The Brett Ratner Flap

Dien
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

Post by Dien »

From the Hollywood Reporter:

Howard Stern Defends Brett Ratner, Slams Hollywood As 'Loony'
1:11 PM PST 11/9/2011 by Paul Bond

The shock-jock contrasts reaction to the director's use of the word "fag" to controversies involving Roman Polanski, Hilary Swank and Charlie Sheen.

Howard Stern called out Hollywood for hypocrisy on Wednesday, saying the entertainment industry has celebrated a director (Roman Polanski) who drugged and had sex with a 13 year old girl and an actress (Hilary Swank) who attended the birthday party of a notorious human rights abuser while deeming Brett Ratner's use of the the word “fag” unforgivable.

Stern began his show on Sirius XM Radio with a defense of Ratner, who stepped down as producer of the next Oscars telecast after saying “rehearsal’s for fags” at a screening for Tower Heist, which he directed. The fallout from that indiscretion continued Wednesday when Tower Heist star Eddie Murphy bowed out of Oscar-hosting duties. Stern, who learned of Ratner’s “fag” slur from The Hollywood Reporter, said he stopped using that word a while ago, but that Ratner wasn’t gay-bashing when he used it, therefore he shouldn’t have lost his job as producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast.

Stern also presumed that Ratner’s problems began when the director was a guest on Stern’s show Monday and spoke in graphic terms about his sex life. A video from HowardTV, below, includes portions of that Monday interview and some of Stern’s follow-up comments Wednesday morning. “I’m now the producer of the Oscars, so I really can’t talk about all the sex I got,” Ratner told Stern before talking about his “huge balls,” large sperm count, proclivity for oral sex and how he made actress Olivia Munn “look like a whore.”

Ratner, Stern told his audience on Wednesday, "was nice enough to call our show the other day, and it seems it cost him the ability to produce the Oscars, which was a dream of his." “I thought it was very interesting,” Stern said Wednesday of his interview with Ratner two days earlier. “Honestly, I found his conversation refreshing because he was being honest.”

Then he laid into Hollywood, calling it "a town where people have to run around closeted for many different things." "The Oscars are the same place where Charlie Sheen-types can go and get applauded," Stern said. "God knows who's coming across that stage and what they're up to," added co-host Robin Quivers. "This is the same industry, by the way, that wants Roman Polanski to be forgiven for raping a 13-year old, that it's time he be let back in the United States. I would hang him by his balls," Stern said.

"There's a lot of confusing morality here," Stern said. "And I know the industry wants to think of themselves as pristine, but I believe they've given two Academy Awards to a woman who just honored the president of Chechnya... this guy is despicable." Swank, whom Stern was referring to, won Oscars for Million Dollar Baby and Boys Don't Cry.

If Ratner hadn't stepped down as producer of the Oscars, Stern said, he'd be "in charge of an awards show for lunatics. There's a lot of loony people in Hollywood who do a lot of loony things." When one of Stern’s on-air sidekicks mentioned that an L.A.-based journalist wrote that Ratner was a “knucklehead” for appearing on Stern’s show, Stern went back to the Polanski analogy. "What's going on out there? I told you, this is the same knucklehead industry that says Roman Polanski should be allowed back in the United States and all should be forgiven."

Stern also predicted that Murphy would back out of the Oscar-hosting job since Ratner was no longer producing, and about five hours later Murphy announced his decision
Dien
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

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dbensics wrote:The Oscars should just give up on trying to appeal to young people. Unless they're LGBT youth, they ain't watching.
I don't fit in that acronym, but I still watch the show and I'm only 23.
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

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Greg wrote:Look on the bright side. When Crystal does his inevitable song-and-dance routine introducing the Best Picture nominees, at least there will footage for a YouTube remix with accompaning archival footage of war planes dropping bombs on crop fields.
If we get 10 nominees for Best Picture, Billy may drop dead shortly after his usual opening number. Wouldn't it be great if he mocked collapsed after "It's a wonderful night for Oscar" and then Eddie Murphy came out to announce that he'd been called on to finish the show.
Sabin wrote:Here's what's weird...after 2008 when Jon Stewart did an all right job considering the WGA Strike and a slew of audience unfriendly friends (No Country, There Will Be Blood, etc.), everyone wanted the Oscars to appeal to a younger crowd. How is Billy Crystal a good call in that department? Yesterday, I told my friends that I was waiting to hear that Justin Timberlake was picked. And he wouldn't have been a bad call either! Billy Crystal?
The Oscars should just give up on trying to appeal to young people. Unless they're LGBT youth, they ain't watching.
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

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[quote="Damien]He's even more of a has-been than Eddie Murphy. He used to make jokes about his elderly relatives who were totally out of it -- and now he has become those people.[/quote]
As his opening number, which back in 1989 was very brief and a clear parody of shlocky opening numbers, has turned into what it originally mocked.

I thought it was pretty clear they'd go to Crystal to, in their view, stop the bleeding. This was a "reassure the stockholders" moment -- the preceding 48 hours had made it look like no one there knew what they were doing, and they wanted to put a quick end to that vibe. What better way (again, from their POV) than to put it in the hands of someone so experienced that no one could deny the ship was sailing straight again? (To flagrantly mix metaphors)

I think the risk is higher for Crystal, actually, who many people remember (The Way We Were style) as super-competent at this job. If they see him flail at it (as most of us thought he did last time out, in '03), his reputation could fall as fast as Joe Paterno's.
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

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Sabin wrote:Here's what's weird...after 2008 when Jon Stewart did an all right job considering the WGA Strike and a slew of audience unfriendly friends (No Country, There Will Be Blood, etc.), everyone wanted the Oscars to appeal to a younger crowd. How is Billy Crystal a good call in that department? Yesterday, I told my friends that I was waiting to hear that Justin Timberlake was picked. And he wouldn't have been a bad call either!

Billy Crystal?
He's even more of a has-been than Eddie Murphy. He used to make jokes about his elderly relatives who were totally out of it -- and now he has become those people.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

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Here's what's weird...after 2008 when Jon Stewart did an all right job considering the WGA Strike and a slew of audience unfriendly friends (No Country, There Will Be Blood, etc.), everyone wanted the Oscars to appeal to a younger crowd. How is Billy Crystal a good call in that department? Yesterday, I told my friends that I was waiting to hear that Justin Timberlake was picked. And he wouldn't have been a bad call either!

Billy Crystal?
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

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I don't get it.
"What the hell?"
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

Post by Greg »

Look on the bright side. When Crystal does his inevitable song-and-dance routine introducing the Best Picture nominees, at least there will footage for a YouTube remix with accompaning archival footage of war planes dropping bombs on crop fields.
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

Post by Damien »

Oh no!!!!!! Worst possible choice. I'd rather have James Franco and Anne Hathaway return than have to put up with that smug, unfunny, tired has-been.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

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Well, he LOOKS like a muppet...
"What the hell?"
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

Post by Big Magilla »

From E!:

When in doubt, go with what works. And we don't mean Ricky Gervais.

Billy Crystalwill return as host of the Oscars next year, the funnyman first revealed today via Twitter.

The Emmy- and Tony Award-winner's name instantly rocketed to the top of the wish list after Eddie Murphy bowed out on the heels of producer Brett Ratner just yesterday.

READ: Kermit to the Rescue? Campaign Launches for Muppets (Yes, the Muppets) to Host Oscars

"Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions," Crystal tweeted. "Looking forward to the show."

And so are we!

Crystal, who has hosted the Academy Awards eight times and won five Emmys for his fearless leadership, provided one of last year's few highlights when he showed up to remind us of how it used to be present during last year's telecast—so unremarkably cohosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

Oscar-winner Brian Grazer will produce the 84th Academy Awards, which will air live Feb. 26, 2012, from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. And now he's got a beautiful comedic mind to go with it.


Read more: http://www.eonline.com/news/billy_cryst ... z1dLV8jWfb
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

Post by mlrg »

It's official

Crystal is hosting
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

Post by Mister Tee »

Mister Tee wrote:How long before someone begs Billy Crystal to ride to the rescue? He's about the only one with enough cred to take this job now and not be viewed as sloppy-seconds.

And if Gil Cates hadn't just died, they'd be on speed-dial to him.
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

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Mister Tee wrote:For Mark Harris' take on this and beyond. I agree with most every word:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood ... t-now-what

As a general matter: Harris -- who's more lucid about the Oscars than Tom O'Neil on his best day -- is writing a weekly column about the Oscars at this site now, and I highly recommend following him.
I like Mark Harris' writing, but as for his lucidity - he is the only blogger predicitng a Best Picture win for The Help, a film that I have trouble imagining even being nominated in a less=than-ten nominee field, bujt which I dont see winnign Best Picture even if it does capture two acting awards.

http://moviecitynews.com/2011/11/gurus- ... er-8-2011/
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Re: The Brett Ratner Flap

Post by anonymous1980 »

I think Doris Day not getting an Honorary Oscar is more attributed to her being a recluse and pretty much renouncing her show biz past. But then again, they DID vote Jean Luc Godard an Honorary Oscar so I guess it's still possible.
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