Monday, September 5, 2011

Eddie Murphy Might Be Hosting the Academy Awards

Eddie Murphy
Your Black World reports.

There is talk that Eddie Murphy could end up being the host for the 2012 Academy Awards.  No decision has been made, but inside sources are saying that Murphy is the leading candidate for the job.  Producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer are going to meet this week with the Academy of Motion Pictures President Tom Sherak, where a decision could be made. 

The decision to use Murphy is likely a response to the sagging ratings of the Academy Awards, but their ratings tend to be higher when they use seasoned comedians.  The academy is also accused of being racially-biased, excluding black actors and actresses from the pool of award recipients.  There the additional bias that when African Americans are given awards, they tend to receive them for stereotypical or embarrassing roles, as in the cases of Denzel Washington and Halle Berry.  Berry and Washington were awarded "Best Actress" and "Best Actor" for their roles in "Monster's Ball" and "Training Day," respectively.

Murphy is considered to be a prime choice for the slot because he is an energetic comedian and ready to be spontaneous.   The concern is that it's been years since he's worked on stage as a stand-up comedian, and also, his movie career hasn't been very strong as of late.    He currently has two films coming out  over the next year:  "Tower Heist" is set to be released in early November, and "A Thousand Words" comes out in January, right before the Oscars.

No comments: