Even though it’s only the end of July, ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are already thinking about the Oscars that will take place on March 2, 2025. They are looking for a host for the show which is often a thankless job that is roundly criticized each year by everyone at home on the couch. Jimmy Kimmel, who has hosted four shows in the last seven years, has opted out. So, who will be his heir apparent?
Everybody thought it was going to be John Mulaney, who was given an extended cameo at the 2024 Oscars and hosted the Governors Awards for the Academy. Well, it seems like he doesn’t want the job either, according to Puck News. The 41-year-old comedian is booked and busy with “several projects in the winter and spring,” so he’s unavailable. The show is still eight months away, but the role is more time-consuming than people realize. The host often begins with a writing team in December to get everything right ahead of the ceremony.
There will likely be an attempt to look for a Millennial generation host in order to attract a younger audience, but remember, that plan doesn’t always work. A look back at Anne Hathaway and James Franco’s stint in 2011 and viewers get flashbacks of the awkward and cringe-worthy banter. Hathaway recalled to People in 2019 that it was a “no-win situation,” especially since Franco was so low energy. “You’re not trained at this, how is this going to enhance your life? All of the reasons why. Even the people who do it spectacularly well — like Hugh Jackman, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres — usually just get a ‘meh’ from everyone,” she shared. “It’s a really hard gig to stick the landing on.”
Franco has only reflected on the moment briefly, telling New York Magazine in 2016, “We got a lot of s— for it. I probably got more than she did, but she got a lot.” David Wild, a writer on the 2011 Oscars described the pairing to The Ringer as “the world’s most uncomfortable blind date between the cool rocker stoner kid and the adorable theater camp cheerleader.” He also remembered Franco as relatively combative with Hathaway. “Again, this is a memory, but [she] was like, ‘Maybe you should try that,’ and he was like ‘Don’t tell me how to be funny,'” he shared.
So hopefully, the Academy has a long memory and fits the perfect host or team of hosts to helm the next ceremony. Puck News suggested Ryan Reynolds as the perfect showman, but could they also convince Hugh Jackman to do it with him? Jackman did it in 2009, so we think Wolverine and Deadpool might be a ratings winner for ABC.
Before you go, click here to see more of the most shocking Oscars moments.
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