SubscribeNot even Jon Stewart will attend Gil Cates' starless Oscarcast
Big news? We didn't really expect the desperate-to-be-hip "Daily Show" host to cross a picket line, but he's managed so far to dodge saying what he'd do if one stood between him and his upcoming gig on Feb. 24. MediaBistro.com reports, 
"A tipster has told FishbowlNY that Jon Stewart is telling insiders he will not host the Oscars unless the WGA writer's strike is settled." So, gee, doesn't it sound like the Oscarcast can turn out to be a real blast? Especially now that Gil Cates has confessed to the L.A. Times that his Top Secret Plan entails going on without other celebs ("I just hope that the actors are there — I pray that the actors are there") while filling up the telecast with old clips of past shows (finally you can decide if you believe the academy's ridiculous claim that it had no idea that a streaker would dart out behind David Niven — please note how conveniently angled the cameras were so that they didn't reveal a view of a jiggling tallywacker).
Jossip.com puts this latest news in refreshing perspective: "Jon Stewart will do a lot of things for his career, like star as the third leading male in 'Death To Smoochy.' But crossing the picket line, that is too much."
After almost killing the Oscar show all by himself the last time he flamed out as host, let's hope he has the decency to stay home even if the strike is settled. As Tom Shales of the Washington Post noted, Stewart presided "with a smug humorlessness," proving to be a sad and pale shadow of great hosts gone by." Here's a roundup of other media blasts Stewart got for a job poorly done - CLICK HERE.
BTW, cute picture--except it's obviously Photoshopped; that Oscar has way too much shine to be one of the Academy's props. And couldn't they have used pictures of the Kodak Theatre instead of the Shrine Auditorium?
Posted by: RBBrittain | January 26, 2008 at 09:51 PM
Alas, I'm afraid we will see Jon after all. Even if the WGA doesn't settle, the list of companies that could put Gil Cates on their payroll to avoid the pickets is getting longer; in fact, Lionsgate may have overtaken United Artists as the most likely white knight.
Posted by: RBBrittain | January 26, 2008 at 09:47 PM
I like Jon Stewart on his own show but he was a lousy Oscar host. It seemed like he didn't even know much about the movies that were nominated. The show will be fine without him.
Posted by: Aura | January 26, 2008 at 01:21 PM
Nikki Finke is hinting that the strike may be settled before the Oscars.
Either way, I hope Jon does host, simply so Tom can write another angry blog about how Billy Crystal should be dusted off so he can hack it up.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow | January 26, 2008 at 12:29 PM
I think your criticism of Stewart's last hosting gig is becoming mean-spirited. You seem to take pleasure in announcing how bad he was every time you have occasion to write his name. His reviews as Oscar host were decidedly mixed, some quite negative (as you so gleefully posted a link to), but he was hardly bad enough to "almost kill the Oscar show all by himself." Certainly, his decision not to show up can't be seen as any kind of silver lining considering the butchered telecast Gil Cates has proposed.
Posted by: 742 | January 26, 2008 at 12:10 PM