In a very interesting choice, Seth MacFarlane has been tapped to host the Academy Awards. I think Seth was great on SNL, and he is a funny, very creative guy, but I wonder if this is just a little outside his element. The whole world is watching and if you are not careful, you can really mess with your career. People still laugh about Letterman trying to host the Academy Awards and that was two decades ago. Anne Hathaway and James Franco? Disaster. Here is what Seth had to say about it.
"It's truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars. My two thoughts upon hearing the news were, 1) I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors and 2) I hope they don't find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen Roast."
Seth is great, I think he will approach it like the golden age of hollywood Bob Hope era.
ReplyDeleteAnything but Billy Crystal again seeing his face melt and the horrible bits was just cringe worthy.
At least we know any musical numbers will be excellent!
ReplyDeleteWhy can't Jamie Foxx do it, he has an Oscar and he is funny.
ReplyDeleteI hope the censors are ready for him.
ReplyDeleteI'm coming out of lurkdom to say I love Seth and I'm so excited for this! I think he will do a great job...he really has that "old school" performer persona on lock.
ReplyDeleteThe early positive comments here about Seth bode well for the Oscars. I personally don't find him that funny, and I think his brand of humor is cheap & easy. I also don't think he takes jokes about himself very well, which seems odd for a comedian. However, I'm willing to be proved wrong next February. Good luck to him!
ReplyDeleteHe sold the rights to Family Guy for 100 million and made a ton of money from "Ted". Somehow I doubt he's concerned about messing up his career.
ReplyDeleteThough I do agree it's an interesting choice. Sadly he's more known for the fart/gay jokes than he is for his singing (which is fantastic, btw)
My mom, the sweet proper wife of a priest fell in love with Seth after hearing him sing on a recent PBS special. I didn't have the heart to tell her about Family Guy. I just giggle at her new crush! I think Seth hosting is genius bc who else could get a 70 year old and a 33 year old to tune into the same award show which neither has watched in 25 years?
DeleteHe is going to make this snooze fest worth watching. I hope he talks like the family guy characters throughtout the show a la the emmy's when he messed up and spoke like stewie
ReplyDeleteI can't look at him without thinking "Peter Brady."
ReplyDeleteI think he looks a bit like George Michael in this photo, scary. I think he will be OK, not great, because lets face it it's the Oscars after all.
ReplyDeleteSeth should host the Oscars while doing his Ryan Lochte impersonation.
ReplyDeleteI think Seth is a masterful talent, and with others' advice here, I'll add this:
ReplyDeleteSeth CAN bring a dash of class and 'Old Hollywood' levels of quality--IF he doesn't sabotage himself. He seems to never be able to believe people are buying his 'straight' talent, and inevitably falls back on the sophomoric.**
Btw, I love all Seth's shows, sophomoric as they can be. It's just I KNOW Seth M has a whole 'nother LEVEL to what he can bring to this, I just hope he can leave his self-doubts (and fart-joke-crutches) successfully behind for an evening. As someone noted--the songs will be EPIC. I'm agnostic, but his voice is truly something the lord made.
**(I know I'm acting all 'Insecurity Whisperer' here, sorry. It's JMO from observing him nigh these many years.)
I think this can go either way. Seth is brilliant, IMO, but like others have said, a lot of that is potty humor, etc. But that's not all he has in him, for sure. I'm interested to see how he does.
ReplyDeleteHe looks kind of like a young Burt Reynolds...mixed with a dash of Peter Brady.
ReplyDeletei like it. he is funny and crude and yes
ReplyDeleteI think the comment regarding high standards was a bit of veiled snark.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think Seth is a bit full of himself. Hopefully he takes the high road and doesn't resort to the locker room humor. One joke like that, OK. But not a whole night of it.
@lola so true, you got the nail on the head with that one.
ReplyDeleteInstead of the usual 10-second broadcast delay, they are using a 3-day broadcast delay for Seth...
ReplyDeletenot a fan, hate his shows but I didn't hire him, so my opinion doesn't count.
ReplyDelete@rhino of course your opinion counts just as much as his fans! Did u watch the Emmys before but u won't his year bc u can't stand the host or do u never wath and dont care? That's just as important here as people going omg I love him I can't wait! I hate the Emmys but love Seth so if I remember I'll tune in until I'm bored or watch highlights the next day.
DeleteThis should be good. What would be better would be for Ricky Gervais to host the Oscars, though. That w/b awesome, to see everyone all dolled up as the lights go down, and then Ricky strolls out, holding a pint, bowtie already askew. Just the initial reaction shots alone would make it worth it.
ReplyDeletePeter Brady, indeed.
+1, Comma Chaser
DeleteLurve him! Thought he was a hottie altho' can't get Peter Brady out of my head now... thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteI think he'll do fine as long as he brings his own writing team - not Bruce Villanche et al.
ReplyDeleteit's the best of his time right now, I'm so jealous
ReplyDeleteWhen Jon Stewart hosted, no one outside of America knew who he was. It'll be worse with SMacFar.
ReplyDeleteI think he's great and he will do a good job hosting the Oscars...as long as he doesn't overdo the spray tan with the super ultra white teeth that he had at the Charlie Sheen Roast !
ReplyDeleteDid anybody see how dark he was with the blue white teeth?? I wasn't sure if he was pulling a stunt or if he really thought it looked good !?
Well when Russell Brand showed up to host the MTV awards a few years ago, I sure as hell didn't know who he was! Anyway, I think our Seth is trying to be a grown up now, after all he is dating the gorgeous Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones. We will have to wait and see how he does. I think he will do well.
ReplyDeletemmm smart and funny...
ReplyDeleteGreat choice. Seth MacFarlane embodies the best of past great talents coupled with today's most juvenile humor. The blend is perfect due to his brilliant comedic choices and instincts + can also appeal to a wide audience.
ReplyDeletei'm all sorts of meh about this guy. don't like him, don't hate him. totally ambivalent. i'm sure he's wonderful and spinspinspin, but i just can't bring myself to give the slightest crap about his hosting honor/priviliedge/blahblah/yaddayadda. #vanilla
ReplyDeletehe looks too much like peter brady for me to watch
ReplyDeleteWe'll see. He's a really smart and talented guy, but he does tend to pander to the lowest common denominator.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm thinking Peter Brady too.
ReplyDeleteI think he's the perfect host. He's charming, funny and smooth. He's also relevant.
ReplyDeleteHis hosting the Academy Awards doesn't bother me as much as him remaking The Flintstones. That I'm afraid he will truly cheapen.
ReplyDeleteI always think Christopher Knight aka Peter Brady when j see him but I definitely see Burt Reynolds now that it has been mentioned.
ReplyDeleteOmg his Ryan Lochte impression was awesome! I love Seth!
ReplyDeleteLOVE HIM!!!!
ReplyDeleteI saved his SNL on my dvr n I'm watching it now. You know how you know he's a pro? He doesn't laugh in sketches. I DO love Jimmy Fallon but his laughing in every sketch although it makes me laugh too, is a bit unprofessional. That said, with that much comedic talent around me, I don't think I could keep a straight face either! I can't wait to see how Seth performs at a "big boy" job like the Emmys
ReplyDelete@ Tru Leigh - I'm from outside the states and know who he is, as do all my friends.
ReplyDeleteI think he's awesome and I'm so excited that he's the host. Can't be worse than that Franco non event. Ugh.
Letterman & Steve Martin are the only hosts I've enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteI think the Academy Awards will be more concerned that a few people here think Seth is hosting the Emmys and not the Oscars, than they will with the reaction. ;)
ReplyDeleteI like this idea, I think it has the potential to be kind of like NPH hosting the Tony Awards, with the original opening and closing numbers. Seth has a really good singing voice, combined with his humor which can run from common denominator potty jokes to fantastic satire. He's got a few months to work it out, and yes, stay away from the spray tan.
Love him as a writer, not sure yet about him as a performer. It would make more sense to me if he was a co-host. Still, good for him, and I'll be rooting for him to do well.
ReplyDeleteI love Seth and so thankful that he made Family Guy and American Dad but there's just something really douchey about his face don'tcha reckon?
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much of his Family Guy $ it cost him to get this gig.
ReplyDeleteHe publicly stated a couple of years ago that he was trying to get really recognizably famous as well as really rich.
I don't think this cost Seth a dime. He's the one in control now, he basically has H'Wood by the balls. His stuff sells on TV, in movies, on itunes, @ Best Buy, etc and it appeals to a huge market. Unfortunate perhaps but true. He probably wouldn't have so much leverage if Fox hadn't screwed up in cancelling his show and then had to come crawling back and give him ungodly amounts of money (and even more shows)...
ReplyDeleteNow at least I know my husband will be willing to watch the Oscars. And more important, please do not break up with Emilia Clarke btwn now and then because I CANNOT wait to see what The Khaleesi would wear to the Oscars! If she needs a Khalisar to go with her I'd happily volunteer to join as long as I don't have to be near her gross boyfriend.
And yeah there is something totally douchey about him. There are some weird lines on some Family Guy eps where he takes shots at women in H'Wood (like Lindsay Lohan, that one was particularly harsh) and I have a sneaking suspicion they aren't just coincidental and may be based on real life.... But that could be just me.
Seth is completely on a mission to become household recognizable. I can kind of see him transitioning into acting and becoming like a modern Billy Crystal/Johnny Carson hybrid. If you look at his resume he's not actually much of a writer, he's more a creator who floats his ideas to his dedicated team and they come up with his "brand" of humor. By all accounts he's supposed to be a really nice guy, though. I've never met anyone who's personally met him and thought he was a dick, so good for him.
ReplyDelete