The Oscars are proving to be a tough gig as apparently no one wants to host the increasingly controversial telecast honoring the best of the best movies of the year.
Since Ellen DeGeneres wasn’t able to persuade Kevin Hart to take back the reigns, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences have decided that this year’s star-studded extravaganza would be hostless. But not so fast.
According to the the Hollywood Reporter, the Oscars may have several stars introducing the different parts of the ceremony — but are also scrambling to find as many big-name cast members from the Marvel’s Avengers franchise as possible to make appearances.
No official word from the Academy on how the actors and/or characters would be incorporated into the 91st annual award show, but many of the cast appeared together (Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson) during the 2013 broadcast of the special, so this isn’t exactly a brand new idea.
Hart removed himself from being this year’s host last December when homophobic comments and tweets from the actor/comedian from 2011 resurfaced. He apologized for his former actions but didn’t want to be a distraction from this year’s show.
Then he appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show to talk about his new movie, The Upside, but DeGeneres used the opportunity to try to talk him back into doing the gig. That in itself turned into a backlash toward DeGeneres as some fans complained that Hart’s apology wasn’t sincere enough.
Earlier this week Hart appeared on Good Morning America to explain more about the situation.
“I’m over it,” Hart told Michael Strahan. “There’s no more conversation about it … I’m over that, I’m over the moment … “If you didn’t [hear the apology], I don’t know what you’re looking for. I’m a good person, I love to love, if you don’t see that then it’s a problem with you.”
And so, the Academy and ABC is back to square one with no host. After trying for weeks, all involved have reportedly decided that a “no host Oscars” is the way to go.
Still, the idea of a hostless Oscars doesn’t sit well with some. The last time the award show went without a host was in 1989 where the 61st annual telecast began with a musical duet between Rob Lowe and Eileen Bowman dressed as Snow White (without getting Disney’s approval by the way) singing “Proud Mary.”
It may seem like an urban legend, but it really did happen.
The Oscars will be televised on February 24th on ABC.