James Franco and Letterman Share Oscar Horror Stories

James Franco stopped by Letterman to discuss his Oscar hosting failure, and there was no better place to vent. Letterman still jokes about his own failure as an Oscar host, so he clearly empathized with Franco. Franco was very funny during the interview, saying that a lot of people thought he was “under the influence” but he blames Anne Hathaway for the misunderstanding. According to Franco, her energy was so insane, “the Tasmanian devil would look stoned next to her.” Why do I get the strange feeling that James Franco and Anne Hathaway actually hate each other? To be fair to Franco, they were equally bad. But I give him a lot of credit for having a sense of humor about it.

Did You Know: Jesse Eisenberg’s Sister is The Pepsi Kid?

My friend just told me this while complaining that Jesse Eisenberg seems angry every time The Social Network gets mentioned at the Oscars.  Perhaps he’s just as socially awkward as his character?  Anyways, his little sister, Hallie Eisenberg, is the adorably dimpled Pepsi girl.   The brother/sister duo actually worked together in the 2010 film, Holy Rollers.  Who knew?  Watch the commercial below for some nostalgia.

Anne Hathway and James Franco — Worst Hosts in Oscar History

I’ve never appreciated Hugh Jackman so much in my life. There’s something to be said for picking seasoned performers to host the Oscars, and it’s fair to say that Anne Hathaway and James Franco do not qualify. Their opening video package was terrible, as was Anne Hathaway and James Franco’s feeble attempt at jokes. At one point the camera panned to Anne’s mother in the audience, who told her to “stand up straight,” and I almost changed the channel. For a moment I thought Hugh Jackman might come to the rescue and do a number with Anne, but no such luck. Instead, Anne sang a parody of On My Own, in reference to Hugh backing out of their performance. It wasn’t funny, and it was instead extremely uncomfortable to watch. Despite popular belief, it’s not my style to tear people apart on my blog, but choosing these two to host the Oscars is simply inexcusable, and it needs to be said. They should not have been asked and they should not have accepted. There are a lot of seasoned executives involved in this decision-making process, and they should know better. I’m furious.

James Franco is a Jerk — Insults Ricky Gervais

Be careful James Franco.  When you call the comedic mastermind that is Ricky Gervais “horrible” and say he “bombed” at the Golden Globes, you just set yourself up for disaster.  First, earn your stripes before you start throwing daggers at such a successful comedian.  Second, I’d like to place a bet that you and Anne Hathaway will be the worst hosts in Oscar history.  And lastly, how dare you.  Watch below.

More Oscar Promos — Anne Hathaway and James Franco Still Unfunny

The very funny Whitney Cummings once told Howard Stern how annoying it is that actors think they’re funny just because they can read lines written by comedians. Judging by the new promos for this year’s Oscars, Whitney’s got a point. I have absolutely no clue why the Academy thought hiring two non-comedic actors to host an awards show would be a good idea, especially since even the greatest comedian has trouble keeping the audience entertained. Watch the extremely unfunny promo below, and try not to fall asleep.

Why Does the Academy Hate Leonardo Dicaprio?

Fans of The Dishmaster know my love for Leonardo DiCaprio.  He’s extremely skilled at picking roles, and he consistently churns out quality performances.  But despite his artistic and financial success, Dicaprio is consistently overlooked by the Academy.  When you add up the amount of times he didn’t recieve a deserved Oscar nomination, you might shed a tear on his behalf.  I suppose his wads of cash serve as a nice consolation prize, but the disrespect still infuriates me.  The greatest example of this happened in 1997, when everyone and their mother got an Oscar nomination for Titanic, except Leonardo DiCaprio.  DiCaprio skipped the Oscars that year, probably in silent defiance.  Since then, he’s had numerous Oscar worthy roles, though the Academy disagreed.  Examples include: The Aviator; The Departed; Blood Diamond; Revolutionary Road; Shutter Island; and most recently, Inception.  So why do they hate him, and will they ever come around?  I’m not sure, but perhaps Sean Penn will give him hope.  When Sean Penn won the Oscar for Mystic River, he said, “I guess this proves it’s not a popularity contest.”  If the actor most hated by the Academy can win, so can Leo.

Anne Hathaway Impersonates Katie Holmes on SNL — Nails It!

There’s a rumor floating around that Katie Holmes is pissed about Anne Hathaway’s Saturday Night Live impersonation of her.  TomKat’s camp denies this, but since they didn’t publicly say it was funny, I’m guessing they hated it.  The impression is so dead-on accurate, I think Anne Hathaway actually did Katie Holmes a major favor.  Pehaps she should take the time to study the impression so she can figure out why she comes off so strange in interviews.  Watch below.  It starts around the three minute mark.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco Will Host the Oscars — HUH?

I woke up from my long Turkey vacation to discover that Anne Hathaway and James Franco are hosting this year’s Oscars. When I first read this I had to check my calender to confirm that it was December 1 and not April 1, because this ridiculous decision has to be a prank, right? So what were the suits thinking? I can only guess, but here goes. Because Hollywood is so insanely focused on the ridiculous 18-35 demographic for ratings purposes, it only makes sense to choose two very young celebrities to host an aging awards show that is desperately in need of a pick-me-up. Anne Hathaway makes sense because she’s an A-list actress, and her previous performance with Hugh Jackman at the Oscars proves she can carry a tune for at least 10 seconds. As for James Franco — he’s a complete mystery. I read an article about how he’s a heartthrob, and how the students swooned over him during his appearance on Inside the Actors Studio, but I have no idea how that makes him worthy of hosting the Oscars. Also, I don’t mean to be rude — but I find the guy really boring in interviews. And furthermore, the Oscars should be hosted by a comedian. I realize that Hugh Jackman was incredible during his Oscar stint, but he compensated for the comedy by carrying the show with his own performances. Can Anne and James do that?

Hurt Locker Producer Caught Campaigning for Oscar Votes

It’s no secret that this kind of thing happens, but it’s important to apologize when you’re caught. An email was recently leaked, which revealed a producer for The Hurt Locker asking everyone to vote for his film. He also criticized Avatar in the email. The problem? It violates Academy rules, and it is not in the friendly spirit of celebrating cinema. It simply is not good sportsmanship. Instead, you must pretend that you don’t care at all whether you win or lose.

Best Original Song Nominees Will not be Performing at the Oscars

Arists nominated for best original song will not be performing at this year’s Oscars. One of the nominees is allegedly outraged by this revelation. This marks the second year in a row that the Oscars have messed with these performances. Last year the songs were shortened, causing Peter Gabriel to boycott his performance, because he didn’t want to ruin his song by chopping it down. This is such a bummer. It’s one of my favorite parts of the show. Listen to the nominated songs below.