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Oscar do's and don'ts: Our unsolicited advice for hosts Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes
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Oscar’s fluctuating ratings aside, the televised glam-fest remains for its hosts an unparalleled opportunity to either showcase their impeccable wit or bomb on the biggest stage in the world.
The list of hosts for the Academy Awards, whose 94th edition airs live Sunday (ABC, 8 EDT/5 PDT), is long and legendary, including nine-time master of ceremonies Billy Crystal as well as two-time hosts Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres and, most recently, Jimmy Kimmel.
But Kimmel’s 2018 show was the last to have a host, when 2019’s choice, Kevin Hart, stepped down after his past homophobic tweets were resurfaced. This year, the position has been reinstated and it falls to three talented women, only the second time a trio has done the honors: Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall.
While there is no guaranteed route to Oscar Hosting Fame, there are guidelines for avoiding Oscar Hosting Infamy. We offer up some do’s and don’ts for this year’s quick-witted stars:
How to watch the 2022 Oscars:Everything you should know about Sunday’s Academy Awards
DO: Something wildly unexpected
The possibilities are endless, as long as you add a pinch of good taste.
In 2014, DeGeneres minted an Oscars Moment by cramming a gaggle of beaming stars, including Bradley Cooper and Meryl Streep, into her wide-angle phone lens for a selfie.
During a number of hosting gigs, Crystal created a clip reel where he popped himself into iconic movies and mind-read what the stars were thinking. (In 2000, Jack Nicholson’s face loomed on a large screen as Crystal mimicked: “You know what? I’m still the coolest guy in the room.”)
And in 2017, Kimmel surprised out-of-towners on a Hollywood bus tour by bringing them into the Dolby Theatre during the telecast. He told one dazzled fan from Chicago: “This is Ryan Gosling. He’s very handsome. Don’t look into his eyes!”
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DON’T: Offend the celebrities in the room
Walking that tightrope between being saying clever and offensive things to A-listers requires a deft mix of room-reading acumen and your own Hollywood star power.
There are been a number of uncomfortable moments, many courtesy of fearless comedian Rock, who in 2005 took a swing at Jude Law (“Who is Jude Law? You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? … Why is he in every movie I have seen in the last four years?”).
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But the all-time most offensive moment award goes to Oscar host and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, who in 2013 tried to hitch his brand of racy humor to a classic Hollywood musical – and failed.
His song-and-dance number “We Saw Your Boobs,” in which MacFarlane runs down a painfully long list of female stars who bared their breasts in movies, was intercut with images of none-too-amused stars.
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BUT DO: Poke fun at Hollywood in general
In the early days of the Academy Awards, there was a palpable sense of reverence if not self-congratulation for the craft of moviemaking.
That hasn’t vanished, but in recent decades hosts have viewed the entire Tinseltown machine as fair game. “By the way,” joked host Steve Martin as the 2003 show opened, “the proceeds from tonight’s Oscar telecast, and I think this is so great, will be divvied up among huge corporations.”
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But no one was more pointedly merciless about Hollywood’s shortcomings than host Rock, whose apex tell-it-like-it-is moment was his opening monologue in 2016, when #OscarsSoWhite was trending and the lack of people of color in movies was being acknowledged as an addressable failure.
“I’m here at the Academy Awards – otherwise known as the White People’s Choice Awards,” Rock cracked. He added that Black actors were pushing back only now because in the ’60s, “we had real things to protest at the time, you know? … We were too busy getting raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer.”
‘King Richard’ star Aunjanue Ellis ditched her phone to avoid Oscar news. She got nominated anyway.
DON’T: Be lazy (Hint: Viewers expect you to do more than just show up)
James Franco teamed up to host with Anne Hathaway in 2011, and that resulted in what many critics dubbed the worst Oscar hosting job ever.
The problem was the vast disconnect between the two actors. Hathaway looked almost too excited to be there, but at least everyone loves someone who tries. Franco, on the other hand, seemed at best like he was doing a dress rehearsal of the show, and at worst like he had just been woken up from a dead sleep.
DO: React to what just happened
Kimmel had perhaps the most difficult job ever as host in 2017, when the final award of the night – best picture – was given to the wrong movie.
Chaos unfolded as the producers of “La La Land” graciously informed the audience that they had not won: The real winner was “Moonlight.” While stunned, Kimmel immediately riffed. “Personally, I blame Steve Harvey for this,” he said, referencing the time Harvey infamously crowned the wrong Miss Universe. “Why can’t we just give out a whole bunch of them?”
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DON’T: Persist with a joke that falls flat
In 1995, a nervous David Letterman thought he had a solid gag in hand when he peered into the famous crowd. He found Oprah Winfrey and said “Oprah.” She waved at the camera. Then he walked over to the other side of the stage, spotted Uma Thurman, and said, “Uma.” Then, “Uma, Oprah. Oprah, Uma.” Then, “Have you kids met Keanu?”
The faux introduction joke fell flat, but Letterman carried on with it throughout the show. Ultimately, that did make “Uma, Oprah” a well-known gag but one synonymous with a failed effort.
DO: Use your superpowers for good
The Academy Awards notoriously run long, putting pressure on hosts to keep the festivities moving along at a clip.
That’s why it was all the more surprising when 2008 host Jon Stewart went off-script and brought back a winner who had been played off before saying a word. Later in the show, Stewart surprised the crowd by giving Marketa Irglova, who shared the Oscar for best original song with Glen Hansard for “Falling Slowly” (from “Once”), her moment at the microphone. Classy.
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Travel
Razzies royally torch 'Diana' musical and 'Space Jam 2,' show love to Oscar favorite Will Smith
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In its proclamation of the worst films of 2021, the Razzies lambasted a critically reviled Princess Diana musical and LeBron James’ “Space Jam” sequel, but spread love instead of hate for Will Smith.
The Golden Raspberry Awards, annually announced the day before the Academy Awards, bestowed five dishonors on Netflix’s “Diana: The Musical,” a filmed production of the recent Broadway show that closed after 33 performances. “Diana” beat out “Infinite,” “Karen,” “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and “The Woman in the Window” for worst picture, plus picked up worst screenplay and worst actress for star Jeanna de Waal.
“New Legacy,” the live-action/animated hybrid basketball comedy featuring James hooping it up with Bugs Bunny and Co., earned three Razzie awards. James was named worst actor and also was saddled with worst screen couple – which went to James and “Any Warner Cartoon Character (or WarnerMedia Product) He Dribbles On” – while the movie snagged worst sequel.
How to watch the 2022 Oscars:Everything you should know about Sunday’s Academy Awards
“House of Gucci” star Jared Leto lost his Screen Actors Guild race for best supporting actor but nabbed the Razzie for worst. And Bruce Willis does so many VOD movies now that he received his own special category (worst performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie) that, to no one’s surprise, he won – for “Cosmic Sin.”
Smith, who’s expected to win the best actor Oscar Sunday for “King Richard,” received this year’s Razzie Redeemer Award for previous Razzie honorees who’ve come back with quality efforts. Recent winners include Ben Affleck, Sylvester Stallone, Melissa McCarthy and Eddie Murphy.
The full list of this year’s Razzie “winners”:
Worst picture: “Diana: The Musical”
Worst actor: LeBron James, “Space Jam: A New Legacy”
Worst actress: Jeanna de Waal, “Diana: The Musical”
Worst supporting actress: Judy Kaye, “Diana: The Musical”
Worst supporting actor: Jared Leto, “House of Gucci”
Worst performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 movie: Bruce Willis, “Cosmic Sin”
Worst screen couple: LeBron James and Any Warner Cartoon Character
(or WarnerMedia Product) He Dribbles On, “Space Jam: A New Legacy”
Worst remake, rip-off or sequel: “Space Jam: A New Legacy”
Worst director: Christopher Ashley, “Diana: The Musical”
Worst screenplay: “Diana: The Musical”
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Business
As more marijuana dispensaries get targeted by robbers, SAFE Banking Act lingers in Congress
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A bill that could allow electronic transactions at weed dispensaries nationwide is again make its way through Congress but the SAFE Banking Act might not be the cure-all that supporters envision.
In over a decade of operating cannabis shops in Washington, Shea Hynes never once worried about his stores getting robbed at gun point – until recently: In a span of three weeks, his stores were robbed three different times at gun point.
Reports of armed robberies at cannabis dispensaries like Hynes’ have nearly doubled in the first quarter of this year compared with all of last year, according to data maintained by the Craft Cannabis Coalition. The group, which represents more than 50 stores in Washington, has recorded more than 65 armed robberies so far this year, compared with 35 in 2021 and 29 in 2020.
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CHICAGO — In a ridiculous coincidence, the Saint Peter’s Peacocks wrote NCAA Tournament history on National Peacock Day with a thrilling upset of Purdue.
The mid-major became the first-ever No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight, outdoing previous No. 15 seeds Oral Roberts (2021) and Florida Gulf Coast (2013). Exactly 0.8% of people picked the Peacocks to get this far, with the school from Jersey City, New Jersey, defying all odds. Is Saint Peter’s the best Cinderella of all time?
Meanwhile, the ACC is sitting pretty with three teams – Duke and now North Carolina and Miami (Fla.) – in the Elite Eight on the same day the Big Ten saw its last team go down.
A look at three key takeaways from Friday:
Saint Peter’s writes NCAA history
Coach Shaheen Holloway has this team playing inspired basketball, and now the Peacocks (22-11) are just one win from the Final Four. The best Cinderellas of the last two decades to reach Final Fours – George Mason in 2006, VCU in 2011, Loyola-Chicago (2018) all were double-digit seeded mid-majors. But none was as highly seeded as this Saint Peter’s team that’s now beaten No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 7 Murray State and No. 3 Purdue.
WINNERS, LOSERS:Poised Saint Peter’s keeps the dream alive; bye-bye, Big Ten; hello, ACC
OPINION:Saint Peter’s embodies wackiness and uncertainty of this NCAA Tournament
ANALYSIS:Purdue’s loss leaves Big Ten shut out of Elite Eight. We could see this coming.
MORE:Legendary Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson: Coach K’s farewell tour ends Saturday
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While other bracket-busting NCAA Tournament darlings of yesteryear have had flair (FGCU’s “Dunk City”) or a lovable fan (Loyola’s Sister Jean), this team from the MAAC is doing it with defense, namely with nine steals. In spite of being undersized against the Boilermakers, the Peacocks used aggressiveness and hustle to outduel their seemingly superior opponent behind 6-8 freshman Clarence Rubert and 6-7 junior Hassan Drame. Daryl Banks III (14 points) is the go-to scorer for Saint Peter’s, but Mr. Clutch has been guard Doug Edert (10 points) off the bench. One stat to note: a 19-for-21 clip from the free-throw line. What’s been most impressive is the Peacocks’ ability to stay hungry and poised under pressure, winning close games in all three NCAA Tournament matchups.
Blue-bloods show title potential
Duke and Villanova advanced on Thursday, and fellow blue-bloods Kansas and North Carolina will now join them in the Elite Eight. And yes, if both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels win Sunday, we could see them meet in the Final Four.
Ever since North Carolina embarrassed Duke in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Heels have been red-hot – knocking out No. 1 Baylor in the previous game in overtime. That continued against a UCLA team that reached the Final Four last year and seemed destined to get back. Caleb Love was brilliant again, finishing with 30 points off six three-pointers. Armando Bacot’s tip-in with 22 seconds left sealed the win in another impressive outing for coach Hubert Davis’ resilient team.
The last remaining No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament, Kansas stayed alive, escaping Providence by five points. It’s coach Bill Self’s ninth trip to the Elite Eight with Kansas and 11th of his career, as the Jayhawks (31-6) are one win from the Final Four. They’ve now won eight in a row and are looking like a title contender after entering the NCAA Tourney having won the Big 12 tournament.
The secret weapon for Kansas has been guard Remy Martin. For the third consecutive tournament game, Kansas got a jolt off the bench from the fiery Martin (23 points), the Arizona State transfer who has erupted in these NCAAs after playing a reserve role throughout 2021-22.
ACC > Big Ten
Despite garnering nine NCAA Tournament bids on Selection Sunday – the most of any conference – the Big Ten is out following Purdue’s stunning exit vs. Saint Peter’s. The league tanked in the first two rounds, with No. 5 Iowa – the conference tourney champ – getting upset by Richmond in the first round. No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Illinois, No. 7 Michigan State and No. 7 Ohio State all lost in the second round. And now, with Michigan’s loss to Villanova, the overall underachievement is on full display. That’s a 9-9 finish in the tournament.
No Big Ten team has cut down the nets since 2000 (the Spartans), and it’s a depressing outlook for the league that posted the second-best NET score in 2021-22 and showcased several teams with Final Four potential.
The ACC, which finished with the sixth-worst NET score as a league, has Duke, North Carolina and Miami all in the Elite Eight. That’s after the Tar Heels, Hurricanes and Notre Dame were all bubble teams in early March. The NCAA Tournament is about matchups and pathways. No matter how well the Big Ten did in the regular season, much like the Pac-12’s surprising finish last year, the ACC is well-positioned with three teams still alive and two of them title contenders.
Follow college basketball reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.
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