June 20, 2013

Fallon was asked, and passed, on Oscar host gig

BY: AP Staff Writer AUGUST 8, 2012 | MODIFIED: AUGUST 8, 2012 AT 7:15 PM
Leave a comment
Photo -   FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2010 file photo, host Jimmy Fallon presents during the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Fallon told Matt Lauer on Wed., Aug. 8, 2012 during a "Today" show broadcast, that he was asked to host next year’s 85th Academy Awards but declined the gig. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2010 file photo, host Jimmy Fallon presents during the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Fallon told Matt Lauer on Wed., Aug. 8, 2012 during a "Today" show broadcast, that he was asked to host next year’s 85th Academy Awards but declined the gig. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Fallon says he was asked to host next year's Academy Awards but declined the gig.

The talk-show host told Matt Lauer Wednesday that "it's an honor to be asked by the academy, but it's not my year."

Fallon, who hosted the 2010 Primetime Emmys, made the remarks during a "Today" show broadcast from London.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not respond to requests for comment. The organization recently elected a new president, Hawk Koch, whose responsibility it is to help select the Oscar telecast producer.

Traditionally, the producer then chooses the Oscar host. But the academy has not announced its choice for producer, yet Fallon's comments would suggest the process of selecting a host is already under way.

Meanwhile, last year's Oscar host, Billy Crystal, tells USA Today he would be open to returning for a 10th turn at leading the ceremony. "The door is open. It's up to them. I had a very good time this last time," he said.

The 85th Academy Awards will be presented Feb. 24, 2013.

View article comments Leave a comment

More from washingtonexaminer.com

From the Weekly Standard

  • June 17, 1953

    Today, speaking at the Brandenburg Gate, President Obama paid appropriate tribute to the brave East Germans who rebelled 60 years ago against Communist dictatorship:

    Read More...
  • Problems of the Second Generation

    The Boston Marathon bombings highlighted, once again, the challenges of assimilating Muslim youth. And while the onus of accountability ought not rest exclusively on Muslim Americans, it...

    Read More...
  • Release Osama Bin Laden’s Files on Taliban

    The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it was moving forward with its attempt to negotiate with the Taliban, which has opened a long-awaited political office in Doha, Qatar. The...

    Read More...