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Q & A: How Willimon Runs Fincher's 'House ...What Does Oscar Host Seth MacFarlane's 'Incredible Day' Presage for Oscar Night? [Nominations Video]
MacFarlane now has more than one reason to be nervous on Oscar night, as both a first time host and nominee. (He could wind up performing his own song--now that Adele's "Skyfall" is nominated, the producers will be trying to get her and others to perform on the show.) Listen to the song and watch the nominations announcements (including MacFarlane's inappropriate comments) below. "Breath of fresh air in that category," he commented on the familiar names in the Supporting Actor category, all of whom had already won an Oscar. His promotion of Stone's "Gangster Squad" and off-color remarks about "Amour" and Hitler have earned both positive and negative reviews, amid much Twitter debate and comparisons to recent Globes host Ricky Gervais. Is that what the Academy wants in its neverending quest for younger viewers?
What kind of Oscar host will MacFarlane be? This is not the WGA Awards, where he made a delightfully witty and irreverent host, able to both sing and dance. But while Macfarlane is an industry insider, the Oscars is a global telecast that is intended to put Hollywood in the most favorable light. The host has to be good on his feet, playing to the suits and talent in the room as well as film fans worldwide---most of whom have no idea who he is. That's why he made the announcement instead of AMPAS president Hawk Koch: to raise his TV Q.
2 Comments
Julia Chasman | January 11, 2013 5:50 PM
I think the bigger issue about the announcement telecast is that it was clearly scripted!
Those weren't ad libs by Macfarlane, though he may have been the writer of the patter.
That supporting actor gag was fully set-up--and was based in prior knowledge of the nominees.
In other words they weren't just reading a press release. They were acknowledging that they had already seen the list, and made up a joke about the group of nominees; big mistake! And it's the kind of thing they're doing more and more under the new administration --- acting like they're smarter than their audience.