Oscars to go without host for 1st time in 30 years

For the first time in three decades, this year's Oscars ceremonywill go ahead without an official host, an ABC television executive said on Tuesday.

Speaking just three weeks before the highest honours in themovie industry are handed out, ABC entertainment president KareyBurke said the Feb. 24 event would forgo a host and "just havepresenters host the Oscars."

ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co., televises the Oscarsceremony annually and is closely involved in planning thetelecast.

Comedian Kevin Hart stepped down in December from hostingthe ceremony after past homophobic tweets resurfaced. Noreplacement was announced, but there had been no officialstatements on how the ceremony would proceed.

TheOscars ceremony, now in its 91st year, has gone without a host before, but not in the past 30 years. The last timewas in 1989 widely considered the worst Oscars everwhen producer AllanCarr decided to go hostlessin order to make room for more celebrity presenters.

Burke said this year'sdecision not to have a hostfor the show was taken after what she called "themessiness" over the Hart withdrawal and anattempt to revive hischances.

"After that, it was pretty clear that we were going to staythe course and just have presenters host the Oscars. We all goton board with that idea pretty quickly," Burke told reporters atthe Television Critics Association meeting in the Los Angelessuburb of Pasadena.

Nohost means shorter show

She said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,which organizes the Oscars, had promised ABC last year to keepthe telecast to three hours about 30 minutes shorter than inrecent years.

"So the producers, I think, decided wisely to not have ahost and to go back to having the presenters and the moviesbeing the stars," Burke said.

The Oscars host traditionally opens the ceremony with acomedic monologue focusing on celebrities, the state of themovie industry as well as cultural and political issues.

Burke said she would hear details from the show producerslater this week but said there were plans for "a pretty excitingopening" to the telecast.

She added that speculation over the shape of the ceremonywas an encouraging sign that the Oscars were still relevant.

Audiences have dropped in recent years with the 2018 showattracting just 26.5 million viewers, the smallest number ever.

"I have found that the lack of clarity around the Oscars haskept the Oscars in the conversation and that the mystery has been really compelling. People really care," she said.

Mexican drama Romaand British historical comedy TheFavouritelead the Oscars nominations with 10 nods apiece.

Burke noted that three of the other best picture nominees Disney's Black Panther,Warner Bros'A Star is Bornand the 21st Century Fox musical Bohemian Rhapsodyhad each taken in more than $200 million US at the North Americanbox office alone.

"I think we are going to see a big turnout for this becausethese are big popular movies that have been nominated," she
said.