Jon Stewart reportedly to host the Oscars

[busyba]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10721450/

w00t! :)

[GoodSpike]

I like Jon Stewart, but I think this is a bad idea. The Oscars are too political as it is, and his presence will make that worse. The Oscars should be about movies, not the political views of those who work in the entertainment industry.

[itsmeitsmeitsme]

Its quite obvious the wheels at the Oscars want the show to be more political. Don't you think?

[mdsutherland]

Its quite obvious the wheels at the Oscars want the show to be more political. Don't you think?

I don't think the Oscars want that at all. Sucks Billy can't do it every year.

[cheesesteak]

Jon Stewart is funny. That's what the Oscars people want.

[mrpantstm]

Jon Stewart is funny but is he the right kind of funny that hosts an award ceremony?

Award ceremonys, the host normally has a 1-2 minute bit between awards. I didn't catch much of Chris Rock hosting but I don't think he was able to get into his A game when he did.

Billy Crystal on the other hand lives for the quick joke and has been in the movie business for awhile so he can have a lot inside jokes with the other actors.

Jon Stewart hosting isn't a bad thing but I really don't watch the Oscars anyway so....

[GoodSpike]

Jon Stewart is funny. That's what the Oscars people want.

But they might get more than funny, that's my concern.

[Magnolia88]

I like Jon Stewart, but I think this is a bad idea. The Oscars are too political as it is, and his presence will make that worse. The Oscars should be about movies, not the political views of those who work in the entertainment industry.

Jon Stewart is a very funny comedian who knows how to choose his material for his audience. He can do show business humor fine, and he'll probably manage to poke fun at his own less than illustrious move career (Big Daddy, anyone?). He won't be bringing The Daily Show to the Oscars, even if he throws in a political joke or two. (And Whoopi Goldberg is probably better known for political humor, and she's hosted a few times now.)

I'm sort of surprised that people don't remember that Jon had a career before TDS and that he isn't limited to "political" humor. Doesn't anyone remember him on Larry Sanders? He's not going to be up there spouting political views -- he doesn't even do that much on TDS, for pete's sake. He's a comedian. He'll bring the funny and that's all that matters.

[busyba]

Jon Stewart is a very funny comedian who knows how to choose his material for his audience. He can do show business humor fine, and he'll probably manage to poke fun at his own less than illustrious move career (Big Daddy, anyone?). He won't be bringing The Daily Show to the Oscars, even if he throws in a political joke or two. (And Whoopi Goldberg is probably better known for political humor, and she's hosted a few times now.)

I'm sort of surprised that people don't remember that Jon had a career before TDS and that he isn't limited to "political" humor. Doesn't anyone remember him on Larry Sanders? He's not going to be up there spouting political views -- he doesn't even do that much on TDS, for pete's sake. He's a comedian. He'll bring the funny and that's all that matters.

Exactly.

And it's not like he's never done anything like this before. He's hosted the Grammys twice.

[BLeonard]

I think Jon Stewart will be a good host.

Although I'm one of the few that thought David Letterman was a GREAT host for the Oscars.

[mmilton80]

Wow...normally I stay away from all award shows, but I may TiVo this one (and fast forward through much of it)

[Big Deficit]

Note to Jon:

Do NOT mention or even think about Uma Thurman or Oprah Winfrey !

[iceturkee]

well, we all remember what happened when letterman hosted.......bombs away!! i love jon stewart's humor. will it work on the oscars, i guess that depends on what direction the producers want to take this year.

[DeDondeEs]

If he hosts it like the Daily Show then the Oscars will contain 3 jokes (1 about Jewish people and one used at the last Oscars), have a boring awkward interview, and be 90% commercials.

[johnb41]

Normally i don't go out of my way to watch the Oscars, but w/ Jon Stewart, i'll be sure not to miss it... er, i mean Tivo it! :)

John

[TAsunder]

Seems like a ploy to attract that 18-35 year old demographic. But it works, because I'm in that demographic and am excited. If they want to go all out, they should have Colbert podcast analysis at the same time.

[nedthelab]

If you have ever seen his stand up routine he is hilarious - it will be very amusing

[sieglinde]

Jon Stewart is quick on his feet which is a must since this is an unscripted show. He does make a lot of fun of celebraties on his Daily Show so this is appropriate.

[RayChuang88]

I like Jon Stewart, but I think this is a bad idea. The Oscars are too political as it is, and his presence will make that worse. The Oscars should be about movies, not the political views of those who work in the entertainment industry.

That selection will ensure that the Oscar ceremonies will have its lowest ratings in quite some time, that's to be sure. :down:

[busyba]

That selection will ensure that the Oscar ceremonies will have its lowest ratings in quite some time, that's to be sure. :down:
The low ratings will likely have more to do with the lack of compelling and interesting Oscar races this year than it will with the choice of host.

[peitsche]

well, we all remember what happened when letterman hosted.......bombs away!! i love jon stewart's humor. will it work on the oscars, i guess that depends on what direction the producers want to take this year.

here it is again. I saw Oprah on Letterman last month and they talked about his Oscar's performance as well. she even gave him a photo of herself with Uma Thurman. I had no idea what they were talking about. I know this sounds crazy but I didn't watch the Oscars that year and haven't heard anything about Letterman's hosting performance. my only excuse is that I didn't move to the U.S. until 1997... :D

[iDriveX]

The Oscars people don't care who hosts, who comes, and who does what.

They care about what every other television show cares about: Selling Advertising.

Jon Stewart will bring in a HUGE 18-35 demographic, which will up advertising sale prices, and make the Oscars more money. They probably already feel they have the over-35 demo picked up, but 18-35 rarely watches an award show...

[frankmint]

Jon Stewart is a very funny comedian who knows how to choose his material for his audience. He can do show business humor fine, and he'll probably manage to poke fun at his own less than illustrious move career (Big Daddy, anyone?).

He knows his audience, as you say. Just watch Elmopoloza! :D

[getbak]

here it is again. I saw Oprah on Letterman last month and they talked about his Oscar's performance as well. she even gave him a photo of herself with Uma Thurman. I had no idea what they were talking about. I know this sounds crazy but I didn't watch the Oscars that year and haven't heard anything about Letterman's hosting performance. my only excuse is that I didn't move to the U.S. until 1997... :D

When Dave hosted the Oscars in 1994 (? or 95), a lot of his jokes bombed heavily (he even brought Tom Hanks - who won Best Actor that year - up on stage to help out with Stupid Pet Tricks).

Anyway, that was the year that Pulp Fiction came out (which means it must have been 1995) and Uma Thurman was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Oprah was also there for some reason. At one point in the show, Dave walked towards Oprah's section of the theater (at which point, Oprah became visibly concerned about what he was going to do) and said "Oprah...Uma. Uma...Oprah", as if he were introducing them.

My explanation makes about as much sense as the joke did, and it was basically the biggest bomb of the night.

Dave, being Dave, has made frequent references to that night (when he almost put Hollywood out of business) and that joke.




I think Jon Stewart is the likely successor to the Late Show when Dave retires (the day after Leno retires, or so Dave claims), and hopefully, his hosting gig on the Oscars won't be as bad as Dave's was.

Jon also mentioned that he'll be hosting the Oscars at the beginning of the Daily Show yesterday, so it appears to be more than a rumor.

In case you missed it, he said that being asked to host the Oscars is the comedic equivalent of winning the Heisman Trophy, and no matter what he does over the rest of his career, they won't be able to take it away from him...unless he commits a brutal double murder and loses it in the civil suit.

[JediCowboyD]

Its quite obvious the wheels at the Oscars want the show to be more political. Don't you think?
In that case, bring back Chris Rock.

[alpacaboy]

I've always liked Jon Stewart's comedy. Even before the Daily Show, I sometimes saw or heard his stand-up routine, and he consistently had me laughing until it was painful. A lot of what I heard was from the Kevin & Bean (local DJs) Christmas album, where Stewart would often do a Jewish related bit.

I also like him on the Daily Show. His entertainment/comedy strikes me as very smart. While his political views are very very clear, it doesn't feel like he's pushing an agenda, other than maybe an idealistic return to objectivity in news reporting (he's pointed out that the Daily Show is not a news show despite people using it that way - it's a cable comedy show with a lead-in of puppets making crank calls...).

I'm surprised no one has mentioned/discussed the political bit he did at last year's Emmys. I thought it was very funny without being offensive. Now, I'm wondering if that was like a test drive.
- grabbing some fruit, slicing it off, ...
- telling the current administration to go to... CBS and watch "2 1/2 Men"
That bit was one of the highlights of the show to me. Well, that and Kristen Bell and her midriff performing Fame, introduced by Alyson Hannigan (and NPH)


Though of course, I know I'm in the minority in thinking "Uma... Oprah... Uma... Oprah..." was funny. I think of that whenever I hear either name.

[Peter000]

Jon Stewart is quick on his feet which is a must since this is an unscripted show. He does make a lot of fun of celebraties on his Daily Show so this is appropriate.The show is totally scripted. They throw in jokes on the fly, but usually have tons of pre-prepared material for many eventualities ready to go. And they have a team of writers backstage thinking up jokes on the fly. So, "quick on his feet" is not as big of a requirement as it seems.

As for political humor, bring it on. :) If it's funny, and relevant to the situation.

[getbak]

And they have a team of writers backstage thinking up jokes on the fly.

The genius of Bruce Vilanche.

[David Platt]

The genius of Bruce Vilanche.

I never thought I'd see "genius" and "Bruce Vilanche" in the same sentence. ;)

[RayChuang88]

The low ratings will likely have more to do with the lack of compelling and interesting Oscar races this year than it will with the choice of host.

I think it's almost a given that Brokeback Mountain will will at least four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Cinematography, and Best Actor (Heath Ledger).

Stewart is walking a fine line because he runs the risk of offending quite a lot of people, given what I've seen on his work in The Daily Show.

[cheesesteak]

Let's outlaw jokes. People may get offended.

Chris Rock's sin was that his jokes got personal. Nobody but him had a problem with Jude Law.

[kiljoy]

I know that I'll be watching the Oscars for the first time. This is a great move from an marketing standpoint. All the people that normally watch this crap will watch anyway, but I'm guessing Stewart's audience doesn't cross over that much.

Tony