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Rumor Mill: Billy Crystal to Host the Oscars?
Move over, Muppets, Billy Crystal is going to be the host for the 84th Academy Awards. At least, so says Crystal on his Twitter account.
In what reads as a bit of self-deprecating humor, Crystal Tweeted today:
So far, there has been no official announcement from the Oscars about a new host, who quickly rallied after losing producer Brett Ratner to his own poor taste to replace him with veteran producer Brian Grazer. Just one day after Ratner's exit, actor Eddie Murphy backed out as host of the February 26, 2012 extravaganza.
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Crystal, a past host, could be Grazer's pick among the pool of talent; for six of Crystal's Oscars gigs, the late Gil Cates served as his producer. Crystal hosted the Academy Awards broadcast in 1990-1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2004; and he reportedly turned down hosting the 2006 ceremony to concentrate on his one-man show, 700 Sundays.
Can we believe Crystal's own hype? We'll see.
UPDATE 2:04 PM: The Academy Re-Tweeted Crystal's "host" Tweet, and other sites, like Deadline Hollywood, are confirming the rumor.
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