Did the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have any other choice but ask Billy Crystal to save their bacon?

Crystal agreed to host the annual Oscars telecast today, making it the ninth time he’ll emcee film’s biggest night.

Hosting the Oscars may be the toughest gig in Hollywood – next to doing PR for Charlie Sheen – but Crystal makes it look easy. He even accepted the assignment in style, Tweeting a funny line about why he said yes:

“Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions,” Crystal said in a tweet, confirmed by an Academy spokeswoman. “Looking forward to the show,” he said.

Good start, indeed. Maybe if he’s on his game we’ll forget all about why he got the job in the first place.