So, by now, you’ve probably all heard that the 83rd Annual Academy Awards (set to air February 27, 2011 on ABC) will be co-hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway. And I’m willing to bet that you’ve had at least one debate with your friends recently, as to why that is or isn’t a good idea.
Perhaps, you’ve even read the interview, in which Franco explained his decision to accept the job hosting the Awards, by saying, quite eloquently, “Why not? . . . I don’t care.”
“Yeah . . . umm . . . I guess I’ll do the Oscars. Whatevs. I mean, I don’t have to . . . like . . . get up early for this, do I?”
“So, who the heck is James Franco?” You might be asking yourself . . . Well, for starters, he’s the guy in that movie about that dude who chopped of his own arm . . .
All kidding aside, I heard 127 Hours was actually quite good. I’m just too much of a Big Baby to go see it.
He also played a supporting role in the 2008 Harvey Milk biopic, Milk, alongside Sean Penn . . .
Tight jeans + Porn Star mustache = Super Sexy
Although these are the two roles for which James Franco is most well-known, he’s been in plenty of other stuff too. Here are just a few of Franco’s “Greatest Hits:”
James played The Hot Guy in Freaks and Geeks . . .
He was also The Bad Guy in Spiderman 3 . . .
Check out Franco’s Awesome, “Bad Guys Don’t Botox” Face
He was The Stoned Guy Who’s Not Seth Rogen in The Pineapple Express . . .
And he was That Weird Guy Who Killed People, and then Painted About it on General Hospital . . .
But all of the aforementioned roles mean nothing, if Franco can’t host a decent Award Show, right?
And so, without further adieu, I would like to present to you my argument as to why James Franco has all the qualities one needs, in order to be a FABULOUS Oscars host (complete with photographs, videoclips, and . . . well . . . not much else).
Like all the best Oscar Hosts, James Franco has the ability to stay “cool” under “pressure” . . .
He’s also real good with THE LADIES . . .
Franco is funny (though not always intentionally) . . .
He’s precise!
He’s hardworking . . .
. . . not to mention, INTENSELY DEDICATED to his “craft” . . .
And James can be VERY articulate . . . when he puts his mind to it . . .
(Warning: The below clip contains a bit of what your Mommy would call, “Harsh Language.”)
So, let’s put our Franco-fied doubts to rest, shall we? When it comes to hosting the Oscars, our main man James, is going to do just FINE! And if not? Well . . . who doesn’t like to watch a good train wreck, every now and then! 😉
See you February 27th, James!
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Hot Guy from Freaks and Geeks! At first, I was like “Who the crap is James Franco?”, and then I was like “That hot guy looks familiar!”, and then I was like “HEY, that’s Hot Guy from Freaks and Geeks!”. Yes, that’s what it looks like inside my head.
LOL. Happy to help, Madeleine! Daniel Desario (James Franco’s character from Freaks and Geeks) was AWESOME with a capital “A!” If only the show lasted longer, I’m totally convinced that he and Lindsay would have hooked up . . . They had great chemistry together.
I actually didn’t discover the show until years after it first aired, when I rented the Series DVD from Netflix. But it was WELL worth the wait . . . 🙂
Now, I’m not sure if James Franco will make a good Oscar host . . . but Daniel Desario would be an amazing one! 😉
Ha, don’t feel bad. I’ve never heard of someone having actually watched Freaks and Geeks when if first aired (I know I didn’t. I was like six). And yes, James Franco’s character was awesome, but actually (in terms of awesomeness, not hotness) I kind of preferred Busy Phillips’ character. The main charachter (whose name I can’t remember)’s little brother (whose name I also can’t remember) plays Dr. Lance Sweets on Bones now, and he still looks twelve.
Hey! I WATCHED FREAKS AND GEEKS WHEN IT AIRED!!!
Ok, so clearly I was the ONLY PERSON IN AMERICA but it’s not my fault that I know awesome TV when I see it, and the rest of the world didn’t notice the brilliance under their noses (ok not people who were 6 at the time!)
This is the most random choice EVER. James Franco is just so peculiar. I have no idea what to expect from him other than at some point Anne Hathaway will be chirping away off the teleprompter and he’ll do something bizarre that throws her off, and there will be a weird blip as the producers try and decide if they should cut to an audience reaction or a commercial.
Why not Jake Gyllenhaal? Charming and not likely to freak out members of the spoiled movie star audience!
I think it’s awesome that you watched Freaks and Geeks when it first aired, as opposed to 8 years later, like I did! I actually envy you a bit for that. And given all the people out there, who, like me, became fans after the fact, I’m willing to bet that if even HALF of us had actually watched the show, during its initial airing, Freaks and Geeks would have garnered enough ratings to last at least two more seasons. Perhaps, it was just a show before it’s time (which is weird, considering it was supposed to take place in the early 80s, and aired during the early 00’s. ;))
Now, on to James Franco . . . I have friends who just adore him. So, clearly he’s got something appealing about him. As for me, I’m kind of torn. On one hand, I thought he was great in Freaks and Geeks, spectacular in Milk, and, from what I’ve heard, amazing in 127 hours. Heck, I even liked him in that “Whatever It Takes” movie I showed the clip from in this blog . . . But Spiderman 3 was just BAAAAAAAAAAD. And those YouTube clips of him on General Hospital, kind of made me feel like I was watching a younger, better looking version of Tommy Wiseau in “The Room.” (BTW, if you’ve never seen clips from “The Room,” I suggest you YouTube them now . . . they are HILARIOUSLY AWFUL! :))
I agree with you, that as a presenter, Franco might be a bit of a loose cannon. And it will likely be up to Anne Hathaway, to keep things “kosher,” should he fall out of line . . . or show up to the Awards wasted . . . or whatever. I also agree that Jake G. would be an AMAZING CO-Host for Anne Hathaway. The sexual tension between the two of them, coupled with the inevitable Taylor Swift and Brokeback Mountain jokes ALONE, would be worth the price of admission! 🙂
An Oscars host who is going to be pretty? I might just actually have to tune in this year!
From my vague understanding of his backstory, James is meant to be whip smart, so he might not even be there just for ornamental value. Bonus! 😉
LOL. Good point. Oscars hosts ARE so rarely pretty. (The last really pretty one I recall was Hugh Jackman, a few years back. I thought he did a nice job.)
I’ve heard the rumor that J. Franco is smart as well. But it’s a bit hard to tell, underneath that perpetual stoner persona, he’s always sporting. It will be really interesting to see how Anne and him play off one another . . .
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James Franco received the following from his Oscar professor.
“Oh no I got a D in Oscar hosting
LOL. So, true, auntiecarol69! 🙂
You know, I wrote this post in sort of a tongue-in-cheek way, back when the Academy first selected James Franco to host the Oscars. I was fully expecting to have to eat my snarky words, when he ACTUALLY hosted the show. But I didn’t. The post actually ended up being mildly prophetic. Go figure! 🙂