Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Billy Crystal Ready to Return as Oscars Host

Leave it to a fan to pose the one question everybody is dying to ask Billy Crystal. During a Q&A following the 20th Anniversary screening of City Slickers at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre, the subject turned to the Oscars.

According to The Envelope, "Crystal...admitted that he got 'itchy' after this year's cameo on the Oscars and that he'd be ready to talk about a return to the global stage of the gala." Crystal has acted as the show's emcee eight times. He last anchored in 2003 and since then it's been a near unending string of bad choices on the part of the Academy.

Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres are TV gabfest ringmasters. They shouldn't be allowed a seat in the Kodak Theatre, let alone hosting chores. Chris Rock is a very funny man, but you couldn't prove it come Oscar night. Hugh Jackman turned it into the Tony Awards and the one/two punch of James Franco and Anne Hathaway never connected. Only Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin kept me laughing throughout, but the ratings were anything but rib-tickling.

Why must it always be performers and comedians moderating the annual golden giveaway? The first Academy Awards show was hosted by Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and C.B.'s brother, and a terrific director in his own right, William DeMille. Why don't more directors host the show?

Counting DeMille, seven directors (Frank Capra, John Cromwell, Joesph L. Mankiewicz, John Huston, Jerry Lewis, Warren Beatty) have acted as Oscar's innkeeper since the ceremony kicked off at the Hollywood Roosevelt back in 1929. One-shot hosts Robert Montgomery, Dick Powell, Alan Alda, Walter Matthau, and Jack Lemmon all spent time in the director's chair, but generally their names above the title indicate acting excellence, not directorial dazzle.

Why doesn't the Academy select six auteurs to oversee the festivities? Can you imagine the Punch and Judy show Marty and Abel Ferrara would put on? A two-out-of-three falls grudge match between Jean-Luc Godard and Spielberg would be a ratings bonanza. And for the youngsters in the audience, get Gaspar Noé and Christopher Nolan to host backwards.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Leave it to a fan to pose the one question everybody is dying to ask Billy Crystal. During a Q&A following the 20th Anniversary screening of City Slickers at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre, the subject turned to the Oscars.

According to The Envelope, "Crystal...admitted that he got 'itchy' after this year's cameo on the Oscars and that he'd be ready to talk about a return to the global stage of the gala." Crystal has acted as the show's emcee eight times. He last anchored in 2003 and since then it's been a near unending string of bad choices on the part of the Academy.

Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres are TV gabfest ringmasters. They shouldn't be allowed a seat in the Kodak Theatre, let alone hosting chores. Chris Rock is a very funny man, but you couldn't prove it come Oscar night. Hugh Jackman turned it into the Tony Awards and the one/two punch of James Franco and Anne Hathaway never connected. Only Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin kept me laughing throughout, but the ratings were anything but rib-tickling.

Why must it always be performers and comedians moderating the annual golden giveaway? The first Academy Awards show was hosted by Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and C.B.'s brother, and a terrific director in his own right, William DeMille. Why don't more directors host the show?

Counting DeMille, seven directors (Frank Capra, John Cromwell, Joesph L. Mankiewicz, John Huston, Jerry Lewis, Warren Beatty) have acted as Oscar's innkeeper since the ceremony kicked off at the Hollywood Roosevelt back in 1929. One-shot hosts Robert Montgomery, Dick Powell, Alan Alda, Walter Matthau, and Jack Lemmon all spent time in the director's chair, but generally their names above the title indicate acting excellence, not directorial dazzle.

Why doesn't the Academy select six auteurs to oversee the festivities? Can you imagine the Punch and Judy show Marty and Abel Ferrara would put on? A two-out-of-three falls grudge match between Jean-Luc Godard and Spielberg would be a ratings bonanza. And for the youngsters in the audience, get Gaspar Noé and Christopher Nolan to host backwards.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.