The Oscars had a lot to offer viewers on Sunday, March 24th, with a 50 year tribute to 007, a “music in the movies” theme with several musical performances, and host Seth MacFarlane. Though Seth received many mixed reviews on his opening act, we all know it’s hard to host the Oscars. Even though it is a hard act for a first timer, there are several success stories. Here’s a list of 5 of our favorite past openers:
5. Ellen DeGeneres – 2007
Ellen impressed audience members with her ease on stage. She poked fun at the actors and made viewers at home laugh. With movie highlights of Little Miss Sunshine, Dream Girls, and The Departed, Ellen had a wide array of actors to point to for laughs in her opening monologue. Most memorable moment of her hosting was when she went out to the actors in the crowd and chatted with the stars. View her handing Martin Scorsese a screen play she had written titled “Goodmommas”, a cross between Goodfellas and Big Momma’s House. Watch it here.
4. Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin – 2010
With a sashay entrance to the front of the stage, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin had the crowd laughing the whole night. The Blind Side, Up in the Air, and Avatar were some movie highlights from that year. Although the night was filled with some controversy, no one could deny that Martin and Baldwin had a great opening monolog.
3. Hugh Jackman – 2009
Many people expected Hugh Jackman to be a charming host, and he lived up to all the hype. His opening musical number found ways to sing about Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, and The Dark Knight while acknowledging the fact that the country was in the midst of a recession. One of viewers’ favorite moments came when Hugh grabbed Anne Hathaway out of the crowd for a duet. View the whole opening number here on YouTube.
2. Jon Stewart – 2006
Jon Stewart faced the tough task of hosting the Oscars the year of the writers’ strike. Jon made jokes about the crazy movies that year asking “does this town need a hug?”, commenting on films such as No Country for Old Men, Sweeny Todd, and There Will Be Blood. “Thank god for teen pregnancy!” was his exclamation for Juno. Watch his whole opening monolog here!
1. Billy Crystal – 2012
Being Billy Crystal’s ninth time hosting the Oscars, he knew how to handle the stage. He gets number one on our list purely because he’s done it well so many times. As he has done many times before, Billy sang an Oscar song. The night started with a video of Billy inserting himself into popular scenes from movies that year including, Hard Ball, Midnight in Paris, and Bridesmaids. Even Justin Bieber made an appearance to “give him the 18-24 demographic.”