Jon Stewart Returns As Oscar Host
Posted September 13, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Popular talk show host and political satirist Jon Stewart is set to host the Oscars for the second time next February.
“I’m thrilled to be asked to host the Academy Awards for the second time because, as they say, the third time’s a charm,” Stewart said Wednesday.
“He did a great job two years ago,” said Oscar telecast producer Gil Cates. “You need a host who is not afraid of the unexpected, who can stand out and really work a room and deal with a live show. Jon, of course, does that on his show every night.”
The 2007 show, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, drew 40.1 million viewers compared to the 38.9 million who watched when Stewart hosted the previous year. “Stewart has such good will, and the worst mistake people have made – in the Oscars especially – is trying to be a little bit too cold to the room rather than cool enough for the room,” said longtime television critic David Bianculli .
Besides, people don’t tune into the Oscars for the host, according to Bianculli, “It’s up to the films in contention more than anything else.”
“He always brings some needed irreverence and smarts to pretty much anything he does,” said another critic Frazier Moore. “The Oscars are an often very pretentious, self-important institution, and somebody like Jon Stewart is very useful to help deflate a little of that pomposity.”
Oscar hosts are chosen by the telecast producer each year. Cates also produced in 2006, and chose Stewart then. Previous Cates-selected hosts include Steve Martin, Chris Rock and Billy Crystal. Laura Ziskin chose DeGeneres.
“We love them both,” Academy president Sid Ganis said of the two most recent Oscar emcees.
The 2008 Oscars will take place Feb. 24 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.
Jon Stewart performs onstage at the ‘Night Of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit For Autism Education’ at the Beacon Theatre October 15, 2006, in New York City. (Photo Courtesy Getty Images/Scott Gries)
