Author Topic: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars  (Read 29620 times)

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #30 on: February 26, 2011, 10:45:03 am »




“It’s also very cost-efficient,” O’Neil pointed out. “Why buy more promo ads on ABC affiliates or billboards around L.A., when you can just set James Franco loose with his Skype and his Twitter?”





http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-25/the-oscars-are-james-franco-and-anne-hathaway-making-them-cool/full/


Are the Oscars Finally Cool?
Having Anne Hathaway and James Franco co-host this year’s
Academy Awards is paying off in buzz. Nicole LaPorte on why
the stars are more important as marketers than hosts.

by Nicole LaPorte
February 25, 2011 | 8:47pm






A week ago, James Franco joined Twitter. He has since racked up over 150,000 followers. Besides being kept up to date on the 127 Hours  star’s whereabouts—“I’m on my way to a meeting with one of my favorite artists, Richard Prince,” was one tweet—Franco’s acolytes have been treated to teasers for this Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, which Franco is co-hosting with Anne Hathaway.

In addition to Franco’s Twitter debut (he also joined Facebook), a number of humorous videos have been “leaked” online. In one, Hathaway races through a monologue, reading a teleprompter set to speed-read. In other, she and Franco pair cross-train for the show. Wearing “Oscar Co-host In Training” T-shirts and sweats, they lift weights, using Oscar statuettes as barbells; sprint around towering Oscar mannequins; and time each other’s bathroom breaks. In another video, Franco Skypes with writer-director Judd Apatow (who is emceeing the Producers Guild Awards), and asks him for hosting advice. (“How do you do it?” Franco asks with all the enthusiasm of a stoner. “Like, is there a class I can take?”)

Considering that historically, ads for the Oscar broadcast have amounted to an old guy in a tux, talking ceremoniously in the shadow of towering golden statues, this year’s approach “amounts to a media revolution for the Oscars,” said Tom O’Neil, of the awards website GoldDerby.com. “Last year [Oscar co-producer] Adam Shankman may have been tweeting, but it was nothing like this.

“It’s also very cost-efficient,” O’Neil pointed out. “Why buy more promo ads on ABC affiliates or billboards around L.A., when you can just set James Franco loose with his Skype and his Twitter?”

The heavy viral marketing is also taking some of the pressure off the actual show. However the youthful hosts handle themselves on Sunday—and they could well bomb, given their inexperience in live entertainment—almost feels moot at this point, in the same way that a tentpole movie’s fortune rests not on how good or bad it is, but on how it’s sold to the public before its all-important opening weekend. It’s an evergreen Hollywood strategy, but one that’s especially relevant in a year when so much about the Oscars feels predetermined and snooze-festy. Unlike last year, when there was a palpable, heated race between Avatar  and The Hurt Locker  for Best Picture, The King’s Speech  is expected to blanket Sunday’s awards. Even the categories that the film won’t likely dominate are considered done deals: The Fighter’ s Christian Bale for Best Supporting Actor; Black Swan’s Natalie Portman for Best Actress; The Social Network  for Best Adapted Screenplay, etc. (Ironically, whatever is going on with the promotions, the actual Oscar race has never felt more stodgy and traditional, given the anticipated Social Network  snub.)

As one Academy member put it: “There’s not a great deal of curiosity. Colin Firth is a lock for Best Actor. I don’t see a lot of debate online over Annette Bening versus Natalie Portman. I just don’t see a lot of, ‘Oh my God!’ It’s not like who’s going to win the Super Bowl.”

Hence the focus on the pre-game hijinks. Even those, like O’Neil, who find the teasers “silly” and somewhat “hollow,” admit the Academy deserves props for going so against-type, not just in the promos themselves, but in hiring someone like Franco, who drew some derision when he was first announced as a co-host. His chronic multi-tasking, after all, has made him an easy target for mockery over the past year, and has almost overshadowed his acting career (most have probably forgotten that he’s not only hosting the Oscars, he’s up for an Oscar).

But it’s Franco’s offbeat reputation, and his delight in playful self-expression—whether via General Hospital  or Three’s Company  art installations—that plays perfectly into the Academy’s attempt to rebrand the Oscars as, well, playful. To use a branding buzz word, Franco makes the whole exercise feel authentic. It’s hard to imagine much arm-twisting is necessary to get him to make these adverts, not to mention that there’s an appealingly subversive—and, again, very believable—hint that at times the actor is going rogue with his creations. Hours after the “omitted oscar song” went online, it was mysteriously pulled, suggesting that it may not have been OK’d by the powers that be. Later, it was reposted.

Beyond its hosts, the Oscars telecast itself is being positioned as more au courant  than ever before. Scenes from backstage will be live-streamed on the Academy’s new, updated website. Mothers of certain nominees have been conscripted to live tweet the broadcast. And, of course, there is an Oscar app.

According to Bill Mechanic, who co-produced last year’s Oscars with Adam Shankman, some of these innovations were discussed last year, but were prohibited because of technology.

“We got shot down 100 percent because there was no technical capability. It wasn’t that they resisted us, in fact they were more than prepared to break some rules, but there were just no technical capabilities. The [Academy’s] website was from the Stone Ages.

“They’ve done a lot of work in a year.”

The real question, of course, is will all of the tweeting and YouTubing actually make a difference this time round?

“The Academy is now off on an effort,” said publicist and branding expert Michael Levine. “When you start something, when you get on the journey, not everything that you try on the journey works. Sometimes, people over-correct, they over-do. So the story isn’t really written yet as to whether this battle plan is an over-correction. But I think it’s a viable and appropriate effort, because the alternative was sure death.”
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #31 on: February 26, 2011, 10:49:01 am »



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdQC1-In0OE&playnext=1&list=PL259FC244BED7A0AC[/youtube]



.
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #32 on: February 26, 2011, 02:49:19 pm »
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdQC1-In0OE&playnext=1&list=PL259FC244BED7A0AC[/youtube]

This was hilarious.

Still, with all due respect for the fabulous James Franco, who is vaguely Brokieish, and the fabulous Anne Hathaway, who is unequivocally Brokieish, can I just say that ... I'm getting kind of sick of the unspoken ageism involved in the idea that 20-something stars are just what the show needs to become hipper and more watchable and more interesting?

Besides, they say that of every year's hosts. David Letterman was going to make it hipper. Jon Stewart was going to make it hipper. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were going to make it hipper. Now young stars are going to make it hipper.

And in the end, everybody always says the new host bombed and wishes 64-year-old Billy Crystal were still hosting it.


Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #33 on: February 26, 2011, 09:57:01 pm »
Still, with all due respect for the fabulous James Franco, who is vaguely Brokieish, and the fabulous Anne Hathaway, who is unequivocally Brokieish, can I just say that ... I'm getting kind of sick of the unspoken ageism involved in the idea that 20-something stars are just what the show needs to become hipper and more watchable and more interesting?

Besides, they say that of every year's hosts. David Letterman was going to make it hipper. Jon Stewart was going to make it hipper. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were going to make it hipper. Now young stars are going to make it hipper.

And in the end, everybody always says the new host bombed and wishes 64-year-old Billy Crystal were still hosting it.



:o :o :o
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwgCLFrSh-I[/youtube]
 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:



Katherine, your wish is granted! Long Live Jambi!



http://www.deadline.com/2011/02/snorefest-oscar-show-rundown-exclusive-spoilers-from-the-annotated-schedule/

Billy Crystal Is Making Oscars Appearance:
Exclusive Spoilers From Detailed Schedule

By NIKKI FINKE
Saturday February 26, 2011 @ 11:31am PST

** WARNING: SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS **


MORE UPDATES, SATURDAY:
I've confirmed that Billy Crystal, without doubt the most popular Oscar host in recent years, will be making a "surprise" appearance at the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday night. About two-thirds of the way into the telecast, the comedian is scheduled to perform a monologue about the movie industry. His stand-up is so secret that it was listed only as "Guest Host" on the official show rundown I obtained and posted Friday. But then Billy was ushered in and out of Friday's rehearsal without even the other showbiz stars knowing he was at the Kodak Theatre. Given what a snorefest so much of this year's Oscar show looks to be, Crystal's appearance will be something that TV viewers will surely welcome ... I've also learned that the so-called "Cold Opening" of the show, as scheduled, features a filmed bit involving actor Alec Baldwin who was last year's Academy Awards co-host with Steve Martin. The shtick is that Baldwin wants to host again this year and is imagining what it would be like -- but then discovers that James Franco and Anne Hathaway were chosen to host instead of him ... Towards the end of the show, again as scheduled, there'll be a brief Back To The Future  segment starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd from the 1985 film ... And venerable actor/producer Kirk Douglas will present the Best Supporting Actress Oscar ... Again, let me emphasize that last-minute changes can always occur.
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #34 on: February 27, 2011, 08:33:32 am »




click on:



"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #35 on: February 27, 2011, 10:54:33 pm »





http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/02/see_james_franco_and_anne_hath.html


Watch
Anne Hathaway and James Franco
in the Opening Oscar Sketch

By: Kyle Buchanan
2/27/11 at 9:30 PM


Since Oscar hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco aren't exactly stand-up comics, the Academy Award telecast went light on monologue and heavy on the filmed bits at the top of tonight's show. In this opening clip, the duo travel through most of the nominated Best Picture films (perhaps Toy Story 3  was budget-prohibitive?), and while not all the jokes land, at least you've got Franco in a revealing ballet outfit.









"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #36 on: February 27, 2011, 11:56:52 pm »


http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/02/james_franco_oscars_twitter.html


See James Franco's
Backstage Oscar Videos

By: Amanda Dobbins
2/27/11 at 8:21 PM

From Franco's Twitter, just minutes ago--it's James and his brother Dave in an elevator. And James walking down a hall. And his "famous last words." He's Tweeting like crazy, so follow along there.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/02/james_franco_oscars_twitter.html
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Sophia

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #37 on: February 28, 2011, 07:49:00 am »
Thank you John for the report, it made my day!  :)

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #38 on: February 28, 2011, 08:00:23 am »



Thank you John for the report, it made my day!  :)


Thanks, Sophia! (Although you should read the following first!   ::)  )





Ms. Hathaway was better alone than at Mr. Franco’s side. A little like the attempt to graft Generation Y technology to old-fangled Hollywood panache, their stage personas clashed: Mr. Cooler-Than-Thou and Miss Eager-to-Please never really synched. It was a strategic attempt at demographic synergy, but it was like pairing James Dean with Debbie Reynolds.








http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/movies/awardsseason/28watch.html?_r=1&hp



The TV Watch
Make It New?
Oscar Courts Internet Age

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: February 28, 2011



It was an Oscar night tricked out as a meeting of Old Hollywood and New, a contest between the heart (King George VI) and the brain (Mark Zuckerberg), and most of all, a melding of old-school network tradition and Internet age connectivity.

Inevitably, with a movie like “The Social Network” one of the night’s favorites, there was bound to be an aggressive infusion of social media name dropping. But at times, the prolonged effort to pander to younger viewers was downright painful. The producers cast the young stars James Franco and Anne Hathaway as hosts, then kept the writing old and hoary — no aren’t-we-hip nudge was left untouched. Mr. Franco came onstage at the opening reading messages on his cellphone. While introducing a change in the set, Justin Timberlake smirked, “I’m sure they make an app for that,” and whipped out his phone as if to make it happen. Even when Mr. Franco came out in drag as Marilyn Monroe, he mugged, “I just got a text message from Charlie Sheen.”

The Oscars could have honored the older generation by showing large-type tweets from AARP; instead, Bob Hope was brought back from the dead with a clip from one of his old Oscar routines that was funnier than many of the live jokes. And a frail Kirk Douglas, whose speech was slurry from a stroke, was brought onstage to present the award for best supporting actress. He did his best. The winner, Melissa Leo, had a personal worst, letting fly on an obscenity that was barely blurred by censors and that suggests that the foulmouthed mother she played in “The Fighter” wasn’t such an acting stretch.

And for all the winks to high-tech and salaams to old actors and classic movies like “Gone With the Wind” and “Casablanca” (the “As Time Goes By” theme song was introduced by President Obama in a taped message), Sunday’s ceremony, like almost all award shows, came down to a battle of winners and losers.

By trying to finesse the difference and maximize audiences, ABC inadvertently drew attention to the bitter divide of success and failure.

In award ceremonies, the energy peaks early — before the balance of hopeful nominees and disappointed losers in the room tips toward the thwarted. Many winners leave their seats to celebrate and give backstage interviews. Even presenters as lively as Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry and Billy Crystal, who hosted the Oscars eight times and came back on Sunday in a cameo, couldn’t disguise the gathering gloom.

Especially because ABC, hoping to hook younger, two-screen viewers, offered a companion Web site (Oscar.com) with behind-the-scenes video streams, so award winners could be seen on television accepting an award, then celebrating backstage on the “thank you” cam and the “winners’ walk cam.”

It gave Web viewers an all-too-vivid look at how the air leaves the theater and the night starts to drag. While on the Web site the likes of Aaron Sorkin and Christian Bale sprinted out of the theater to talk to reporters and chat with presenters and other winners at a backstage bar, the television screen was filled with losers stuck in their seats, smiling tightly through their rancor and disappointment. The camera rather unsparingly put a close up on Annette Bening’s stricken face as soon as the best actress award went to Natalie Portman.

And advertisers shouldn’t be too happy about a network that invites viewers to spend the commercial breaks watching backstage camera shots of movie stars advertising themselves.

ABC made a big deal that this was the first time a male and female duo shared the same stage as hosts — the last time a man and woman were co-hosts was in 1957 (Jerry Lewis was in Los Angeles and Celeste Holm was in New York). But it wasn’t the best precedent. Separately, Mr. Franco and Ms. Hathaway are charming and charismatic, but together they had an odd absence of chemistry. Mr. Franco looked a little distracted and even blasé — not surprisingly for a multiplatform performer-writer who is working on an English doctorate at Yale. In a green room interview with a Vanity Fair editor, Mr. Franco confessed he had only rehearsed on weekends. “I’ve actually been in school on the weekdays so I’ve had many great moments in class,” he said wryly.

Ms. Hathaway was better alone than at Mr. Franco’s side. A little like the attempt to graft Generation Y technology to old-fangled Hollywood panache, their stage personas clashed: Mr. Cooler-Than-Thou and Miss Eager-to-Please never really synched. It was a strategic attempt at demographic synergy, but it was like pairing James Dean with Debbie Reynolds.
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Anne Hathaway, James Franco to host Oscars
« Reply #39 on: February 28, 2011, 08:41:41 am »




What this (Mr. Lautner's chest) had ANYTHING to do re the Oscars, I don't know, but--Jeff  might like it!

 :laugh: :laugh:



[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQSX8PgDUD0[/youtube]
Youtube REALLY doesn't want you to see this
UNLESS you see it on the Youtube site, so just in case click here
(and even here, it is cut in half, no Harry Potter segment):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQSX8PgDUD0


"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"