September 7, 2011 It's official, Eddie Murphy will host the 84th Academy Awards, which will be broadcast by ABC on Feb. 26. Murphy will replace actor James Franco, who hosted the awards show last year, as the Oscars return to it's roots of having a comedian host the show.
Sources close to Academy Awards officials say comedian and actor Eddie Murphy is being considered to host the Oscars in February.
The move is seen as an effort to return to basics — in other words, have one funny act head up the entire ceremony. In years past, the Academy has experimented with different hosting ideas, culminating in the somewhat questionable move this year that saw actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway emceeing what many called a disastrous show.
