Chris Rock announced as host of 2016 Oscars

Comedian Chris Rock will host the Oscars ceremony for a second time next February, producers said on Wednesday.

Rock, a stand-up comedian and former cast member of sketch show Saturday Night Live, last hosted the live Academy Awards telecast in 2005, winning mixed reviews for his pointed remarks on politics and race and helping to draw an American audience of some 41.5 million viewers.

The hosting job is regarded as one of the biggest honours in the entertainment industry.

However, it is also a difficult task, as it requires mixing comedic monologues with keeping a three-hour show moving, and entertaining both the film industry’s biggest players in the audience and viewers at home.

“Chris Rock is truly the MVP of the entertainment industry,” David Hill and Reginald Hudlin, who will produce the live telecast, said in a statement.

“Comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, documentarian - he’s done it all. He’s going to be a phenomenal Oscar host!”

Rock (50) said, in a statement: “It’s great to be back.”

The telecast has taken on a variety show feel in recent years, with more song and dance elements and hosts that included Broadway star Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris.

Under Harris last year, the US television audience fell to its lowest level in six years, with some 36.6 million viewers.

The choice of Rock suggests that producers are going for an edgier, more contemporary feel, and one that reflects criticism last year that nominees for the awards were overwhelmingly white.

Race question

Salon.com’s Anna Silman on Wednesday suggested Rock would not let Hollywood off easily on the question of race.

She said that some of the most memorable moments of recent awards shows have dealt with the lack of diversity in the industry.

“It will be great to have a host who isn’t afraid to confront that head on,” Silman wrote.

When he hosted in 2005, Rock delivered biting criticism of then US president George W Bush.

The 2016 Academy Award ceremony will take place during the US presidential election campaign, giving Rock an opportunity for pointed political comedy once again.

“He is unafraid in his artistry,” Dawn Hudson, chief executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said in a statement.

“We couldn’t be happier to welcome him back to the Oscars.”

Rock, a four-time Emmy winner, created and produced the TV sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, based on his own life, which ran from 2005 to 2009.

His movie appearances include Lethal Weapon 4 and The Longest Yard.

The Academy Awards ceremony will take place in Hollywood on February 28th, 2016.

Nominations will be announced in January.

Other recent hosts include Ellen DeGeneres, Jon Stewart, James Franco and Anne Hathaway, and Seth MacFarlane.

Reuters