Bye Bye Billy

Scott Hardie | July 18, 2001
Billy Crystal revealed in a magazine interview yesterday that, for the foreseeable future, he will no longer host the Academy Awards. And the country sees this as a bad thing?

Don't get me wrong, Crystal is funny. But there are a lot of people who are more funny. Steve Martin's performance this past March was funnier (and more professional) than any of Crystal's performances. (Then again, I'm one of the few people who thought Dave Letterman did a good job.) What Crystal did bring to the table was vigor: He really put his heart into every aspect of hosting the show, and that level of enthusiasm, not surprisingly, was something that he simply couldn't generate year after year. But I say, enthusiasm doesn't matter.

The Academy should try a new host every year. Martin was good enough this year to demonstrate that there's other talent besides just Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg. Let a new host take a crack at it each year. Tom Hanks would make a fantastic host. So would Mike Myers, loathe that I am to admit it. Eddie Murphy? Sigourney Weaver? Hell, James Woods could probably put on a good show.

Any other ideas?

Kelly Lee | July 19, 2001
I personally think that Tom Hanks and Wilson would make a good duo, or you could have Christopher Walken-he do a little dance to make the audience cheer and then glare menacingly at the audience to make them stop. Over and over again. Hell, I'd pay money to see that.

Scott Hardie | July 19, 2001
You know what? I would too. I've seen "Bring Back Billy" campaigns, fans trying to get Crystal to host the show again. They're what prompted him to declare that he wouldn't, instead of saying nothing. We should start a campaign to get Christopher Walken to host the 2002 Oscars!