Sacha Baron Cohen Was the First Choice to Host This Year’s Oscars

Adam Shankman’s movies may be terrible (Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Bedtime Stories), but I have to give him and Oscar co-producer Bill Mechanic credit for attempting to make a bold choice for the host of this year’s Academy Awards.  The two originally wanted to go with the man of offensive character, Sacha Baron Cohen.

In an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air” [via Risky Biz Blog], Shankman wanted to shake up the show with the unconventional choice.  Because the Academy shot down the idea immediately, I guess we’ll never know if Cohen would have played himself, his various characters (Borat, Ali G., Bruno), or a mixture of both throughout the show.

Instead, this year’s show will be co-hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.  I wish they were getting their material from the writers of 30 Rock since the episode where they co-starred, “Gavin Volure”, was terrific.  Sadly, my bet is we’ll be getting a vanilla ceremony and it will be unforgettable save for any award upsets that may happen during the night.