Oscar Watch: Seth MacFarlane to host the Oscars

Posted Monday, October 1, 2012 at 3:13 PM Central
Last updated Monday, October 1, 2012 at 3:14 PM Central

by John Couture

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has been tapped to host the 85th Academy Awards next year according to a press release from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"We are thrilled to have Seth MacFarlane host the Oscars. His performing skills blend perfectly with our ideas for making the show entertaining and fresh," said producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. "He will be the consummate host, and we are so happy to be working with him."

As you may remember, Jimmy Fallon and Lorne Michaels were being bandied about for host and producer respectively for a hot minute, but the rumor fizzled out in August when Michaels officially turned down the Academy. As for Fallon hosting, it never progressed to the offer stage as ABC (the network airing the Oscars telecast) protested loudly over the idea of a late night host from a rival network hosting the Oscars.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon airs on NBC in direct competition to ABC's own late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live.

So, much like last year when Brett Ratner pulled out of the producer's chair and his hand-picked host Eddie Murphy quickly followed suit, the Oscars had to go with Plan B. And this year, Plan B sounds a lot more like Plan A to me.

MacFarlane is young and hip and recently hosted the season premiere of Saturday Night Live to near universal acclaim.

"It's truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars," said MacFarlane. "My thoughts upon hearing the news were, one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors; and two, I hope they don't find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen Roast."

MacFarlane recently wrote, directed and voiced the titular character in this Summer's raunchiest hit comedy Ted. While it's a pretty safe bet that MacFarlane won't have to juggle the dual role of host and nominee like one of his more recent predecessors James Franco (the Academy has historically overlooked comedies), there is a precedent for a host winning an Oscar.

At the 31st Academy Awards, co-host David Niven won the Oscar for Best Actor for Separate Tables. While it's unlikely that MacFarlane would even be nominated, how awesome would it be to see him accept the Oscar through all of his voices?

The 85th Academy Awards are set to be handed out and aired live on Sunday, February 24, 2013.