Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicone mines EW for the rumor/tease suggesting Ricky Gervais is being courted to host the Oscars. But is his intentionally graceless demeanor too clever and caustic for the masses to grasp?
Gervais’s “The Office” inspired Steve Carell’s US spin-off but is pretty much unknown to American audiences. This leads me to believe Gervais would destroy at the Oscars, but the moment would be lost on an American audience, which would result in many calling it a failure.
After the dumbing down of the already-plenty-dumb-enough Emmys, I’m starting to resent awards ceremonies that sacrifice quality in a futile attempt to reach low enough to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Maybe Bill Condon will realize that people who buy Cadillacs and pay to see foreign films can handle humor more sophisticated than Bruce Vilanch wink-wink nudge-nudge jokes that went out of style with Bob Hope’s plaid golf knickers.
27 Responses for "Ricky Gervais, Oscar host?"
That would be perfect. Please, please, PLEASE HAPPEN!
Either him or Chris Rock.
Yes please.
To see Gervais go from the 11 O’Clock Show all those years ago to hosting the Oscars would be pretty surreal. I certainly never would have guessed it. He’s hillarious in those kinds of situations though (anyone who brings up the Diana Memorial Concert in this thread to prove he shouldn’t host is taking it out of context) so I say make it happen. I still think Jerry Seinfeld would be a good choice as well.
Oh no way, I was JUST thinking how great it would have been for him to host the Emmys. Yes, make this happen. I’d love to see either he or Bill Maher host.
Well, he was asked if hosting the Emmys next year is something he might be interested in:
“You may have heard a rumour that I will host next year’s Emmys. All that has happened is I was asked via my agent if that was something I might be interested in. That’s it.”
I personally would love this, but the perception would probably be that he had bombed. I don’t think most celebrities are smart enough to understand his humor personally, and so I don’t think many would laugh at his antics. Maybe the writers can laugh loud enough to compensate for everyone else. Chris Rock would be great too. Don’t know about Maher doing it. I don’t think his jokes are light enough.
How about Jon Stewart???? Wait…
I’d love to see it be Ricky Gervais, especially after seeing how funny he was at the Emmys in that whole situation with Steve Carrell (who also wouldn’t make a bad host).
Actually, as long as it isn’t Justin Timberlake, I’m happy.
Add me to the list who think Gervais would be a great host. I’m not completely sure, but I don’t think Billy Crystal was exactly a household name when he took the reins. As for Chris Rock, he’s a brilliant comedian, but he just didn’t seem to be comfortable as the host.
Ricky would be alright, but I’d still prefer Conan O’Brien – just before he takes over The Tonight Show. These or… Billy Crystal (will he ever come back? – he’s the best).
“Don’t know about Maher doing it. I don’t think his jokes are light enough.”
-Oh they DEFINITELY are not! Haha. I don’t think he’ll ever be asked to host, what with his first show being cancelled for being too controversial and his almost certain attack of religion.
But I say him for the same reason I think Gervais would be a good host, and the same reason I think Rock was: it sure wouldn’t be boring.
Honestly, I thought Jon Stewart was good….if like every other goddamn Oscar host, he’s screwed by the stiff and rigid bullshit that is the awards broadcast.
Well Maher will probably be a nominee this year for Religulous so I think that knocks his chances of hosting down considerably. Look at what happened to the MTV Video Music Awards. Unknown host (Russell Brand) yet huge ratings, why? It’s because of Britney’s “comeback” which drew people in. All they need to do is nominate The Dark Knight and they have their ratings. Maybe if The Wrestler is a big hit or if RDJ gets nominated for something they could advertise using clips of him as Iron Man and Kirk Lazarus
Getting Gervais to host the Oscars? Maybe the BAFTAs should get Larry David? Honestly, I just don’t think his brand of humor necessarily translates well in a host capacity (his stand up is exactly very good).
There is one home run name out there they’d never get, but who’d be perfect for it and would do it in a heartbeat: Kathy Griffin. Her material and sensibility is made for awards shows. It’s practically her stand up routine…
My fellow Oscar Nerds, with the Oscar Host Crisis, I propose that we suspend our AwardsDaily Oscar talk so we can join together in a bi-partisan effort to solve this problem about who would be our next Oscar host.
I also suggest that we delay anymore Oscar talk or topics or articles or columns by Sasha and Ryan, especially those to be posted tomorrow, that they suspend their activities as well.
And no, this isn’t a weak-pisser satire on McCain yesterday.
While I’d love to see Gervais host, the Academy would never embrace him. The only jokes they like are ones based on the premise of how brilliant they are. Sure, they won’t object if a couple of mean jokes are thrown in, but Gervais’s mean to nice ratio is way to high for them. They wouldn’t want a whole show of him saying things like, “Look at his stupid face.”
Wow, Brevet, thanks for underestimating the American audience. Besides, it is likely that if you are among the kind of audience that watches the Oscars, you know who Ricky Gervais IS.
Kathy Griffin would send the show in new directions but I don’t think the Academy would go for it in a million years.
To me, Jerry Seinfeld says “old” in the context of an Oscar show. Though I like him, the entertainment factor of having him there would be limited when you consider the broader audience. Though a host should have the ability to make fun of Hollywood and the Oscars, there needs to be that gravitas factor.
I’d rather see Jack Black do it. Not only is his appeal more universal, he has the ability to do song-and-dance schtick with a humorous bent, and — with all his talent — I believe he can do gravitas.
Steve Martin again–best host in years.
What a marvelous idea, Ricky Gervais as the host! That’s the first good idea I’ve heard all day, after all this McCain campaign suspension crap.
I agree Steve Martin could make a very good host, but only if he’s looser than he was last time around. There’s something to be said for dignity and all that, but I want more humor from my host than Martin displayed. I think Jack Black could do that and also attract more viewers.
I don’t think Gervais translating to American humor would be as hard as people are saying. I watched the Emmys with my parents, who are pretty much in the group of standard audience people we’re talking about, and they thought he was much of a riot as I did.
The oddest thing is that among uk comedy websites Gervais is coming to be looked upon as the anti-christ, but over in the U.S. you guys are still in your honeymoon period with him. Did you get to see the interview with Garry Shandling in America? Shandling seems to have been one of the few big American names to actually see through Gervais so far. In all honesty, I think everything post- The Office has been pretty bad. Series one of Extras had some good moments but the second series was terrible, especially the Ian McKellan and the Baftas episodes. Gervais’s legacy is currently built on one strong show, one mixed one, some incredibly lazy stand-up and (so far) a very uninspiring run of movie appearances. If you want to check out a UK comedian who deserves the respect currently being given to Gervais then try and find some Daniel Kitson material.
I think Steve Martin would be great to have back as a host, too, but in all honesty I think there’s a small potential for boring-ness there.
I think Jack Black could pull it off, but seeing his name made me think of another…what about Robert Downey Jr.? Obviously not this year since he will most likely have a nomination in some category, but I think that would be quite interesting now that we know just how funny his is capable of being.
There have been many capable hosts who have done a mighty fine job (Ellen DeGeneres, Chris Rock, Whoopi, Jon Stewart) but the hard part is finding someone to take it above and beyond.
HELL NO!! I can’t stand Ricky Gervais. He’s one guy who’s guaranteed to PREVENT me from watching the Oscars for the first time in about 15 years.
Give the Oscar Host job to George Clooney.
“HELL NO!! I can’t stand Ricky Gervais. He’s one guy who’s guaranteed to PREVENT me from watching the Oscars for the first time in about 15 years.
Give the Oscar Host job to George Clooney.”
^ My moron radar just started beeping like fucking wildfire!
Anyone who doesn’t appreciate Ricky’s brilliance, yet finds Clooney’s smug little “oh I’m so rich and powerful but I’m just a wacky regular joe” act amusing should probably not be legally allowed to watch the Oscars in the first place…
OR TO VOTE, FOR THAT MATTER!
It’s somewhat unsettling to find that some think that Gervais’ humor is a bit too smart for Americans.
He would make a great host.
His bit with Carell at the Emmys was many people’s favorite part of the show, if not for some, the only part they enjoyed. (Yes, I’m part of that group…)
I also think Carell would make a great host and I’m sure many viewers would be delighted if he was.
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