Ellen DeGeneres to Host 86th Oscars

I know, I know this is old news now, and I’ll give a much more detailed piece about it soon. If you haven’t heard, the Academy recently announced that Ellen DeGeneres would be the host of next year’s Oscar ceremony. This is her second outing as host, after her previous Emmy nominated stint in 2007, and many see this as a safe choice after last year’s mixed reaction to controversial Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. Though Ellen is still a surprising choice. Considering Neil Meron and Craig Zadan have a background in musical film and television, people like Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris seemed like a much more obvious choice. However, Ellen will no doubt deliver a strong albeit safe ceremony, with a few  cheeky but family friendly jokes thrown in for good measure.

After breaking the news on her official Twitter feed, Ellen said “I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say – the third time’s the charm,”.  Zadan and Meron however were much less modest about their host, claiming “there are few stars today who have Ellen’s gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity. She is beloved everywhere and we expect that the audience at the Dolby Theatre, and in homes around the globe, will be as excited by this news as we are”. The Twitterverse was equally enthusiastic about the news, with critic Boyd Hilton (@boydhilton) calling it a “great choice” – the sentiment of most.

But will this be an improvement on last year? Jessica Valenti tweets “Ellen is gonna need to host the Oscars at least five times before Seth MacFarlane is scrubbed from my brain” (@jessicavalenti), which either means she loves Ellen or hates Seth, or both.  What we can probably assume, if the clip below is at all indicative of the overall tone of her last Oscars, is that we will get something safe but enjoyable. This is not a bad thing. I want Ellen to do well, and I guess if anyone has the potential to take the mantle from Mr. Hope and Mr. Crystal, it’s the funny, comforting, but wholly compelling Ellen DeGeneres. Good luck!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0XUJETqVoA&w=504&h=378]