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Seth Rogen blames Oscars for James Franco sucking at hosting Oscars
By Rick PaulasNovember 29th, 2011, 6:15 pmComments (10)
Perhaps this year's carousel of hosting rumors, Brett Ratner dominating a few news cycles, and the ultimate decision that Billy Crystal will be hosting for the 837th time made you forget — but last year's Oscars were really terrible.
If it wasn't for Twitter and the hundreds of jokes per minute about the debacle, it would have been unwatchable. The Academy's "let's get the kids interested!" approach of putting the show in the hands of twenty-something co-hosts backfired completely. When the dust finally settled, the popular public consensus was that, sure, Anne Hathaway wasn't very good, but at least she was trying. James Franco, though? He clearly didn't give a shit.
But was he truly the one who should have been blamed? Or was he merely the most obvious scapegoat? In an interview with Shortlist about his new movie 50/50, Seth Rogen addresses this question:
I think when you agree to do something like that, you put a certain amount of faith in the institution, hoping that they’ll take care of you, and I feel like they didn’t [take care of him]. Why hire James Franco and then give him Billy Crystal’s monologue? It was like, “Oh, we’ll hire these young hosts and then we’ll just do the same sh*t we do every f*cking year.” Which to me was really odd. I think they just approached it wrong. They didn’t think it through, and they were way underprepared. I think they hung him out to dry. So I wouldn’t do it unless they hired some better writers [laughs].
Oh, yeah. Everyone kind of forgets that, sure, Franco and Hathaway were terrible hosts. But read a transcript of the show — I mean, if you ever have absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing, to do in your life — while picturing any comedian you want in there. Chris Rock. Louis CK. Richard Pryor. The jokes that actually land are still few and far between.
Commentarium (10 Comments)
Mr I've-The-IQ-To-Do-Anything bit off more than he could chew. Why is it so difficult for people to come out and say this?
Mr. I've-got-art-so-good-it-isn't-drawn-yet but need a Kickstarter project because the rest of my work isn't good enough to pay for it.
"Man Reluctant to Say Mean Things About His Close Friend: News at 11"
I agree with Rogan. They didn't know how to handle Franco or Hathaway.
Bad writing.
Does anyone actually think that Franco would have blown the show on purpose?
He was obviously disgusted with they way the show was being handled by the Producer.
Writing aside, I personally think Flunko's ego couldn't handle being dressed up as a woman, on such a stage. If he & A.H. had been dressed per their sex, I think you'd have seen a totally different effort on his part. His putting no energy into the role was a way of, in public, him distancing himself from his plight, thereby communicating the fact he was doing this against his will/it was others who had forced him to do.
I'm a very jealous person.
Jealous of art you can't see? Yes, very. I wish I had an ounce of that talent. You nailed me.
Is it too soon to campaign for Zooey/Gossling in 2013?
That sounds like a terrible choice. I want Neil Patric Harris to take the job!