Wolverine to host the oscars!

[narrows101]

They're going in a different direction since the ratings have gone down with comedians hosting and IMO they aren't very funny. Since Hugh is a movie star and the Oscars are about movies, it will be interesting to see what they come up with. And anyone that's watched his Tony Awards hosting, TV interviews, or even that Comic Con footage from July can see that he really knows how to "work a room." Here's more stuff:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2008/12/hugh-jackman-os.html

The Big Picture
Patrick Goldstein on the collision of entertainment, media and pop culture

Hugh Jackman: Oscar's hosting gig gets a face-lift
12:59 PM PT, Dec 12 2008

I'm beginning to think that Larry Mark and Bill Condon, the producers of this year's Academy Awards telecast, actually have a few tricks up their sleeves. More important, I think they're determined to take the woebegone Oscar telecast in a fresh new direction. That's the clear message of today's selection of Hugh Jackman as the host of February's broadcast. By opting for Jackman, a classy movie and theater star instead of a big-mouth comic, Mark and Condon are signaling that they're trying to turn the Oscars into a party instead of the usual three-hour-plus cobwebby self-congratulatory snooze-athon.​

The first thing Mark said when I got him on the phone this morning told me all I needed to hear. "In keeping with the thinking that the event needs to be more like a party," he said, "we're trying to make it very much like a party." Mark believes Jackman has the perfect party-host persona. "The Oscars are a celebration of movies, so who better to host than a movie star," Mark said. "Hugh can not only hold the screen, but he can hold the stage too, which is no small feat these days. He's done major theater work, from 'Oklahoma!' to 'Sunset Boulevard,' and he's not only hosted the Tony Awards, he actually won an Emmy for hosting them."​

Mark laughed. "That's not to suggest that the Tonys were an audition, but in a way they were. The fact that he was brilliant doing the Tonys certainly spoke well for his abilities."​

As it turns out, before Mark had seriously thought about casting a host, he saw Jackman perform at a benefit show for the Motion Picture and Television Fund (a show that Mark produced with "Milk" producer Dan Jinks). "Hugh was a hoot," he recalled. "He did a duet with Kristin Chenoweth on 'Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better,' completely off the cuff, with all sorts of improvised humor, and well, he was great. So when his name come up recently, we all thought, 'Wow, remember that night he did "Anything" and how he killed.' ''​

Mark also became convinced that Jackman had a special star quality after Mark saw him in "Australia." "Our whole idea for the show is that we want you to feel like you're not at a late-night TV show, but at a nightclub, where the host is saying, 'Welcome to the party--let's have a good time.' We're going for the contemporary feel that you'd have at the Cocoanut Grove or the Stork Club, where everyone is encouraged to have a good time. If this were the old days, we'd be asking Cary Grant or Clark Gable to be the host. I think Hugh has a lot of those same qualities. He's one of the few actors who has a real sense of occasion, who can say, 'Let's have a ball.' "​

So he's looking for someone who looks good in a tux? "Exactly," said Mark. "Not just that Hugh would look good in a tux, but that he looks comfortable in a tux." Would Jackman be doing a musical number himself? Mark hedged: "Let's just say that with Hugh, there'd be a good reason to do it. It's certainly extremely appealing. He's definitely not going to be doing a 10-minute comedy monologue."​

So how much does the Oscar host really matter? Can Jackman actually reverse the show's steady ratings decline? "I think the host matters on that night," Mark said. "I don't believe, in general, that people tune in to see the host. They tune in to see the Oscars. If the host gets to excel, that's an extra. So really a big part of our assignment is to get people to watch the show itself. It's not all on the host's shoulders. He's really there to set the tone and make everyone feel comfortable."​

Doesn't that mean that the burden to turn the show around is, well, on the producer's shoulders? Mark laughed again, this time more nervously. "I shudder to think, but I guess it is on us. But what really makes me optimistic is that Hugh was absolutely enthusiastic about doing it. He wasn't one of these people who'd said, 'I'd never want to do the Oscars in a million years.' He was really excited about it. I think that's a good sign. If nothing else, we're going to try to have a good time and really make this an event."​

​

 

[narrows101]

http://www.marvel.com/news/moviestories.6485.Wolverine,_Super_Heroes_and_the_Oscars

Wolverine, Super Heroes and the Oscars

Sid Ganis gives us the scoop on Hugh Jackman and whether a super hero flick will ever win a Best Picture
By John Cerilli

Wolverine hosting the Oscars? Of course, bub.

Wolvie's the best at what he does and the actor who portrays him, the multi-talented Hugh Jackman, is pretty damn good himself—a natural choice for the gig—just ask Sid Ganis, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a member of Marvel's Board of Directors.

Ganis graciously took some time out of his seemingly non-stop schedule to chat with us about all things Oscars and super heroes: Jackman's selection, what you'll be seeing on your TV come Oscar time on Feb. 22 and in this watershed year for the genre—why super hero films are so popular and moviemakers have a gigantic obligation to keep delivering the goods.


Marvel.com: Why Hugh Jackman and why now—especially after such a long run of comedians and actors with heavy comedic backgrounds hosting the show?

Sid Ganis: Well, actually, there are a couple of things. First of all Hugh Jackman is very funny. Take a look at that big gorgeous guy and put that beautiful smile on his face and a joke in his delivery; he actually turns out to be a very funny guy.

Marvel.com: Yes, he hosted the Tonys three times…

Sid Ganis: This is a stage actor. He knows what it is to perform before a live audience, whether it's the Tonys or a benefit or, of course, a Broadway musical. He knows what it means to work an audience. It's a very different scene than doing a movie and working the audience through the lens. He's completely familiar with it and prepared to move in any direction. He's prepared to deal with his audience—and he's got one hell of an audience to deal with that night. He's got a gigantic television audience, of course; one of the biggest. And then he has the esteemed audience in the Kodak Theatre.

Marvel.com: It's quite a mix to contend with, no question. How do you think his presence will shape the show and the broadcast? For example, will there be a standard "opening monologue" or will it give way to something more akin to Jackman's song and dance abilities and background?

Sid Ganis: I'm happy to talk about it, but in talking about it, I won't tell you anything, because I really want you to know that we are, for one thing, still in the planning stages. The second thing is it's going to have a different feel to it than previous shows for a number of reasons. One reason is that we have to freshen it up and make sure that the audience is intrigued and curious. That's one big reason. The other big reason is that we have this guy…We have Hugh Jackman. We have our man—near and dear to us at Marvel and familiar to the audience—who's going to bring a different sensibility to the whole thing.

Marvel.com: Undoubtedly. Which begs the question, what criteria are you going to use to judge his hosting abilities, or is it simply a matter of the ratings?

Sid Ganis: I'm not going to use any criteria to judge his hosting abilities in the sense that others will do it for me. You will! You're going to say to the guy sitting next to you, "Hey, man. That was sensational last night!" Or, "Oh boy, that sucked." So you're going to do the judging for me—thank you very much. I feel really good and secure in terms of the talent. When I say talent I mean he's a major talent and he's talented as a major talent. He's got the stuff. This man can sing and dance.

Marvel.com: Let's talk super heroes for a moment. 2008 has been a huge year for the likes of "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk," and that guy with the bat on his chest, "The Dark Knight." Is Hugh Jackman's selection connected to this?

Sid Ganis: No. Absolutely, positively not. It just so happens that I am fortunate enough to be the head of the Academy and also a Marvel dude at the same time. All that means is that I know what Jackman has done for our franchise. Other than that, no. I'll tell you what is important. You'll be seeing a lot of what the movies have to offer this year on the show. Not just the nominated movies, but the movies of the year. There have been quite a few super hero—as you put it—movies out this year that are important movies, regardless of whether they are nominated. We are going to feature the movies of the year a lot more than we've ever done [on the broadcast].

Marvel.com: That's really cool to know! So, to continue on the topic of super hero film popularity, in the last decade or so, we have seen audiences for these films grow dramatically. From your unique point of view—as a Marvel board member and as President of the Academy—why has the interest in these films become so widespread?

Sid Ganis: I can tell you why. It's simple. I can't do it from either of those points of view, but I can do it from my own understanding of film, of the art of film and the storytelling aspect of film. They have become absolutely fascinating documents. The stories associated now with the super hero films and this year's films are a perfect example—"The Dark Knight," "Iron Man " and who knows what "The Spirit" is going to bring (I know it's not really a super hero film)…We are interested as moviegoers because the stories are sensational, absolutely sensational. That's why. In the old days, they were less sensational. I do go back a bit with it as I worked at Warner Bros. at the time when we released and marketed the very first "Superman" movie. I've had that experience over the years in this genre and I've seen it change. I've seen these stories become so much more complex and reality driven.

Marvel.com: When "The Incredible Hulk" opened this summer, William Hurt (Thunderbolt Ross in the film) gave us this wonderful response to a question we asked on the red carpet that speaks to what you're saying. Hurt said the Hulk story, "Is not frivolous nonsense." In fact, he called it a "classic."

Sid Ganis: They endure for a reason. A bad story won't endure, but a good one will, whether it's a comic book, a poem or an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. Whatever it is, if it's good it will endure. People are fascinated and want to be transported today more than ever. We have a gigantic obligation to the movie-going public out there. We have to keep it on the level that we have just been talking about.

Marvel.com: With that in mind, do you ever imagine a day when a super hero film will win Best Picture?

Sid Ganis: [laughs] Boy, you really have to stretch your imagination for that. But yes, only because I am an optimist and have been my whole career. No kidding around, I will answer your question–sure, one day. Give us the right material and the right performance. Goodness gracious, we had two movies this year that bit into this possibility. One was "The Dark Knight" and the other was "Iron Man."

Watch the Academy Awards on ABC, Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 8 PM ET.

Hugh Jackman stars in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" opening in theaters May 1, 2009.

 

[Peter McCabe]

Iron Man's not even worthy of a best picture nomination, and Jon Favreau would agree with me.

 

[danoyse]

Iron Man's not even worthy of a best picture nomination, and Jon Favreau would agree with me.

No, but if Robert Downey Jr gets nominated for Tropic Thunder, I think the success of Iron Man will have helped that happen.

I'm hoping Bruce Springsteen gets nominated for his song from The Wrestler. I get him and Hugh on stage on the same night, I'll be happy.

 

[narrows101]

Well RDJ DID get nominated for TT, but Springsteen did not!

Barbara Walters announced on THE VIEW this morning that Hugh was going to be one of her guests on her annual Oscar special, that usually airs before the show on the East Coast (I think after the show on the West Coast). The other guests are Anne Hathaway, Mickey Rourke, and the Jonas Bros.

I would think XMen/Wolverine will come up since that was his big movie break.

 

[EnDz0n3]

So Hugh Jackman will be one of Barbara Walter's 10 Most Fascinating People of the Year? That's cool.

Walters annoys the heck out of me tho... LOL

Love the "Hosted by Hugh Jackman" part

^ Edit: added the poster

 

[danoyse]

Well RDJ DID get nominated for TT, but Springsteen did not!

Ugh, don't remind me. Apparently the Academy is both tone-deaf and stupid (they couldn't even give Christopher Nolan a nomination? really??).

Hugh is probably the only part of the show I'm looking forward to.

 

[Be Snikt-Happy]

just means more hype for the wolvie movie

 

[narrows101]

In an interview with the producers:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/1402ap_oscars_the_producers.html

AP: Are you really planning to close the show with clips from forthcoming films?

Mark: We're collecting them. The theory being this was 2008, and look at all the things you may have to look forward to in 2009 so that the show doesn't just end with "Good night."

Condon: It keeps you watching right through. The one rule we have is it's nothing that's appeared on trailers so it will be - if it works - a glimpse of stuff you've never seen before of the movies coming up.

 

[sniktsnakt]

^

Looking forward to it!

 

[CeeJay]

This is gonna be awesome.

 

[TNC9852002]

Ugh, don't remind me. Apparently the Academy is both tone-deaf and stupid (they couldn't even give Christopher Nolan a nomination? really??).

Hugh is probably the only part of the show I'm looking forward to.

I'm still not sure how people can determine when any particular song is worth nominating. I mean, the songs are usually of very different genres and styles and most people have varying interests in their tastes in music.

-TNC

 

[narrows101]

So Hugh Jackman will be one of Barbara Walter's 10 Most Fascinating People of the Year? That's cool.

Walters annoys the heck out of me tho... LOL

Love the "Hosted by Hugh Jackman" part

^ Edit: added the poster

No, the "10 most fascinating people" is a different special. This is the one that airs right before the Oscars with four people and is usually centered on that. It's on before the Oscars on the East Coast at 7:00 and after the Oscars on the West Coast.

 

[EnDz0n3]

No, the "10 most fascinating people" is a different special. This is the one that airs right before the Oscars with four people and is usually centered on that. It's on before the Oscars on the East Coast at 7:00 and after the Oscars on the West Coast.

K cool. Thanks narrows!~

It would've been great if Jackman would be named into her list...We'll see come Oscar time.

 

[danoyse]

K cool. Thanks narrows!~

It would've been great if Jackman would be named into her list...We'll see come Oscar time.

He was - he's going to be interviewed on the Barbara Walters special before the Oscars.

 

[RonStoppablefan]

I'm def going to watch now, but hey I liked Iron Man >>
Ok I hope we get a few Wolverine solo movie spots during all of this.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

In an interview with the producers:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/1402ap_oscars_the_producers.html

I'm likeing the sound of that. Really cool.

 

[narrows101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnDz0n3
K cool. Thanks narrows!~

It would've been great if Jackman would be named into her list...We'll see come Oscar time.

He was - he's going to be interviewed on the Barbara Walters special before the Oscars.

Just to be clear - these are two separate specials. Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People" special aired a few months ago and Hugh was not on the list. Barbara Walters Oscar special is airing on Feb. 22, the night of the show, and he will be one of the four interviewed.

 

[narrows101]

Notice who took Hugh's Oscar promo snaps - all four have the same caption.

In this image released by ABC, Hugh Jackman, host of the 81st Academy Awards, is shown on Jan. 28, 2009. Jackman will host the awards show for the first time, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009 airing at 8:00 p.m. EDT on ABC.(AP Photo/ABC, Brett Ratner)

 

[BMM]

I wonder if Jackman will make mention of Wolverine. I remember catching a clip of him hosting the Tony Awards in which he makes light of the fact that Wolverine dancing makes studio executives nervous.

 

[narrows101]

I wonder if Jackman will make mention of Wolverine. I remember catching a clip of him hosting the Tony Awards in which he makes light of the fact that Wolverine dancing makes studio executives nervous.

I bet you he does, especially with TDK in the mix, plus it's a salute to movies. Speaking of TDK, he made a nice salute to Heath when asked about "favorites" in his press interview:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25053816-5012974,00.html

AUSTRALIA'S Hollywood hunk Hugh Jackman is planning to party when he hosts the Oscars next weekend.

"Celebration is the key," Jackman has told reporters.

"I'm certainly going to have a good time. If I'm not going to have a good time, how the hell is anybody else?''

Academy Awards producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon have said they plan to take the ceremony in a new direction on February 22.

Jackman refused to speculate on his favourites among the contenders, with one emotional exception, the late Heath Ledger, a best supporting actor nominee for The Dark Knight.

Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs last year at the age of 28.

"I can't hide the fact that I would really love for that honour to be bestowed upon him,'' Jackman said. ``It would be fitting and I think he deserves it.''

 

[danoyse]

I wonder if Jackman will make mention of Wolverine. I remember catching a clip of him hosting the Tony Awards in which he makes light of the fact that Wolverine dancing makes studio executives nervous.

I've heard that during a commercial break at the 2004 Tonys (right after he danced with Sarah Jessica Parker in full Peter Allen-mode) he jokingly announced to the audience that Fox just called to tell him that they had just recast Wolverine.

 

[narrows101]

http://www.thepost.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1437428

Don't be surprised if Jackman mentions a certain screen character of his, since "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is due in theaters May 1. "There was a suggestion from the head of the studio that I host this with the claws on," he muses, "and I actually thought that was pretty good.

"I suppose I'm a little naive about how that kind of publicity works. People who are fans of Wolverine probably don't want to see me in a tux hosting the Oscars -it's kind of the antithesis of who that character is -but at the end of the day, I just see it for the great opportunity and great night that it is."

 

[sniktsnakt]

http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/blog/32-oscars-show-secrets-revealed?nc

Sean Phillips: So, how are you going to rectify the diminishing viewership of the show?

Laurence Mark: Oh wow, well I hope that we can avoid further erosion. It isn't our -- it isn't the producer's gig. All we hope to do is put on a terrific show, and hope people watch. As far as the selling of it and the marketing of it, we're in ABC's hands, although I must say I would think Hugh Jackman would be a big plus. Certainly feels to me that he's helpful in a big way in this area.

SP: Let's talk a little more about the selection of Hugh. Of course he's hosted the Tony's before very successfully. How'd you go about choosing him?

LM: You know we wanted a movie star, 'cause we thought this was an evening about movies, and let's get a movie star. And in the old days we would have called on Clark Gable or Cary Grant and, in this case, Hugh Jackman seems like our version of one of those guys these days. Also, he sings, he dances, he acts, and he looks terrific in a tuxedo. So my hope's we get to use all four of those talents wisely.

SP: I'm wondering if he's got any of his own "Billy Crystal"-style moments up his sleeve?

LM: Well, Billy Crystal was Billy Crystal and we shouldn't do that, because that's what Billy did so brilliantly, you know? But certainly Hugh can do, you know, his reinvention of himself. Baz Lurhman is doing the production numbers smack in the middle of the show, and Hugh's having a terrific time rehearsing for that.

 

[narrows101]

Feast your eyes on this rehearsal video Wolverine fans:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=7382