Sister site Deadline is reporting that Academy Award producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer have approached Hugh Jackman to host the 2011 Oscars and the soft-shoeing mutant turned them down, opting to concentrate on his Wolverine sequel. Pity since he was the best host the Oscar's have had in recent years. So who could fill the slot as host to Hollywood's Biggest Night? I've got a few humble suggestions after the jump.
Steve Martin: His turns at hosting in 2001 and hosting 2003 were incredibly funny, but pairing him with Alec Baldwin last year seem to throw off his rhythm and the evening never rose above a "Meh" from me. His twitter feed alone shows just how funny Steve Martin can be solo.
Ricky Gervais: Mordantly funny, Gervais could be the most incisively hysterical host the Oscars have ever had - which is why they probably wouldn't let him. But by God, I'd pay good money to hear him skewer whatever weepy Oscar-bait the Weinsteins send down the pike.
Tina Fey: We haven't had a female Oscar host since Ellen strapped on a swan gown and I think we're certainly due. Her past times as a presenter were hilarious and she's had two box office smashes in 2010 to prove her movie bonafides. Oscar hosts have to straddle a thin line between respectful and satirical and Fey can do both with aplomb.
Joan Rivers: OR we can just have Joan Rivers blow everything up. Notoriously uncensored and riotously funny, Joan Rivers would certainly make it an evening to remember. Rivers doesn't always play nice but she is never, ever dull and could be a perfect antidote for a self-congratulatory evening. Besides, I'd kill just to listen to her harangue Mel Gibson for fifteen minutes straight.