In Contention

Tag: Billy Crystal

  • 8/29 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Help’ detractors racist?, Stoll on Hemingway, ‘Dangerous Method’ buzz

    Welcome to the new season…

    • “‘The Help’ isn’t racist. It’s critics are.” [The New Republic]

    • Pete Hammond takes note of indies looking to make Oscar plays this year. [Deadline]

    • Steve Pond talks to “Midnight in Paris” star Corey Stoll. [The Odds]

    (more…)

  • Gervais invited to repeat at Globes — but what about Oscars?

    Obviously it’s too early to be concerned about who’s hosting next year’s Golden Globe ceremony. The day before next year’s Golden Globes ceremony would to be concerned about that. But the pre-weekend news that Ricky Gervais has been invited (if not confirmed) to emcee the show, in his typically irreverent manner, for a third straight year is more interesting for a disputed side note: his claim that the Academy requested his services too.

    Gervais is currently playing coy about his offer from the Hollywood Foreign Press — claiming that he’s considering it, but is wary of outstaying his welcome — though I have a hunch he’ll end up accepting. He’s more adamant about refusing the Oscars gig, dismissing it as “a thankless task for a comedian.”

    Oscars broadcaster ABC, however, denies that the Academy ever approached Gervais in the first place. Take whoever’s word you find more fun to believe.

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  • An open letter to James Franco

    Dear James,

    So you don’t think much of the Academy. That’s okay. A lot of us don’t. And after the outcome of last night’s awards — in which capping an inevitable Best Picture Oscar for the safe, stolid stylings of “The King’s Speech” with that extraneous Best Director win for a worried-looking Tom Hooper was roughly akin to dipping Wonderbread in milk for maximum squishiness — I suspect even a lot of movie buffs who don’t make a year-round sport of henpecking the Academy’s choices are on your side.

    Your antipathy towards the Academy may be rooted in different disappointments than those of the blogging majority. We know for starters that you don’t much rate “The Social Network,” the 2010 title most clearly destined to fill the blank in many a “How did _______ lose?” whine-fest between awards geeks in years hence.

    But Lord knows your own pony was even more cruelly treated by voters: when the film’s artsy death-rattle of a theme song couldn’t even beat a rushed Randy Newman Xerox of a Pixar jingle that everybody forgot he already won for in 2001, it was clear the once-so-buzzy “127 Hours” had been reduced to a phantom presence in this year’s race.

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  • Comic Relief reunion?

    Reader comment in the Oscar Talk question solicitations thread:

    I was at a benefit last year in honor of Billy Crystal, in which Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg spoke. All three agreed that, if asked, they would co-host next year’s Oscar telecast in some sort of Comic Relief reunion. So, uh, both you and Anne and any other blogger listening— make that happen.

    Hmmm…

  • 12/9 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: NYT mag’s actors gallery, Crystal’s advice to Oscarcast hosts and closure for Ronni Chasen

    • Fourteen actors acting: A video gallery of classic screen types. [New York Times Magazine]

    • Billy Crystal’s advice to this year’s Oscar hosts: “Look like you want to be there.” [Vulture]

    • “Animal Kingdom”‘s Jacki Weaver on her National Board of Review victory. [Little Gold Men]

    (more…)

  • Jackman turns down Oscar hosting gig

    With the season now unshakeably upon us, it’s time to dust off the annual conversation topic of who should host the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony. I am prompted to do so, of course, by Deadline’s recent scoop that 2009 host Hugh Jackman — the first choice of new Oscarcast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer — has turned down the gig, owing to a scheduling conflict with the shooting of of “Wolverine 2.”

    Many will be disappointed by this news, given that the Jackman-hosted telecast was one of the better-received of recent years. As one of its few detractors, I’ll admit to feeling relieved: Jackman’s song-and-dance schtick was amiable enough, but he lacked the comic zeal I prefer in an Oscar host.

    To be fair, the balance between comic and cuddly is a difficult one to strike at the Oscars. There’s ample room for error on either side of the beloved Billy Crystal school of sweet-and-sour satire: Jackman played it too safe for my liking, but neither do I want to see an encore of Chris Rock’s hostile, room-cooling barbs. The Academy Awards, as much as we might like to mock them, are effectively the industry’s prom night, and the tone should be appropriately celebratory.

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  • Jay Leno’s closes a chapter on ‘The Tonight Show’

    Jay LenoI’ve been pretty hard on Jay Leno over the years. In the late night wars, he’s had neither the comedic inventiveness nor (certainly) the journalistic capacity to become must-watch TV like David Letterman and, to a lesser extent, Conan O’Brien. Even the sober Tom Snyder proved a more intriguing watch for me when he was still on CBS so many years ago.

    All of that said, I’m a bit saddened that Leno’s final episode as host of “The Tonight Show” is being recorded right now for telecast later this evening. As much as I may have preferred other late night personalities over the years, the fact remains Leno’s regular guy brand of humor carried the torch magnificently for the past 17 years. The circumstances surrounding how he landed the gig will always be suspect, but Letterman went off and became his own man, paving the way for O’Brien to make a name for himself at 12:30 and, as of Monday night, finally take up the reigns on “The Tonight Show” himself.  I wrote briefly about O’Brien’s final “Late Night” show back in February.

    O’Brien’s transition to the show was covered in-depth in an insightful New York Times Magazine piece last weekend by staffer Lynn Hirschberg. Early passages have me worried, such as writing staff ideas centered around O’Brien as an outsider in Los Angeles (his new show will be taped daily on the Universal lot). Those will only go so far, perhaps better suited to a guest host than the new face of NBC late night, and the show will need to settle into a more purposeful position sooner rather than later.

    Of course, the subtext of Hirschberg’s article is that O’Brien, like his soon-to-be time-slot competition Letterman, doesn’t have the chummy, next-door neighbor demeanor that Leno has. Therefore, the 50-year-old enterprise could be in jeopardy of losing viewership. His brand of self-deprecation struck a chord with his dorm room demographic, to be sure, but the higher brow isn’t what Leno aimed for and might not be what the “Tonight Show” audience wants. The ratings will ultimately tell the tale, but in recent years, I have found myself out-growing O’Brien’s antics. I wish him the best as he takes up the reins on Monday, but I wonder if a network desire to stay fresh will put a flagship built on it’s heritage in slight peril.

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  • Oscar showmen Billy Crystal, Marc Shaiman bid Leno adieu

    I don’t know if anyone’s been watching the last week of Jay Leno’s “The Tonight Show,” but it’s been a solid final slate of guests, culminating with Conan O’Brien’s appearance and a passing of the baton later tonight.  I’ve got a longer piece about all of this I’m working on and will post it later this afternoon, but I thought this was worth mentioning separately, in case you missed it.

    Billy Crystal was Leno’s first guest on “The Tonight Show” back in 1992 and the exiting host wanted to bring Crystal back as his final proper guest last night.  To mark the occasion, Crystal got together with Marc Shaiman and put together a little sing-song number, much like the numerous similar numbers the duo has cranked out for the Oscars over the years.  Sadly, the NBC website being as stingy as it is, I can’t find an embed of the performance (they just have a 90 second exchange mid-interview about Crystal’s recent surgery).  But you can, however, watch the entire episode, which includes, of course, the full number, plus a glimpse of Crystal’s first appearance on the show 17 years ago when he belted out another tune.  Always the showman.

    Click the image below to watch the full episode, and stay tuned for that remembrance piece later today.

    Billy Crystal on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

  • RIP Charles H. Joffe

    We sure are losing a lot of valuable talents this year.

    You have probably already heard about the passing of Charles H. Joffe, the veteran comic manager best known as Woody Allen’s longtime producer, and the co-winner of the 1977 Best Picture Oscar for “Annie Hall.” (Not as well known is that he guided the early careers of such other comic giants as Billy Crystal and Robin Williams.)

    There isn’t much to add to what has already been said elsewhere, but as a devoted fan of Allen’s films (all of which Joffe, with partner Jack Rollins, produced or executive-produced), I can only state my admiration for his loyalty and longevity within that working relationship. Not many producer-director teams can claim a five-decade span. Allen himself has paid tribute with the following statement: “When he was at the top of his game, nobody was better.”

    Of course, Joffe and Rollins were executive producers of Allen’s latest, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Here’s hoping the largely positive word on the film so far means Joffe’s career ends on a high note.