Academy eyes Jimmy Fallon as Oscar host

Los Angeles: The Academy of Motion Picture has been eyeing Jimmy Fallon as a possible host for the 85th Academy Awards. However, it is rumored that ABC, the official Oscar broadcaster, has objections to hire Fallon since he serves as the host of a late-night show on rival channel NBC. It is also said that Saturday Night Live veteran Lorne Michaels is courted to serve as the producer, reported Los Angeles Times online. Disney chief executive Bob Iger is not happy with the idea to hire Fallon, whose talk show is a rival of ABC’s late-night show featuring Jimmy Kimmel. [caption id=“attachment_404091” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Wikipedia[/caption] Representatives for Fallon have yet to clarify the report, while spokeswoman for the AMPAS insists that there are no talks with both Fallon or Michaels. Fallon himself has showed his hosting skill at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2010, for which he received positive reviews. On the other hand, Kimmel will serve as this year’s Emmy Awards host. That somehow minimize his chance to serve as the master of ceremonies for next year’s Oscars. Selecting an Oscar telecast host is the duty of the Academy president. Hawk Koch, who has just been elected as the new leader of the organization, recently said that his first goal as a president was to find the right producer and host for next year’s Oscars and that “comedy was a priority.” PTI