‘Family Guy’: Seth MacFarlane says no to hosting Oscars again … for now
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