London: Actor Eddie Murphy, who was set to host the 84th Oscar awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Beverly Hills Feb 26 next year, has stepped down as the host.
Murphy departed in support of Brett Ratner, his Tower Heist director, who resigned from the post of co-producer of the Oscars, reports contactmusic.com.
Ratner resigned Tuesday over a homophobic slur he used during a question-and-answer session with fans on Nov 4 and his friend Murphy stepped down as host Wednesday.
Movie mogul Brian Grazer will replace Ratner as the co-producer of the 84th annual Oscars along with noted television producer Don Mischer, however, it still isn’t clear who will host the gala event.
Grazer, 60, is the producer of movies like A Beautiful Mind, which won him the Best Picture Oscar, Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon. His current projects include J Edgar and Tower Heist, directed by now sacked Ratner. It is for the first time that Grazer is producing the Oscar telecast.
Announcing this, Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences president Tom Sherak said: “Brian Grazer is a renowned filmmaker who over the past 25 years has produced a diverse and extraordinary body of work. He will certainly bring his tremendous talent, creativity and relationships to the Oscars.”
Grazer, whose appointment came at the last minute, has to put together the awards spectacle in just 15 weeks.
And Grazer said: “It’s very gratifying to be part of a show that honours excellence in the medium to which I have devoted so much of my career.”
Mischer, who has produced the Emmy Awards, The Grand Opening of Euro Disney, the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics, said they are looking forward to produce an outstanding show in February.
“I am thrilled to welcome Brian Grazer as my partner and that we will be collaborating to produce an outstanding show,” said Mischer.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre.(Agencies)
