A decade ago, James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosted the 83rd Academy Awards, and the experiment turned out to be quite uncomfortable, according to several writers who worked on the concert in 2011.
At the time, the television broadcast was criticized because it was creepy and that there was no chemistry between the two artists who did exactly that while playing each other.
“It was like the world’s most awkward blind date between the cool rocker kid and the adoring theater camp cheerleader,” author David Wild told The Ringer on Wednesday about the couple’s first monologue starring “Love & Other Drugs” was subject to bragging to Franco for his best actor nomination for ‘127 Hours’ while overlooking Hathaway.
Wild recalled a moment back when the friction between the co-host spurred after Hathaway – just 28 and the youngest host ever – tried to give Franco advice.
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Actors James Franco, left, and Anne Hathaway present the 83rd annual Oscar award at the Kodak Theater on February 27, 2011 in Hollywood, California (Gabriel Bouys / AFP via Getty Images)
‘Again, this is a reminder, but [she] was like, ‘Maybe you should try it,’ and he was like, ‘Don’t tell me how to be funny,’ “Wild claims.
“Oh woe, you all are real!” Hathaway, 38, exclaimed to the audience at the time while a seemingly disinterested Franco, 42, barely looked at the crowd.
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Another author of the television recording said the moment ran parallel to each of the actors’ approach to the coveted hosting position.
“Anne made herself readily available,” Jordan Rubin said of the “Princess Diaries” star. “I went to her house and worked on the script and she was doing a lot of conference calls and responding to emails and was a great contributor.”
Oscar writers reflect on James Franco and Anne Hathaway’s 2011 Oscars presentation and call the ordeal an ‘awkward blind date’. (Reuters / Mike Blake)
On the other hand, Franco apparently ‘always seemed on a flight and it was very difficult for me to get his hands on him’, Rubin continued with the funny man, who at the time was incredibly busy maintaining his acting career while he his graduate degree and working as an acting coach.
Viewers at the time wondered if the “Pineapple Express” star was actually tall during the broadcast.
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Hathaway was eager to do business, Rubin pressed, adding that the “Devil Wears Prada” star was ‘ready to play and committed 110%’, and although Rubin described Franco as a ‘good man’, he said Franco ‘often looked like he had just woken up from a nap. ‘
“It’s almost like you showed up at a tennis court and one person decided they were going to play in the US Open and the other one wanted to play in jeans and just hit a few balls,” Rubin explained.
Commenting on the alleged verbal spitting that allegedly took place between Franco and Hathaway during rehearsals, Rubin said he views the situation as a moment in which Franco deliberately tries to add another element to Hathaway’s approach and host style. .
“I think he wanted to play it as a partner-cop movie with two opposite characters,” Rubin said.
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In 2019, the “Oceans 8” actress opened up about the now infamous attempt to win awards, as reports surfaced that the program would be hosted for the first time in decades.
“No matter what happens to today’s program, just remember, it was getting worse. Happy Oscars!” she joked in an Instagram post at the time.
Anne Hathaway, Best Supporting Actress winner for her role in ‘Les Miserables’, poses with her Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 24, 2013.
(Reuters)
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She also started having trouble hosting Hollywood’s biggest night.
“[Franco] gave me nothing, “Hathaway told People in January 2019.” God, I just remember the night before we were going to go there, and I turned to everyone and went, ‘Am I too much? It feels very big to me. “And the producer just said, ‘No! Do not do less. Do more than necessary. “And I was like, ‘Oh okay, I think it’s going great.’ And I did not realize what was happening to the whole thing. ‘
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Hathaway would win an Oscar two years later in 2013 as Best Supporting Actor for her role in ‘Les Miserables’.