Ellen DeGeneres has been set to host the 79th Academy Awards telecast, producer Laura Ziskin announced today. It will be DeGeneres’ first time as Oscar host, as well as her first appearance on an Academy Awards telecast. "Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards," said Ziskin. "There is no more challenging hosting job in show business. It requires someone who can keep the show alive and fresh and moving, as well as someone who is a flat-out great entertainer. Ellen completely fits the bill. I can already tell she is going to set the bar very high for herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on the show. Now all we need is a lot of great movies."DeGeneres is the host of the syndicated talk show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which this year won its third Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show and earned DeGeneres her second Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host."When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled," said DeGeneres. "There’s two things I’ve always wanted to do in my life One is to host the Oscars. The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that day’s diary entry."DeGeneres has twice hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast and co-hosted the show in 1994. For her first solo Emmy stint, which took place shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, she received high praise."She just sparkles," said Academy President Sid Ganis. "She is such a pleasure to watch. Her wit cuts to the truth of things, but in a wonderfully warm-spirited way. I think she’ll be a fantastic host for this show and we’re extremely pleased that she’s agreed to do it."
KABC
What a week for her, first the car ax, then the great ratings for her talk show and now she is going to host the Oscars! What is next for her? BTW I bet you she is going to be funny as all heck!
