AND THE WINNER IS: After years of labouring to produce the least watchable two-plus hours of television a top-flight group of industry professionals can put together with the biggest stars in the business at their fingertips, the people behind the Oscars have decided to do an about-face on their longstanding policy on hosts and hire a movie star whose biggest role is in a comic book franchise, and whose latest big-budget epic flopped in theatres.
There will be no Billy Crystal or Steve Martin or Whoopi Goldberg striving but failing to goose some pacing into the glamourous torpor that is the Academy Awards this February. After rumours of a big change in the works, the show’s producers announced that Hugh Jackman would be their choice to host the 81st Academy Awards.
“He also has style, elegance and a sense of occasion," the show’s producers, Bill Condon and Laurence Mark said in a joint statement on Friday. "Hugh is the ideal choice to host a celebration of the year’s movies — and to have fun doing it.”
Jackman had better also have a cattle prod to move along long-winded winners and one hand on the volume knob of the space-time continuum to quicken the show’s pace as it inevitably bogs down along the time-honoured Via Dolorosa of musical numbers, awards presentations and forelock-tugging tributes to the industry’s long-expired golden age.
NOTHING TO GIVE: The people behind American Idol have decided to forget about the show’s charitable fundraiser, Idol Gives Back, for at least this upcoming season, apparently concerned that viewers would be clutching their pocket books tighter during a recession.
“There will be no Idol Gives Back,” was the curt summation in an internal memo issued after a meeting of Fox’s programming council, and leaked on mjsbigblog.com, an unofficial Idol web site, last week.
Also rumoured was fewer open-call audition episodes, the return of Wild Card Week, and more Hollywood semi-finals, in addition to an expansion of the finalists to 36 from 24, and more behind-the-scenes footage of the contestants, injecting more reality and less talent show into Idol.
These are probably all good, but cancelling Idol Gives Back looks like a short-sighted mistake. Considering the astronomical salaries earned by key judges and producers – never mind Simon Cowell’s US$30 million, it looks like Paula Abdul might be getting a raise to $10 million – the charity fundraiser gave everyone involved, as well as a raft of celebrity guest stars, a chance to attempt a convincing impersonation of philanthropy. No one thinks that they’ll be suffering too much during the recession, so nixing Idol Gives Back will probably just play out as a squandering of badly-needed goodwill.
