Well that didn’t take long! Over the weekend it was said Eddie Murphy was Oscar producer Bret Ratner’s top choice to host the awards ceremony, and now it’s been announced that the actor/comedian is officially taking the gig.
“Eddie is a comedic genius, one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever,” said Ratner. “With his love of movies, history of crafting unforgettable characters and his iconic performances – especially on stage – I know he will bring excitement, spontaneity and tremendous heart to the show Don (Mischner) and I want to produce in February.”
It will be Murphy’s first hosting stint on the Oscars, which are due to be given out on February 26, 2012.
“I am enormously honored to join the great list of past Academy Award hosts from (Bob) Hope and (Johnny) Carson to (Billy) Crystal, (Steve) Martin and (Whoopi) Goldberg, among others,” said Murphy. “I’m looking forward to working with Brett and Don on creating a show that is enjoyable for both the fans at home and for the audience at the Kodak Theatre as we all come together to celebrate and recognise the great film contributions and collaborations from the past year.”
Many are already wondering if the bleep machine is going to be needed when Murphy takes to the stage, but as much of his recent career has been in family films, he’s already learned to tone it down from his expletive filled 80s heyday. However let’s hope they allow him to retain at least a little edge, or else it’ll be pointless haivn ghim there.
Interestingly, Deadline also reports that popular former host Billy Crystal had expressed interest in hosting again, and while he won’t have that honour, he ‘will almost certainly be incorporated into the show in some marquee way.’