Chris Rock is your host for the Oscars

Erik Anderson October 21, 2015

It’s official; Chris Rock will return to the Academy Awards to host the 2016 Oscars. He famously hosted the 2005 show, in which he roasted the Academy for its lack of diversity in its acting nominations and looking at the list of potentials and likely nominees this year he should have a lot to rant about. Even a cursory glance at predictions shows that there is a very real chance that this will be another #OscarsSoWhite year. Right now we have Will Smith (Concussion), Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), Samuel L. Jackson (The Hateful Eight), Benicio del Toro (Sicario) and Edgar Ramirez (Joy) as possible nominees. No actress or supporting actress lists of likely nominees feature a woman of color other than white. Troublesome to say the least, especially after this year’s Selma response.

Here’s Rock’s opening monologue from the 2005 Oscars:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxtk2gRGiio

LOS ANGELES, CA – Multi-hyphenate artist and filmmaker Chris Rock will return to host the Oscars^® for a second time, producers David Hill and Reginald Hudlin announced today. The 88th Academy Awards^® will be broadcast live on Oscar^®Sunday, February 28, 2016, on the ABC Television Network. Rock previously hosted the 77th Oscars telecast in 2005.

“Chris Rock is truly the MVP of the entertainment industry,” said Hill and Hudlin. “Comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, documentarian – he’s done it all. He’s going to be a phenomenal Oscar host!”

“I’m so glad to be hosting the Oscars,” said Rock. “It’s great to be back.”

“We share David and Reggie’s excitement in welcoming Chris, whose comedic voice has really defined a generation,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “He is certain to bring his amazing array of talents to this year’s show.”

“Chris may be best known as a stand-up comic, but we think of him as a creative innovator in many other ways. He is unafraid in his artistry,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “We couldn’t be happier to welcome him back to the Oscars.”

“Chris Rock is a comedic powerhouse who will bring tremendous energy to the event, and we’re honored to have him,” said Paul Lee, President ABC Entertainment Group.

With a career spanning more than three decades, Rock most recently directed the comedy special “Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo,” which premiered this month on HBO. In 2014 he wrote, directed and starred in the critically acclaimed feature “Top Five,” and in 2009 ventured into the documentary world as a writer, producer and star of “Good Hair.”

Rock has enjoyed ongoing success in both film and television as a comedian, actor, writer, producer and director. His feature acting credits include “I Think I Love My Wife,” which he also wrote and directed, “Head of State” (writer, producer and director), “Death at a Funeral” (also producer), and the first three films in the blockbuster “Madagascar” series, as the voice of Marty. His other acting credits include “The Longest Yard,” “Nurse Betty,” “2 Days in New York” and “Lethal Weapon 4.” In 2011 Rock made his Broadway debut starring in “The Motherfucker with the Hat,” which was nominated for six Tony Awards^®, including Best Play. In television, Rock created, executive produced and narrated the series “Everybody Hates Chris,” which ran from 2005 to 2009 and was inspired by Rock’s childhood. He was a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” from 1990 to 1993.

Known internationally for his groundbreaking stand-up comedy, Rock has won four Emmy^® Awards for his comedy series and specials, including “Chris Rock – Kill the Messenger,” “The Chris Rock Show” and “Chris Rock: Bring the Pain,” and has achieved record audience numbers around the world. He also has earned three Grammy^® Awards for his comedy albums Never Scared, Bigger and Blacker and Roll with the New.

The 88th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre^® at Hollywood & Highland Center^®in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.