No, Starsky & Holmes won’t be hosting the Oscars.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ newly selected producers Adam Shankman & Bill Mechanic went to Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr and asked them to host as a duo. It would have been a killer combo. But the answer was no. (Deadline Hollywood)
Thank. God. Downey alone or with another sharp partner would have been terrific. Ben Stiller is not enough Tenenbaum and way too much Focktard for me.
I can already hear the distant rumblings of Topic Thunder.
37 Responses for "Sigh of relief as Stiller/Downey reject offer to wreck the Oscars"
Would love to see the duo hosting the Oscars. Tropic Thunder is one of my favorite comedies of all time.
Ben stiller alone can do a better job than Hugh Jackman anyday, anywhere, any place and anytime. I am personally disappointed that they turned it down.
Downey Jr is awful. *shudders at the memory of the vile Oscar roundtable*
I thought Jackman did an amazing job actually. And Stiller would have def brought the Oscars down to MTV Movie Awards level. Downey by himself, perhaps.
This was never going to happen. The academy knows that you never go full focktard.
Stiller bringing Oscars to Mtv movie awards level? lol and what did Jackman do last year? he turned the Oscars into a bad performance at the Tonys. I’ll pick Stiller over Jackman in a heart beat.
Robert Downey Jr would have done a fantastic job!! Ben Stiller I can hardly stomach. Robert was what made Tropic Thunder worth watching or the movie would have failed miserably. You know Ben Stiller probably knows that too. I doubt if they would take Ben as a host if Robert turned them down.
Downey is a bizarre candidate: the best moments in his Oscar roundtable appearance last year were when Frank Langella stared off into the ether and asked what the hell his fellow panelist was talking about.
“And Stiller would have def brought the Oscars down to MTV Movie Awards”
KC, you nailed it. I was groping around trying to find words to explain why Stiller’s shtick feels all wrong, and here you’ve crystallized it perfectly.
What is this masochistic urge of Oscar producers to have everybody dress up for the most elegant, glamorous and prestigious movie event of the year — and then splatter everybody in the front rows with curbside gutter gunk from third-rate presenters?
How to entertain our most talented entertainers? With lame banter and burlesque skits that would’ve been embarrassing during the vaudeville era.
“The academy knows that you never go full focktard.”
ahaha! limeymcfrog for the slamdunk!
Thanks for the first genuine LOL of the
dayweek.I suggested Streep a few weeks back and I’m sticking with it. Hell, toss Clooney in there as well for a dynamic duo. To hell with “nominees can’t host.”
I’d be up for Downey as host. Stiller would suprise me, but I don’t think he would perform poorly.
Why were they approached together? I know they were in Tropic Thunder together, but it’s not like they’re some well-known dynamic duo.
“And Stiller would have def brought the Oscars down to MTV Movie Awards”
Like it hasn’t happened before. Chris Rock anyone?
Co-Hosts: Stephen Merchant & Karl Pilkington and hold the event the same night as the Golden Globes with a satellite link between the two shows. In motion-captured 3D. Or Zombie Johnny Carson.
I would actually choose Will Smith, the biggest movie star in the world, or Catherine Zeta-Jones
I’m glad they turned it down, wouldn’t really want either of them to host.
I actually like Loyal’s suggestion of Meryl Streep hosting, I’m sure she would be fantastic.
I’m getting this sinking feeling that we’re going to see Adam Sandler as host.
And I’m not joking, either.
A duo? I hope they’re considering Steve Martin and Tina Fey.
You CAN’T compare Stiller and Jackman. Stiller can’t sing or dance, he is not a musical performer and Jackman is not a comedian. You can say that you prefer comedy to a musical number for the Oscars opening. And you can’t say Jackman ‘turned the Oscars into a bad performance at the Tonys’ cause his performances actually earned an Emmy Award. Plus, Jackman presented the Tony Awards three times in row (2003-2005). For his hosting duties on 2004 he won an Emmy Award, for his hosting duties on 2005 he was nominated for another Emmy. As a musical performer he has won a Tony, a Drama Desk and a Theatre World Award. You can say that you didn’t like last year’s opening number cause you don’t like musical stuff but you can’t call Hugh Jackman ‘bad’ in this era or compare him with Stiller. Not in a million years would Stiller beat Jackman in a musical number, and not in a million years would Jackman be funnier than Stiller in a stand-up comedy number. Better check facts and think before writing and respect people’s careers.
I think it’s already been determined that Martin & Fey are unavailable, whatlobster.
Retlaw, re: your sinking feeling.
My heart lurched just to find out that Stiller had been asked. Tells us what they’re aiming for, doesn’t it?
@ Afrika
Stiller has never amused me.
the hosts are steve martin and alec baldwin it’s official
here’s the url of the announcement http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2009/20091103.html
Hugh Jackman’s performance last year was generally praised by critics and I couldn’t agree more with them. He was a delight to watch and I was disappointed to read that he turned down the offer this year. In fact, I watched the 2009 show just because he was hosting. I don’t think Ben Stiller would make me sit through the 3 hours long event.
@ganonlink1991
Well, that’s good news I guess. I thought Steve Martin was hilarious last year.
I won’t complain at all about Steve Martin returning. The man is one of my all time favorite comics and former Disney cast members. Can’t find anything to say negatively about Baldwin, either. I guess you need two for ten Best Picture nominees.
Look, I like Downey. I do, but sometimes I wonder if people who like him a whole lot realize how he isn’t primed to do everything. He would be a TERRIBLE Oscar host. His humor is very hit-or-miss, and it misses a lot. Check out (as someone said) his Oscar roundtable clip, or his thing with Ben and Jack Black on Moviefone (you can still see it on YouTube).
If that kind of thing floats your boat, then more power to you. But I personally would struggle to sit through something I love as much as the Oscars for 4 hours cringing at how the host has already run out of gas ten minutes into the show.
Jackman has a strong gay following so I am not surprised that AD is rallying behind him.
You also have to remember there are a lot of straight men from a wide range of age groups who find Stiller to be extremely funny. These same men probably don’t care too much for Jackman and his flamboyant singing/dancing. Not everyone wants to see a man singing “I’m putting on my top hat…” and wearing tight trousers. While singing, dancing and muscles might be a huge draw for you, it is not for some people.
Thus, dismissing Stiller baffles me because, just like Jackman, he has the potential to draw in huge crowds. They may not be Jackman’s crowd but they are huge nontheless.
“You also have to remember there are a lot of straight men from a wide range of age groups who find Stiller to be extremely funny.”
And 90% of those guys are watching ESPN2 on Oscar night, even if Brett Farvre and Anna Kournikova were hosting the Oscars.
The other 10% are bi-curious.
“And 90% of those guys are watching ESPN2 on Oscar night, even if Brett Farvre and Anna Kournikova were hosting the Oscars.
The other 10% are bi-curious.”
That is why hosts like Stiller are very much needed because they draw would draw in a huge population of people who normally do not watch the Oscars.
Are you also insinuating that straight men don’t watch the Oscars? if 90 percent are watching ESPN and the other 10 percent are bi-curious, that means zero percent of straight men watch the Oscars right? You of all people should know a thing or two about generalizing/stereotyping. Oh wait! maybe you don’t. My bad.
“Are you also insinuating that straight men don’t watch the Oscars?”
Relax, Iron Man.
Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
I knew what you were getting at RYan. I’ve been here long enough to know your sneaky techniques but I still ate right out of your palm.
Sound like it’s time for some Purell.
I’m glad they rejected the gig just so Ryan had an excuse to photoshop this post.
“Focktard”. Boy does this tell me everything I need to know about your mindset. While I don’t personally like either team as Oscar hosts, this one at least does not make me yawn and put me to sleep the same way Martin and Baldwin do. Though it’s also a year too late and they would’ve made excellent hosts for last yea’rs event, had Hugh Jackman and co. not turned it into the Tony’s while The Academy ignored the best films of the year in favor of awarding social relevance over artistic merit.
Ben Stiller is too lowbrow for the Oscars. He might attract younger viewers but the telecast would become lame joke after lame joke (and this is even compared to the regular lame jokes). Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin seem like a much more intelligent choice!
thefffurbelow.blogspot.com
Did you guys see the interview in Entertainment Weekly with Adam Shankman? Here’s what he had to say about the Stiller/Downey Jr. rumor:
“EW: Can you address the rumors today about Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller?
AS: Oh my God. There were so many names that we’ve thrown around. Those were names that were a quick discussion but I wanted early on to go in the direction we ended up.”
Afrika– Are you Ben Stiller’s agent? You’re not? Oh, “my bad”.
AJ– I agree, I wasn’t a fan of the year Chris Rock hosted either. I don’t think I implied that this would be the first time the Oscars had been brought down by the choice of host.
Ryan– Thanks.
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