"So, I was very pleased that Oscars host Conan O'Brien didn't follow up last year's "wasting time" musical sequence with an equally useless bit to open the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night. Instead, the 76-year-old stuck to his strengths as one of the funniest comedians alive."
"He ran through one of Marty Supreme's table-tennis matches, sang "Danny Boy" at the front door of Sinners's juke joint, and even learned a bit of Norwegian so that he could appear opposite Stellan Skarsgård in Sentimental Value. "Big thanks to Amy for the wig," O'Brien said when he finally came on stage."
"Over the years of covering awards shows, I've learned that the best way to keep a hosting job is to not be remembered for anything other than being amusing enough. Most of the time, audiences only truly remember a host because they were particularly bad, like Jo Koy's Globes monologue or Kristen Bell's cringe dance number."
Conan O'Brien hosted the 98th Academy Awards, demonstrating that successful award show hosting relies on genuine comedy rather than elaborate production numbers. The 76-year-old comedian opened with a creative montage featuring him dressed as a villain, running through scenes from nominated films while being chased by children to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage." O'Brien avoided the pitfall of his predecessor's "wasting time" musical sequence by sticking to his comedic strengths. He delivered sharp jokes targeting Timothée Chalamet, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, and other industry figures. The approach contrasted with hosts who are remembered primarily for failures rather than humor, suggesting that effective hosting comes from authentic comedy rather than gimmicky entertainment.
Read at Esquire
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