‘Family Guy’: Seth MacFarlane says no to hosting Oscars again … for now
Don’t worry, feminists and decent people everywhere: There will be no reprise of “We Saw Your Boobs” coming up at any point in the near future. Despite having a polarizing performance at the 2013 Academy Awards earlier this year, one where he was actually far better when he was not trying to appeal to his sophomoric crowd, Seth MacFarlane confirmed Monday that there is no way that he will be able to take the reigns again for another go at the Oscars early next year.
In a post on Twitter, he cited a busy schedule (which includes “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” directing another movie, and the Fox sitcom “Dads”) as a primary reason:
“Traumatized critics exhale: I’m unable to do the Oscars again. Tried to make it work schedule-wise, but I need sleep.”
So who becomes the leading candidate now? Producers will probably ask Chris Rock for the billionth time, and we can probably also rule out Billy Crystal, Tina Fey (who doesn’t want the job), and that dreadful James Franco / Anne Hathaway duo. Maybe Steve Martin gets another shot, or you go with someone like Jimmy Kimmel (already on the network, though this would negate his after-show) or a controversial pick in Stephen Colbert? The problem with this gig is that it’s really not one everyone wants because you are told to be funny, but not so funny you offend anyone. Meanwhile, you are also told to be respectful of the film industry as to not have it become the Golden Globes.
We’ll have a better list in the months ahead, but for the time being, we have to name our top picks as Ellen DeGeneres (arguably more relevant now than she was the first time), Joel McHale (previous host of the Independent Spirit Awards), “I host everything” Neil Patrick Harris (though he is more of a CBS staple), Steve Carell, Craig Ferguson, or maybe even the duo of Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.
MacFarlane had previously said no to hosting the show again, but it seemed his stance had somewhat changed.
Photo: ABC