Before you start checking to see if we’ve all stepped into a bizarre alternate universe, time to take a step back, a quick breath and consider this fact: Brett Ratner has been asked to produce the 84th Academy Awards telecast alongside returning producer Don Misher.
Could it work? While Ratner is better known for the likes of the Rush Hour films**, X-Men: The Last Stand** and Red Dragon, he’s perhaps not such a strange choice for a show which tends to go for style over huge substance. He’s got plenty of movie and TV producing credits and he knows how to put on a show.
"Making movies has been my dream since childhood, and I've been fortunate enough to have made several, but the Oscar show is in a league of its own," said the director in a statement. "It will be fantastic to work with a live television master like Don to meld the glamour of legendary Hollywood with the enormous talents who thrill moviegoers today."
Let’s also not forget that the likes of Bruce Cohen and Bill Condon – who usually get a lot more respect from both peers and audiences than Ratner – couldn’t pull together great shows. So while Ratner’s an unlikely choice, it’s probably best to give him a chance. Just as long as Chris Tucker doesn’t host…
The Oscars will air February 26 next year.