The gig from hell? Why no one wants to host the Oscars
This year the host of the Academy Awards will be… nobody, said Alissa Wilkinson on Vox. The comedian Kevin Hart had been lined up to compère the 2019 Oscars, but he pulled out after homophobic tweets he’d posted years ago resurfaced online. But what’s weird is that the organisers haven’t found anyone willing to replace him. Admittedly, the MC of the Oscars is paid comparatively little: $15,000 according to one-time host Jimmy Kimmel. But given that even a low-ratings Oscars is watched by 26 million viewers, you’d think someone would be glad of the exposure.
There are countless reasons why stars say no to the gig, said Caroline Iggulden in The Sun. For one thing, as Hart has discovered, the host inevitably comes under intense scrutiny. For another, it’s a tough audience to amuse: as the evening drags on, nominees are increasingly hungry, and in most cases, annoyed that they’ve failed to win. Besides, many feel the Oscars are now less “relevant” than the Golden Globes, which give awards for TV shows as well as film. In this golden age for TV drama, many people now care more about them than movies. According to film critic Jason Solomons, the Academy may soon be pressed into introducing a TV award of its own.
As it happens, this won’t be the first time the Oscars have gone ahead without anyone to orchestrate the evening. In 1989 the host was replaced by two interminable song-and-dance numbers: in one, a young Rob Lowe performed a feeble serenade of an unknown actress playing Snow White. In the other, a troupe of little-known young actors belted out a ditty – I Wanna Be an Oscar Winner – to general bewilderment. It was a disaster, and that’s why I’m looking forward to the ceremony on 24 February, said Alissa Wilkinson. If it’s a train wreck, at least it’ll be “entertaining”.