Movie lovers rarely agree on anything, but we’re pretty sure 99 percent of Academy Awards watchers hated James Franco’s performance as Oscar co-host last year.
Fellow actor Seth Rogen is sticking up for his “Pineapple Express” co-star, albeit belatedly.
Rogen, most recently seen in “50/50,” contends it’s the producers’ fault when an Oscar host stumbles. And, in the case of Franco’s ill-fated pairing with Anne Hathaway last year, no one could have saved the show from itself, according to comments from Rogen published at MovieLine:
I think when you agree to do something like that, you put a certain amount of faith in the institution, hoping that they’ll take care of you, and I feel like they didn’t [take care of him]. Why hire James Franco and then give him Billy Crystal’s monologue? It was like, “Oh, we’ll hire these young hosts and then we’ll just do the same sh*t we do every f*cking year.” Which to me was really odd. I think they just approached it wrong. They didn’t think it through, and they were way underprepared. I think they hung him out to dry. So I wouldn’t do it unless they hired some better writers [laughs].
Rogen deserves credit for sticking up for a pal, but his logic is ultimately flawed.
Oscar hosts are given a set amount of material they likely can’t change, but they still are responsible for creating a sense of comfort and ease. Billy Crystal isn’t the best Oscar host in recent memory because of his killer punch lines. He’s great because he lets us know he’ll be there to guide us through the long, and often torturous, ceremony. We’re in good hands with Crystal, period.
Franco looked alternately bored and bemused, and that’s hardly the best way to approach the gig.
Most importantly, if Franco didn’t think he could work within the Oscar format he should have politely declined the gig. After all, the actor is pretty busy these days and is hardly wanting for work.