Billy Crystal ‘itchy’ to host Oscars
Billy Crystal is ready to host the Oscars again.
Crystal was Oscar host eight times between 1990 and 2004, but he said his brief appearance in the 2011 show, as a presenter honouring Bob Hope, has made him “itchy” for more.
At an event in Santa Monica, Calif., this weekend, the 63-year-old comedian was asked about reprising his Academy Award hosting duties by a fan, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“I came out last year as a surprise. It was a last-minute decision,” Crystal said. “They had called and said would you do this thing and honour Bob Hope and that was a kind of cool thing to do. I said OK. I did it, and people wanted to see me, they stood up, and I couldn’t talk for about a minute. And, um, I got a little itchy. So we’ll see what happens. I can’t promise anything.”
Crystal told the audience hosting the Academy Awards takes a big chunk out of his schedule — about four or five months. “I so appreciate that you like when we do it,” he said after drawing applause for saying he is open to the suggestion. “And I had a good time doing them. I did eight of them. And it takes a long time. I sort of stopped doing it — I would do it in patches — and then fortunately I was doing other things that I wanted to do.”
Crystal is currently working on Monsters University, a prequel to animated film Monsters Inc., and also has plans to make a film out of his Tony-winning one-man play 700 Sundays.
The academy and the producers of the awards gala refused to discuss the choice of host for 2012. The 84th Academy Awards are scheduled for Feb. 26, 2012.