Brian Grazer named as new Oscars producer

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has hired veteran producer Brian Grazer to work on next years Oscars ceremony.

Grazer, who won an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind, steps in for Brett Ratner, whoresigned Tuesdayafter a scandal over a gay slur.

Grazer will join co-producer Don Mischer, who worked on the 2011 Oscars and was named to the job alongside Ratner in August, academy president Tom Sherak announced Wednesday.

One of the biggest jobs facing the veteran feature film producer, who has been nominated four times for an Academy Award, is to find a replacement forEddie Murphy, who was originally to host the upcoming Oscars.

Murphy stepped down from thejob of shepherding the February TV broadcast after his pal Ratner resigned.

Hosting the four-hour marathon is considered a thankless task, as Oscars hosts often come in for heavy criticisms, and the job adds little to a show-biz resume.

It had been hoped thatMurphy's comedic talentswould help perk up Oscars ratings, which have suffered in recent years.

The funnymans resignation has sparked plenty of discussion among show-biz insiders and bloggers about who should be recruited to replace him.

Past hosts such as Billy Crystal and Johnny Carson are generally believed to be better choices than last years two young hostsAnne Hathaway and James Franco who were hired in the hopes they would draw younger viewers.

But there is no great rush to name someone. The Academy usually doesnt announce the Oscars host until late November or early December. The gala is set for Feb. 26.

Grazer, 60, is also producer of Tower Heist,which heworked on with both Ratner and Murphy. He is known for his attention to detail in films such as Frost/Nixon and Apollo 13, with frequent collaborator Ron Howard. He was also nominated for a screenwriting Oscar for the 1985 comedy Splash.

Ratner left amid criticism of his use of a pejorative term for gay men in a question-and-answer session at a screening of his action-comedyTower Heist.