Following the news that Eddie Murphy was no longer going to host The Oscars after Brett Ratner’s departure as producer, it’s looking like Billy Crystal will step up to take on the role for the ninth time.
Variety’s Jeff Sneider tweeted the confirmation after Crystal tweeted:
Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions. Looking forward to the show
Apparently Crystal wasn’t just joking around. According to Sneider’s brief tweet, Crystal is indeed confirmed to host the 2012 Academy Awards. The Hollywood Reporter has also posted the confirmation.
Crystal certainly has plenty of experience at the job, having served as host eight other times, the first of which was twenty-one years ago. He still has a long way to go to catch up with Bob Hope, who hosted or co-hosted the Oscars a whopping 18 times.
This news follows earlier reports that Ricky Gervais may have been willing to take the job. And of course, some of us will be disappointed to know the Muppets didn’t get the job. At the very least, we know the show will be in capable hands with Crystal as host.
