right direction as a whole but they were rather dull. James Franco and Anne Hathaway seemed like a horrible idea from the onset.

Eddie Murphy is funny. He's not going to alienate the room like Chris Rock most likely. But more than anything else (and more so than Jackman, Baldwin & Martin, and Hathaway & Franco), he's got energy. I think he can energize the room. It could work. Try it out.

[Big Magilla]

Close is almost certain to be nominated, but her chances of winning at this point seem no better than Peter O'Toole's for Venus.

[OscarGuy]

I have a feeling that The Help will most certainly be nominated. We already know it's wildly popular with audiences. It would bring the core demo of the Oscars to the telecast in larger numbers even if it won't win. I don't think War Horse would be the kind of film to bring auds to the broadcast, nor the others you mentioned. Right now, though, who knows for sure...we've still got several sight-unseen films to look for.

And I haven't gotten the impression that Close is out. Her film may have stumbled, but in the one review that didn't like her film that I've read, they still praised Close's performance.

[Big Magilla]

Eddie Murphy might make a "great host" even if he's being asked 25 years late, but where is this "great buzz" for his heist movie coming from? Director Rattner? And the Dreamworks film, which he made first looks like garbage which is why it's being released in January.

The anticipated pull for a best actress contest between Streep and Close seems to be withering with the tepid reviews for Albert Nobbs. It looks like it's going to be another Streep vs. The Hot Chick of the Moment, whoever that turns out to be. That is not going to bring droves of people to the telecast any more than the choice of host.

The only thing that will stir up interest in this year's Oscars are the films themselves. If War Horse, Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Descendants and whatever else gets nominated are the kinds of films audiences really love, unlike most of the nominees of recent years, people will tune in. Otherwise more than ever, they will tune out.

[Mister Tee]

Well, this is an...interesting rumor. Somehow seems about 20 years too late.


Eddie Murphy In Talks To Host 84th Oscars
By NIKKI FINKE | Saturday September 3, 2011 @ 7:17pm PDT
Tags: Brett Ratner, Eddie Murphy

Comments 22 EXCLUSIVE: This Tuesday, a confab is scheduled for Oscar producer Brett Ratner to tell the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences whom he wants to host the Oscars. I’ve learned that Ratner will offer one name to Academy President Tom Sherak: Eddie Murphy. This is by no means a done deal yet, but this is a first step – though a lot more steps have to happen before this becomes a reality. I’m told that a lot of big names have approached the other 84th Academy Awards producer Don Mischer saying they are interested in hosting, and Don is fielding those calls. But insiders tell me that Ratner since getting the Academy Awards producing gig has only been talking to one person: Eddie. It’s been along the lines of, “If the Academy asked you to host, would you accept?” I learned that Eddie is “showing interest”. I do know that Murphy’s Hollywood agency WME thinks it’d be a real coup for Murphy’s dormant career which is about to get a kick-start. That’s because the veteran comedian is starring in the Brett Ratner-directed and Imagine/Universal-produced Tower Heist action laugher with Ben Stiller that opens on November 4th and is receiving great buzz. So Murphy and Ratner already have a close relationship, and this would be a way for Brett to put his personal stamp on 2012′s broadcast. Plus Murphy is starring in the DreamWorks’ dramedy film A Thousand Words scheduled for release on January 12th.

Eddie, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2006′s Dreamgirls but lost, is said to worship the Oscars. ”Nobody knows movies better or is a bigger cinephile than Eddie. Not Brett. Not even Quentin Tarantino. Eddie can quote scenes from every single movie word for word,” an insider tells me. “He can bring all that experience to hosting. Plus he has Saturday Night Live experience before a live crowd. And worldwide the biggest crossover comedians are Will Smith and Eddie Murphy.” That’s important because a huge part of the Academy Awards telecast audience is global. And with two movies opening before the Oscars, Murphy could benefit from the publicity bonanza especially overseas where international releases usually follow U.S. opeings by several months. Besides, the Academy has been after more diversity which is why this October it’s honoring James Earl Jones and Oprah Winfrey (even though she’s much more of a TV personality than a movie star or filmmaker).

Today the comedy and urban entertainment website Humor Mill posted first an exclusive (sourced from several close friends of Eddie’s) that it’s a done deal. But I’ve confirmed it’s not — yet. Meanwhile, I hear that Billy Crystal, who recently expressed interest in hosting again, will almost certainly be incorporated into the show in some marquee way.