Beverly Hills, CA —
Ellen DeGeneres has been set to host the 79th Academy Awards telecast,
producer Laura Ziskin announced today. It will be DeGeneres’ first time
as Oscar® host, as well as her first appearance on an Academy Awards
telecast.
“Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards,” said Ziskin.
“There is no more challenging hosting job in show business. It requires
someone who can keep the show alive and fresh and moving, as well as
someone who is a flat-out great entertainer. Ellen completely fits the
bill. I can already tell she is going to set the bar very high for
herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on the show. Now
all we need is a lot of great movies.”
DeGeneres is the host of the syndicated talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres
Show,” which this year won its third Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show and
earned DeGeneres her second Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host.
Launched in September 2003, the show won four Daytime Emmys in its
freshman year, including Outstanding Talk Show, after garnering a record
twelve nominations. In its second season, the show won five Daytime
Emmys, and this year earned a total of six Emmy Awards.
“When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled,” said DeGeneres. “There’s two
things I’ve always wanted to do in my life. One is to host the Oscars.
The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that
day’s diary entry.”
DeGeneres has twice hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast and
co-hosted the show in 1994. For her first solo Emmy stint, which took
place shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, she
received high praise.
“She just sparkles,” said Academy President Sid Ganis. “She is such a
pleasure to watch. Her wit cuts to the truth of things, but in a
wonderfully warm-spirited way. I think she'll be a fantastic host for
this show and we're extremely pleased that she's agreed to do it.”
Prior to the launch of her talk show, DeGeneres scored with simultaneous
achievements on stage, film and in the literary world. She enjoyed
popular and critical response to her voice performance of ‘Dory,’ the
fish with extreme short-term memory, in the Disney/Pixar animated
feature film, “Finding Nemo.” DeGeneres earlier crossed the country on a
35-city stand-up comedy tour, entitled “Here and Now,” which was taped
for HBO and subsequently nominated for two Emmys. And in October, 2003,
her second book, “The Funny Thing Is...” was published. Comprised of
comedic short stories and essays, the book hit the New York Times’
bestseller list upon its release. In 2005, she was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the audio version of the book.
DeGeneres began her acting career in television on Fox's sitcom, “Open
House.” She moved on to ABC's “Laurie Hill,” prior to being offered
“These Friends of Mine” by ABC. After the first season, the show was
renamed “Ellen.” Running from 1994 to 1998, the show brought DeGeneres
Emmy nominations each season in the “Best Actress” category.
In 1997 DeGeneres was the recipient of the Peabody Award as well as
earning an Emmy for writing the critically acclaimed “Puppy Episode” in
which her character came out as a gay woman. DeGeneres followed with the
CBS sitcom, “The Ellen Show,” which ran from 2001 to 2002.
DeGeneres' feature film credits also include “EDTV” for director Ron
Howard, “The Love Letter,” “Goodbye Lover,” “Coneheads” and “Mr. Wrong,”
in which she starred with Bill Pullman.
In 1995, her first book “My Point...And I Do Have One” debuted at number
one on the New York Times’ bestseller list, and in 1997 she released her
comedy CD, “Taste This.”
The ceremonies honoring film achievements for 2006 will be held on
Sunday, February 25, 2007. The 79th Annual Academy Awards Presentation
will be broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland by
the ABC Television Network, beginning at 5:00 p.m. (PST) with a
half-hour arrivals segment.***
MY THOUGHTS
I like Ellen. She can be
very funny and will be casual enough to remove some of that stuffiness
we associate with the Oscar ceremony. I think she may be a little
too "vanilla"... too cutesy. But I think she is a safe bet for
chuckles and will manage the gig very well.
If I had to rank the main Oscar hosts in recent
years, this is how I would do it...
Billy Crystal - A
Steve Martin - B+
Bob Hope - B+
Johnny Carson - B
Chevy Chase - B-
John Stewart - C+
David Letterman - C+
Chris Rock - C+
Whoopi Goldberg - D I don't
really remember any others.
I would love to see Stephen Fry host the OSCARS. He does a
magnificent job with the BAFTAS each year. I would also like to
see Conan O'Brien get a shot someday. He was great at the EMMYS.
Steve Carell or Steven Colbert might be risky, but fun choices.
But my all time choice would be Ricky Gervais. He would strike the
perfect balance. What are your thoughts? Who
would you like to see host the Oscars? Email us your thoughts on
the matter by clicking the link below. |
