After news broke over the weekend that Brett Ratner wanted Eddie Murphy to host the 84th Academy Awards, the massively successful comedian has agreed to the gig. As yesterday morning, the deal is officially sealed. Brett Ratner, one of the co-producers of this year's show (and director of the Rush Hour series and X-Men: Last Stand), worked with Murphy on Tower Heist, which is gathering positive buzz before its November 4th release. With the Academy having announced this decision much earlier than in the past (typically Oscar hosts and/or hostesses are not revealed until January), the move is definitely intended to be a publicity builder for both Ratner and Murphy. Catch the scoop after the jump.
Although Tower Heist is very marketable (the comedy's cast includes Eddit Murphy, Ben Stiller, and Matthew Broderick among others), few in Hollywood would shy from a word-spreading opportunity such as this. These days, non-franchise movies need all the attention they can get, regardless of star power. As much as the Oscars may not be as popular as they used to be, Ratner and co. have undoubtedly made a good play here (assuming Murphy doesn't go Sheen on everybody). Here's what the future host has to say:
“I am enormously honored to join the great list of past Academy Award hosts from Hope and Carson to Crystal, Martin and Goldberg, among others...I’m looking forward to working with Brett and Don on creating a show that is enjoyable for both the fans at home and for the audience at the Kodak Theatre as we all come together to celebrate and recognize the great film contributions and collaborations from the past year.”The quote is pretty generic, but hey, at least the guy is excited about it. I'm sure Eddie Murphy will do a fine job, and besting the James Franco/Anne Hathaway's effort of yesteryear probably won't be very hard. On top of this, former host Billy Crystal is set to make an appearance in "some marquee way" according to Deadline. It all sounds pretty rad to me.
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