The best Oscars hosts are usually the hippest cats in Hollywood: Ellen DeGeneres, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Johnny Carson, etc.
Right now nobody is cooler than John Oliver, who is causing a firestorm of controversy with skewering religious leaders who promise divine reward in exchange for donations from the faithful. (Watch video below.)
John Oliver doesn’t fit the usual profile of Oscar host, you say? Not true. His Comedy Central predecessor Jon Stewart hosted the Academy Awards ceremony twice.
Oliver has a media advantage over other contenders. His program “Last Week Tonight” appears on HBO, which doesn’t pose the kind of ratings threat to ABC (the Oscars’ network) that the other broadcast channels do. It’s very rare that ABC will permit a star from NBC or CBS to emcee. That rules out possibilities like Jimmy Fallon and limits the field of choices.
Do you think John Oliver would be a great Oscar host?
Photo: HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection/REX
