Ellen DeGeneres to host 79th Oscars

Sep 07, 2006 by Ian Evans

Ellen DeGeneres will host the 79th Academy Awards telecast in February, producer Laura Ziskin announced today. It will be DeGeneres’ first time as Oscar® host.

“Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards,” said Ziskin. “There is no more challenging hosting job in show business. It requires someone who can keep the show alive and fresh and moving, as well as someone who is a flat-out great entertainer. Ellen completely fits the bill. I can already tell she is going to set the bar very high for herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on the show. Now all we need is a lot of great movies.”

The Emmy-winning comedian and talk show host said that, “When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled. There’s two things I’ve always wanted to do in my life. One is to host the Oscars. The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that day’s diary entry.”

Hosting Hollywood’s biggest night should be a breeze for DeGeneres who has twice hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast, including the highly-praised stint hosting the telecast that took place after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Academy president Sid Ganis says that Ellen “…just sparkles. She is such a pleasure to watch. Her wit cuts to the truth of things, but in a wonderfully warm-spirited way. I think she’ll be a fantastic host for this show and we’re extremely pleased that she’s agreed to do it.”

The Oscar® telecast will be boadcast live from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland beginning at 5pm with a half-hour arrivals segment. Stick with DigitalHit.com for all of your 79th Annual Academy Awards coverage.