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Billy and Oscar, together again: Crystal hosts Academy Awards By Jay Bobbin © Zap2it No introduction is nec- essary: Billy Crystal and Oscar already know each other quite well. The actor-filmmaker- comedian has hosted the Academy Awards eight times, and he's now on deck for his ninth. He'll preside over the movie industry's 84th annual ceremony Sunday, Feb. 26, on ABC ... and given this year's nominees, don't be surprised if he goes si- lent like an "Artist," shows some iron in the guise of a former prime minister or sports a dragon tattoo. Crystal agreed to return after originally scheduled host Eddie Murphy exited, following the departure of initially set producer Brett Ratner (replaced by Brian Grazer, who now is producing the event with award-show veteran Don Mischer). In other ways as well, Crystal felt the timing was right for him to take the job again, as he ex- plained to this writer. Q: Have you kept up with this year's nominated movies? A: I've seen pretty much everything. There were certain perfor- mances I hadn't seen that I went back and looked at to see if a joke might be made, because whoever that person is will now be in the audience. We'd been developing things, but when the nominations came out, that's when we really started grinding for four or five weeks. Q: You've acknowledged that a lot of expectation comes with your return to host the Oscars. Are you managing that well? A: Well, I don't know how well I manage any- thing! Anxiety can be a very healthy thing, too. In the past, I've always tried to top myself in what we've done on the show, and we're going to try to do that again. People seem happy that I'm com- ing back, and I'm happy that I'm coming back, so I want to give them the best show I can. With that comes pressure to make it as good as you can. Q: When people antici- pate you'll insert yourself into clips from the past year's movies and do your musical satire "It's a Won- derful Night for Oscar," how do you work with or against that to stay sur- prising? A: What I like to do and what the audience wants me to do can be two dif- ferent things. In my mind, I'm not going to do certain things they want ... then you start thinking about it and go, "Well, maybe I should." I'm just looking to have a good time and hopefully, the audience will, too. Q: After things fell apart with the original host- ing plans for this year, it seemed you got on board pretty quickly. A: Yeah, it took one day. I was in Atlanta finishing up a movie that's coming out in November — "Pa- rental Guidance," with Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei, something I'd re- ally been struggling to get made for the last five years — and that's where I'd spent most of my ener- gy, besides my Broadway show and touring. We were 2 1/2 weeks from finishing that when (the Oscar plans) started to unravel, and I had a feeling they were going to come to me. Then Brian called and said, "I want you," and I said, "Let me think about it." And when I hung up, I actually was angry. I was like, "I'm finishing up a passion project that's been going great. I don't want to be thinking about this now." Q: What changed your mind? A: I woke up at 3 in the morning in the hotel, and I had an idea that I thought was funny, and I wrote it down. And it made me laugh, and I couldn't sleep. Then I had another idea and another, and I said to myself, "OK, try to fall asleep again. If you wake up with a smile, then you'll do it." When I woke up, I called my wife, Janice. In 41 years of marriage, we've made every deci- sion together, right from the beginning. I said, "What do you think?" She said, "Are you smiling?" I said, "Yeah." She said, "Then do it." And I called Brian, and I said, "OK." Q: Your relatively brief appearance at last year's Academy Awards got a huge response. How far did that go toward your decision about this year? A: That was a big part of it. That moment took my breath away, and I'm somebody who's not usu- ally at a loss for words. It was very warm and lov- ing, and it got me a little itchy. This will be my ninth time, second only to Bob Hope in the number of times someone has host- ed the Oscars, and being welcomed back in that way made me think about doing it again. Catch the Craze & Save! Save on Rentals • Breakfast Get Free Glass Cleaner Save on a Quilt Find these great savings plus more on Coupon Craze! In The Goshen News every Monday, Online everyday! Nobody covers your hometown better 114 S. Main St., Goshen 574-533-2151 www.goshennews.com Employment Ad Today! Over 3,500 resumes are posted on monster.com in The Goshen News readership areas. 574-533-2151 ext. 398 goshennews.com / O Express nspection just il Change I Plus a FREE Prices vary by model. Plus tax & fees. Coupon must be presented at write up and cannot be combined with other offers. Expires 2/29/12. $2995 . Billy Crystal hosts the 84th Annual Academy Awards Sunday on ABC. 2 The Goshen News • Viewer's Choice • Saturday, February 25 - Friday, March 2, 2012 Nobody Knows Our Hometown Better! Place Your

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