Hosting the Academy Awards is one of the most prestigious honours that can be given to a person in the industry, a job that can make or break a career. Or in the case of several previous hosts, cement their popularity even further.
Billy Crystal, Hugh Jackman, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock and Whoopi Goldberg have all contributed amazing, witty and respectful turns as hosts, and now, it looks like Jimmy Fallon may be taking a stab at that gig as well.
Before he departed the Motion Picture Academy last year, former head Tom Sherak picked Fallon to host the event, with his former SNL boss Lorne Michaels attached to produce it. They’re still talking right now about whether or not to do it, but it looks more than likely that this will happen, even though this might create some tension with the ABC network, which will broadcast the show.
ABC originally wanted to have talk show rival Jimmy Kimmely host the show, but seeing as how Kimmel will be handling Emmy award duties instead, he’s contractually obligated to pass on an Oscar job.
And while the network may disapprove of having Fallon do the gig instead, they’ve got no actual power when it comes to vetoing him from the job of Oscar host, so they’ll have to be content with crossing their arms and huffing away at their frustration.
Last Updated: August 6, 2012