Neil Patrick Harris' first and last year as Oscar host- Page 4

[DAME]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:18pm

Moustacha, I can read credits as well. I am telling you .. he had a lot to say and a lot to do with the way things went last night. He said so himself.
@Ray we felt the same way.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:27pm

He flopped. It happens. I'm over it.

[MOUSTACHA]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:31pm

DAME: Do you really believe any host would say to reporters: "Well they shot down most of my ideas, so I'm just going with the flow."

Of course he had a lot to do with those things, but the assertion that he holds the brunt of blame of what failed last night is not at all fair - those that actually are credited as responsible for the production do. He was directed, and had a script just like any other performance. He did the best with what he had, and it unfortunately didn't resonate with the people in the room, or on the other side of the screen.

Ultimately we will never know. These things are usually buried and not released until some tell-all memoir.

Updated On: 2/23/15 at 02:31 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:33pm

I think Neil would have been very foolish if he didn't negotiate script control into his contract. Suppose they forced him to tell an anti-gay joke? Do you think he would go along with that?

But I also blame Zadan and Meron. Everybody thinks they are so great because they brought live musicals to tv (despite Peter Pan being very mediocre). But Z&M are very hit or miss. They just didn't hire writers to write to Neil's personality.

[DAME]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:33pm

Oh no. I do know. But I will ditto Mr Matt. He flopped. It happens. I'm over it.

Updated On: 2/23/15 at 02:33 PM

[east side story]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:36pm

Sean Penn's green card joke did not bother anyone because he is as liberal, and quite vocal about it, as one can get. He also has worked with Inarritu in the past, so Alejandro is more than aware of Penn's sense of humor. Plus, it's Sean p*ucking Penn.

[MOUSTACHA]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:36pm

That's sort of a straw man arguement, Gothampc. The Academy and ABC have very little reason not to be appropriate. I'm sure he had some sort of valve to negotiate a little wiggle room, but I highly doubt there was much negotiation - especially for a first time host.

We agree on Zadan/Meron. One of the reasons the Tony's do so well with NPH is he brings in people that work well with his style and his humor, and due to multiple hosting has a lot of creative control. If he failed at that, I'd be throwing daggers at him like everyone else. Hopefully (though I doubt) it's a good lesson for the Academy and ABC to take away.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:43pm

The lesson being don't hire Neil Patrick Harris as host.

[SmokeyLady]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:50pm

He was bland last night. Which is about the worst thing he can be. And the blame is his. That is the way it is. He would have been taking the praise had he succeeded. . That being said; it is time for new producers and creatives.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:51pm

MOUSTACHA---I have friends who have written for awards shows for years. Some of the biggies, including the one you watched last night. They are hired for the gig and crank out plenty of material well before and also during the broadcast, but none of them have final say as to what the host delivers. The host decides. Even the director yields to the host. It's not the same thing as an actor hired to play a role, where "the play's the thing" on stage, or "it's a director's medium" on film. This is a hosting gig, akin to a stand-up comic or talk-show host.

And other than the network censoring anything inappropriate with their five-second delay, they approve the host in advance, which includes that host's "brand" (or type) of material. They don't intervene and micromanage creatively after the approval.

EDIT: And actually, the network isn't in charge of this show at all. The Motion Picture Academy is. They're the ones who produce it and sell the broadcast rights to the network.

Updated On: 2/23/15 at 02:51 PM

[Jamie Pierce]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:51pm

For whatever reason, so many talented individuals, many with previous experience, end up as bad to mediocre Oscar hosts: David Lettermen, Jon Stewart, Ellen DeGeneres, Seth McFarlane, Chevy Chase (leave alone Franco/Hathaway which was just poor concept). I believe they call it the Oscar Host Curse.

[SmokeyLady]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 2:54pm

Seth McFarlane was the best in that list.

[tazber]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:06pm

I was very surprised at how bad he was.

I'm a casual fan and I think he's the best host around, so it's perplexing that he did so poorly.

I give him a pass for the writing. It was awful and tone deaf. It wasn't relevant, insidery, edgy, or funny.

But be that as it may, NPH didn't seem to be even attempting to land the jokes.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:06pm

Moustacha, one of Neil's jobs is to protect his brand and "personality". Being a first time host of the Oscar, he should have been very aware of how the jokes would go over or at least have someone to guide him.

Part of what makes a good host is how much of a sense of fun the host has. Ellen's jokes weren't all that memorable, but everyone had fun with the selfie and with the pizza ordering. Remember several years ago and Billy Crystal's running jokes about Jack Palance's exercise regime? Both of those people had a sense of fun.

David Letterman, on the other hand, may be able to write funny material, but he's the Larry King of hosting. "Uma, Oprah" being one of the most desperately unfunny things ever done.

I think Neil lacks that sense of fun personality. He tries to manufacture it, but it's not really there.

I'm sure Neil had enough clout to find someone to shape the material to his personality. For example, Bette Midler had some great zingers coming straight from the brain of Bruce Vilanch. I heard one of her jokes over 20 years ago and I still remember it. She was talking about how Princess Anne loved horses and Bette said, "She loves nature, despite what it did to her." I don't know if Vilanch wrote that, but whoever did should have been paid a million dollars for that one liner because it was hilarious and exactly something you would expect Bette to say.

Updated On: 2/23/15 at 03:06 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:10pm

On a positive note he was still way better than Franco.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:18pm

"In his defense, hosting the Tonys is a different animal"

Exactly but I think he should have been aware of that and performed accordingly.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:31pm

Theatre people don't mind having a light shine on them in front of a large live audience ... movie people (if they're not theatre people) generally hate it. They freeze up and look uncomfortable or upset. They love the camera, but not a live crowd and millions of viewers.

If Neil had stuck to general ribbing of them as a group, they would have laughed and felt somewhat "safe." He went after individuals in the audience with stupid comments like the one early on for Oprah: "because you're rich," which made them all feel awkward.

He tanked. I'm over it, too. But I'm also not delusional that he is some sort of victim here. He tried the gig and wasn't successful at it.

I would love to see him host the Tonys again. The Oscars? Nope.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:42pm

"What do all successful oscar hosts have in common? They're all comedians. (degeneres, rock, crystal, martin) Comedians know how to handle that type of room and that caliber of an awards show."

Alice, you should probably see a doctor about that Alzheimers.

People hated Chris Rock. I remember many were offended by him mocking the celebrities, as well as insulting the seriousness of the awards with that clip of him average moviegoers what their favorite movie of the last year was.

Last year, people complained about Ellen's schtick with the pizza and the selfie.

Billy Crystal did blackface in the year 2012.


No one will ever be happy with the Oscars host, and people seem to willfully forget that they complain "Worst. Host. Ever." every single year. When will we finally admit that the problem is the show, not the host?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:45pm

"When will we finally admit that the problem is the show, not the host?"

What do you think would improve the show? Or is it a format whose time has passed like the Miss America pagent?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:49pm

And the next question is: Is this representatitve of what his variety show is going to be like?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 3:55pm

I miss the Debbie Allen dancers.

[MOUSTACHA]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:03pm

I hope my defense didn't seem like I was making Neil the victim. I certainly understand that he has to protect his brand. The large writing, directing, and managing staff is to set the host up for the best success possible. To think the multi-billion media beast of ABC doesn't have a say is a little ridiculous. Do they walk in and make directing decisions? Well, of course not. Do they go to the producers and say, there is no way that'll work - absolutely.

The director and producers are the ones that hold the power. Are they demanding Neil do something this way or that? probably not. But they aren't just putting jokes on a table and saying "now you decide." These sorts of gigs have a large drawn out gameplan, both in pacing and in tone. That plan is set by the producer/directors and executed by the hosts. I've never said Neil didn't have input and he undoubtedly shares the blame.

Most of the complaints here are rather spiteful rebukes of NPH's entire career by casting this as a complete failure. I'm just trying to point out that it's more complicated than that. Many people share the blame - NPH included.

The previous comment hits it on the head - the problem is the show. Most of those people don't want to be there, it's boring and stale. The host can only do so much, even with good material.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:08pm

The problem is the show? I was entertained by pretty much everything not NPH-related last night, so I don't know how true that is. And last night, he WAS a complete failure, regardless of who you want to blame it on.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:11pm

"What do you think would improve the show? Or is it a format whose time has passed like the Miss America pagent?"

I don't know. Open bars like the Golden Globes? Everyone takes the Oscars so seriously and there are so many freaking awards shows every year that by the time they finally get to it, everyone is so uptight and no one is having fun, and it comes across that way to the viewers.

[Robbie2]

Posted: 2/23/15 at 4:11pm

NPH ill at ease as Oscar host!!!
Simply a bad choice on the producers part and they left out ELAINE STRITCH & Joan Rivers ~ In Memoriam... Shame on you!
The show was a complete bore only highlighted by John Legend's powerfully moving GLORY & Gaga's amazingly beautiful SOUND OF MUSIC tribute!
The opening had promise but Neil was drowned out by the too loud orchestra as one could not understand the lyrics.
Nothing worked for him at the OSCARS!
He's better off suited as Tony host at least he commands the stage differently.
A better fit on Broadway!