"The New Mencken" to host Oscars '06
Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, Latimes.com are all reporting that New Jersey’s own Jon Stewart will host the Academy Awards ceremony on March 5. Let’s all start writing those Munich, Brokeback Mountain, Syriana jokes right now and see how many make it into the final broadcast. (The Female Half of the Staff is convinced that nothing will top The Soup‘s “Brokeback Kong” sketch.)
We like Stewart. And this year there’ll be none of the huffing and puffing and faux hand-wringing that preceded Chris Rock‘s installment as host. It’s yet another attempt by the Academy to lure younger male viewers to the broadcast. They tried, and failed, last year. This, too, will fail miserably. We predict that next year’s ceremony will be hosted by Girls Gone Wild. Of course, they will be called Girls Gone Oscar Wild(e)! (Note to Gil Cates: Feel free to use this joke in the course of the show. Also note that you will then be obligated to send us one of them there Oscar Gift Baskets for our efforts.)
Will Stewart escape the criticism that has been heaped upon any other No-Movie guy who has hosted? If you’re just a TV person, like Carson and Letterman, you had no right to host the Oscars! Our prediction: Minimal squawking.
No Responses
Reply to: "The New Mencken" to host Oscars '06
Not a movie guy? What do you call Death To Smoochy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Half Baked, Big Daddy, Playing by Heart, The Faculty?
And let’s not forget Letterman’s cameo in “Cabin Boy!” But the perception persists that neither is a movie guy. And that both are <>merely<> TV guys.
Ah, you’re forgetting Jon’s stellar performance as Rollerblader #1 in Mixed Nuts. And if you’ve never seen him in Elmopalooza, well, you’re just going to have to download that thing (he sings, seriously). Jon did a great job of the Grammys and every other thing he’s hosted (remember the ’95 Billboard Awards? Nah, me neither.) This will be fun.
On a related note, if the movies (especially the big, splashy Hollywood theatre-style movies) (and hence the Oscars) want to make a comeback, the moguls need to realize what musicians and standup comics realized a long time ago: you gotta promote your stuff by making it easy to hear/see the first time. What sells music CDs? Radio airplay. What sells comics’ CDs? Hitting the road and doing shows, or if you’re good and/or lucky, getiing on TV. So, Hollywood, instead of looking down your nose at TV, you’d better embrace it. Look at examples from Sponge Bob to The X-Files, and you’ll see that the same business model works for movies ad it does for music radio–give people a taste of the good stuff, and then they’ll come to your theatres and concerts.