Ellen DeGeneres, who rose to fame via her talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which has earned a total of 45 Daytime Emmys during its 10 seasons, has been selected to be the host of the 86th Academy Awards.
“We are thrilled to have Ellen DeGeneres host the Oscars,” said Zadan and Meron. “As a longtime friend, we had always hoped to find a project for us to do together and nothing could be more exciting than teaming up to do the Oscars. There are few stars today who have Ellen’s gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity. She is beloved everywhere and we expect that the audience at the Dolby Theatre, and in homes around the globe, will be as excited by this news as we are.”
“I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say – the third time’s the charm,” said DeGeneres.
I agreed with Craig and Neil immediately that Ellen is the ideal host for this year’s show,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the new President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “We’re looking forward to an entertaining, engaging and fun show.”
The selection of Seth MacFarlane last year was a bit of a stretch, and though I personally enjoyed his approach, the edgey style rubbed some the wrong way. Still, at the end of the day AMPAS went back to him, but Seth said no.
Ellen’s a safer, and available, bet.
Stay tuned.