For the past two years, there’s been something amiss with the annual Oscars ceremony: They’ve been hostless. In late 2018, after Kevin Hart dropped out due to outrage over past homophobic jokes, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to do what they’d only done five times before and go commando, having a series of presenters but no emcee. The result didn’t go too terribly, so they did it again this year. But now, as per The Hollywood Reporter, that trend may come to an end.
THR reports that the Academy’s board of governors convened on Tuesday for its annual March meeting, during which they dissected February’s show. While they felt this year’s soiree went well, even praising the multitude of sometimes random-seeming musical performances, they couldn’t help but note that pesky 20% decline in viewership. No official decisions were made, but the board is set to meet in April, at which point they may decide to re-join the fold of hiring hopefully ratings-embiggening hosts.
Before the 2019 Oscars, it had been three whole decades since the show went host-free. In 1989, the year Rain Man took Best Picture, had no emcee. The first time was back in 1939, the year of Frank Capra’s You Can’t Take It With You, and the three shows between 1968 and 1971 also had no showboating guiding hand. It’s too bad the Golden Globes, once ruled by an increasingly hostile Ricky Gervais, already nabbed Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for next year’s do. But you know who may still be available? Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph.
(Via THR)
