It’s been a hectic few days for the for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as the 84th Academy Awards lost producer Brett Ratner and host Eddie Murphy all within 24 hours.
Confirmation of Ratner’s replacement is here, however, and amid conversations of who should stand in as host is all over the internet, with The Muppets taking lead as front-runners for the spot.
Alas it was not to be as Billy Crystal has just been confirmed as the host of the 84th Academy Awards.
Filmmaker Ratner announced his resignation as Oscar producer on Tuesday after recent controversies involving racy comments and the use of an anti-gay slur. Murphy then followed with an announcement of his withdrawal the next day.
Fortunately it wasn’t long until Academy President Tom Sherak announced that Brian Grazer has been secured as Ratner’s replacement and in the half an hour Crystal tweeted the following,
Crystal returns to the stage for the ninth time and, while it’s not The Muppets, it provides some stability for the ceremony.
Grazner, whose current projects include the soon-to-be-released J. Edgar and the just released Tower Heist (starring Murphy and directed by Ratner), said that, “It’s very gratifying to be part of a show that honors excellence in the medium to which I have devoted so much of my career.”
Sherak commented that, “Brian Grazer is a renowned filmmaker who over the past 25 years has produced a diverse and extraordinary body of work,” and continued: “He will certainly bring his tremendous talent, creativity and relationships to the Oscars.”
The biggest names to be circulated amongst film fanatics over the last twenty four hours included the return of James Franco and Anne Hathaway, Neil Patrick Harris, Ben Stiller, Ricky Gervais, and Hugh Jackman.
But what seemed to be a favourite option was for The Muppets to host the show, and they quickly became the front-runners as the people’s choice overnight.
Their Twitter account @MuppetsOscars pulled over 11,000 follows, though Variety were quick to deny any chance of it, reporting that any hope of The Muppets hosting was slim. Not that their say has stopped the release of The Muppets promotional poster (above).
The Awards show is still expected to air on February 26, 2012.
