Who Should Host the Oscars?

While the government is shut down and all hell is breaking loose, we can distract ourselves with questions such as who the Oscar host should be. If you missed it, Kevin Hart was named as host last month, but just two days later withdrew because of viciously homophobic comments he made early in his career. The Academy asked him to apologize, but he said he had addressed those comments and refused (no one has been able to find an actual apology he made at any time).

More than a month has gone by and still no host. Hart appeared on Ellen DeGeneres (herself a former host) to double down on playing the victim, not acknowledging that his comments are part of a disturbing trend that foments anti-LGBT violence. Still, it appears that a rapprochement may be occurring.

Why is this job so difficult to fill? Many of the obvious choices, like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Jerry Seinfeld, and Justin Timberlake, don't want any part of it. Their reasoning, which I think is sound, is that it's a no-win situation. Every year the Oscar telecast is picked apart like last night's turkey. If ratings go down, the host takes the hit.

The Academy is trying to please two masters. One is ABC, who wants high ratings. In today's world, when there are many more options for a television other than three networks, the Oscars will never get the ratings they used to. Who is watching, and who isn't? Those who are watching are people like me, who would watch with any host, no matter how long the show is. We are taken for granted, so when the Academy makes decisions like giving awards during commercial breaks, are voices are unheeded. The other is the Academy, which doesn't want controversy and would like to have a somewhat dignified show.

ABC wants the casual viewer, who might watch the show one year, but not the next. This usually has to do not with the host, but the films nominated. When Titanic was nominated for many awards, the ratings spiked. This year, Black Panther and A Star Is Born, sure to get multiple nominations including Best Picture, may help.

The usual tactic is to skew young, but that can be disastrous, like when James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosted. There are many young (or youngish) comedians who have been in films and would do well but may not have a high enough profile, such as Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Donald Glover, Tig Notaro, or Hannibal Burress. There are also many established comedians whose politics are well known, like Sarah Silverman, Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee, or John Oliver. Jimmy Kimmell, who was the host for the last two years, has opted out because he's busy with his late-night show, oversaw two very low-rated telecasts. I know that my mother, who is a die-hard Republican, refused to watch because of him because of his well-known politics, so there were surely others. I think both ABC and the Academy want a show where Donald Trump is not mentioned.

This job used to be easy to fill. Bob Hope did it for many years (he was a conservative Republican, but never revealed his politics in is act), then Johnny Carson, then Billy Crystal. But for many years there were hosts who were not comedians, such as Jack Lemmon or Frank Sinatra. In other years there were several hosts who each took part of the show, such as 1983, when it was Liza Minelli, Walter Matthau, Dudley Moore, and Richard Pryor (I distinctly remember them singing a song together, and Pryor looked completely out of place). I think that may be the best solution--get a group of likable, young, witty actors who can do comedy taking a third or a quarter of the show. Stars may be more amenable to that, Imagine Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Hemsworth, and Daniel Radcliffe. That would be fairly easy to take.

What the show has got hung up on in recent years is the monologue, which would necessitate a comedian. But ditch that, and ditch the forced bits which involve interactions with fans, and just concentrate on the movies. As recently as 1989 there was no host at all. They would save a lot of money and grief by going in that direction.