Academy Awards Allure
Oscar goes more weird than young: Dissecting the Anne Hathaway-James Francopairing
She's a bubbly yet respected up-and-coming actress likely to fill the big-toothed void left by Julia Roberts. He's a sometimes-serious actor with a penchant for lipstick and making people wonder whether he's being serious.
Their pairing as hosts of this year's Academy Awards is . . . a little weird.
Anne Hathaway and James Franco, both currently earning raves in big blockbuster films — she in Love and Other Drugs and he in 127 hours — seem a mismatched, if relevant, duo. Say Oscar producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer of the pair: "James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons — fresh, exciting and multi-talented."
They're certainly multi-talented. Hathaway came from The Princess Diaries to Rachel Getting Married and survived the crumbling of relationship foiled by felony fraud along the way, while Franco has dedicated equal energy to roles in the Academy-Award winning Milk and a stint on General Hospital.
So it's not that either on their own would make for a questionable host, we're just unsure what to expect when it comes to their dynamic. They've never worked together, have no personal history and where Hathaway comes off as relatively down-to-earth, the admittedly type-A and über-educated Franco comes off as, well, a bit off.
What do you think of this year's selection for Oscar co-hosts?