Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) announced that, for the second year in a row, the Oscars broadcast will not have a host.
Let’s dive into it.
So, what happened?
Last year, AMPAS had suffered a major scandal. Kevin Hart had originally been slated to host the event, was forced to step down after tweets with offensive language he had written years ago came to light.
Instead of finding another host, the Oscars chose to run the ceremony with a group of mini-hosts. And, while I wish that statement meant that there were a series of regular hosts shrunk to a smaller size, what is more accurate is that a group of people, any of whom of which would have been a great host (Tina Fey, Trevor Noah, Amy Poehler, etc.), stepped up and each did a few jokes here and there.
So, how did it go last year?
Honestly, pretty well.
While I like, for the most part, all of the people AMPAS has chosen to host the Oscars, some of them get a little too… well, gimmicky. Ellen took her selfie and Jimmy Kimmel surprised tourists by sneaking them into the Oscars.
And these things are all cute, but they also add up to a LONG ceremony. The removal of a host allowed last year’s Oscars to flow seamlessly and move a little faster than usual, a full thirty minutes shorter than in 2018.
Not having a host also didn’t seem to affect the ratings. In fact, the ratings improved from 2018 (though, this could have a lot to do with the fact that films that did better in the box office, including Black Panther, were also up for major awards).
Should you, Matt Drufke, host the Oscars this year?
Yes. I’d be awesome at it.
Should Ricky Gervais host?
No. Fuck that guy.
Fancy Boys Club 