Hollywood extravaganza mixes old with new
Source: Agencies |
March 1, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
OSCARS organizers tried something unprecedented in the awards' 83-year history on Sunday - entrusting a young, attractive pair of Hollywood stars to host the film industry's highest honors.
But the efforts of James Franco and Anne Hathaway fell largely flat, according to early reviews of their first stint as Oscars hosts.
The New York Times said that "the prolonged effort to pander to younger viewers was downright painful" at times, while the Boston Herald remarked sourly that "references to the Internet, apps and Facebook do not make a show trendy, or alas, entertaining."
Entertainment Weekly, however, said that Hathaway, 28, and Franco, 32, were "marvelous Oscars hosts" calling them "funny, poised, relaxed, and smart."
Producers of the Oscars telecast had been hoping that the duo might lure younger viewers who have -increasingly tuned out the Oscars in recent years.
"Anne, I must say, you look so beautiful and so hip," Franco deadpanned as show opened.
"Oh, thank you, James," said Hathaway, the youngest host in Oscars history. "You look very -appealing to a younger demographic as well."
Early in the show, presenter Justin Timberlake, appeared to use a smartphone app to illuminate a "Shrek" backdrop to introduce awards for animated films.
Two films wildly popular with young moviegoers this past year, "Twilight" sequel "Eclipse" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly -Hallows: Part 1," figured prominently in a pre-taped comic lip-syncing sequence.
But the show hardly turned its back on Hollywood of yesteryear. Kirk Douglas, 94, his speech badly slurred from a stroke 15 years ago, shuffled on stage with a cane to present the Oscar for best -supporting actress to Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."
Douglas alluded to the Oscars generation gap in complimenting Hathaway on her looks.
"She's gorgeous," he said as the young actress blew him kisses. "Where were you when I was -making pictures?"
The program frequently conjured up images and music from Oscar-winning film blockbusters of yore, from "Gone with the Wind" to "Star Wars" and "Titanic."
In one the biggest nods to Hollywood's older set, former host Billy Crystal made a surprise appearance to introduce a salute to the first televised Oscars in 1953, and its master of ceremonies, the late Bob Hope.
But the efforts of James Franco and Anne Hathaway fell largely flat, according to early reviews of their first stint as Oscars hosts.
The New York Times said that "the prolonged effort to pander to younger viewers was downright painful" at times, while the Boston Herald remarked sourly that "references to the Internet, apps and Facebook do not make a show trendy, or alas, entertaining."
Entertainment Weekly, however, said that Hathaway, 28, and Franco, 32, were "marvelous Oscars hosts" calling them "funny, poised, relaxed, and smart."
Producers of the Oscars telecast had been hoping that the duo might lure younger viewers who have -increasingly tuned out the Oscars in recent years.
"Anne, I must say, you look so beautiful and so hip," Franco deadpanned as show opened.
"Oh, thank you, James," said Hathaway, the youngest host in Oscars history. "You look very -appealing to a younger demographic as well."
Early in the show, presenter Justin Timberlake, appeared to use a smartphone app to illuminate a "Shrek" backdrop to introduce awards for animated films.
Two films wildly popular with young moviegoers this past year, "Twilight" sequel "Eclipse" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly -Hallows: Part 1," figured prominently in a pre-taped comic lip-syncing sequence.
But the show hardly turned its back on Hollywood of yesteryear. Kirk Douglas, 94, his speech badly slurred from a stroke 15 years ago, shuffled on stage with a cane to present the Oscar for best -supporting actress to Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."
Douglas alluded to the Oscars generation gap in complimenting Hathaway on her looks.
"She's gorgeous," he said as the young actress blew him kisses. "Where were you when I was -making pictures?"
The program frequently conjured up images and music from Oscar-winning film blockbusters of yore, from "Gone with the Wind" to "Star Wars" and "Titanic."
In one the biggest nods to Hollywood's older set, former host Billy Crystal made a surprise appearance to introduce a salute to the first televised Oscars in 1953, and its master of ceremonies, the late Bob Hope.
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