No surprise here as I mentioned it as soon as Eddie Murphy 2012 Oscars. This will mark the ninth time Crystal has hosted the show, the last time he hosted was in 2004 for the 76th Academy Awards when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King took home Best Picture.
Crystal’s post on Twitter went like this:
“Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions. Looking forward to the show.”
The Academy officially sent out a press release a little over two hours after Crystal’s tweet. Here’s how it read:
Producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have announced that Billy Crystal will serve as host for the 84th Academy Awards. “I’m thrilled to welcome Billy back to the Oscar stage,” said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak. “He’s a comic legend and Oscar icon, and it feels good to have him back where he belongs.”
Commented Grazer, “Like so many others, I’ve been eager to see Billy host again. It’s very gratifying that he agreed to do it with Don and me at the helm.”
Said Mischer, “With Billy, we’re moving forward with one of the greatest hosts in Oscar history. His return to the Oscars is, in a sense, a celebration.”
This will mark Crystal’s ninth time as host. Only Bob Hope has hosted more Academy Awards presentations, with 19 ceremonies between 1940 and 1978. Crystal last hosted the Academy Awards in 2004.
“Some of the best moments of my career have happened on the Oscar stage. I am thrilled to be back there. Actually, I am doing this so that the young woman in my pharmacy will stop asking me my name when I pick up my prescriptions,” said Crystal.
The 84th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, and as has become tradition around these parts I will be live-blogging the event once again with live winners and commentary. If you missed my coverage last year you can click here to see how it all went down.
