I love the Oscars, but they are inherently silly. It’s a night for film industry folks to pat each other on the back in a grandiose manner, honoring the legacy of film in a way that makes it seem like they are curing cancer. Movies are great and can inspire change, but the event can still get too serious and too high on its own supply. So, when people don’t take it seriously, I’m always a little more inclined to perk up. John Mulaney, using his time on stage presenting the award for Achievement in Sound to talk about Field of Dreams, was one of those moments.
The actor began by acknowledging different famous lines in film, dropping a Madame Web reference that, I believe, will feel like abstract art in three to five years (no one is going to remember that movie or that line). Then, he goes on to describe the plot of the Kevin Costner film, while questioning some aspects, and musing that it should win Best Picture. It’s really funny, is a perfect Oscar joke, and earned Mulaney an offer to host the show (watch it below and see why).
The actor and comedian was a heavy favorite to host the show, and, at the time, even toyed with the idea. He said at one point that it would be fun and he would be up for it. But when push came to shove, he turned the job down. Now, in the same episode of WTF in which Marc Maron announced he’d be ending his legendary podcast, Mulaney explained why he turned down the gig. “Well, I was very flattered. They came to me, must have been last summer. And I knew Jimmy Kimmel wasn’t gonna do it. And they offered it,” he explained. “And it was honestly that I had a lot going on. And it’s months and months of work.”
Mulaney had nothing but nice things to say about the man who would go on to host the show, Conan O’Brien. “He came out and he not only was so funny, but he elevated the show to the point that I almost convinced myself I had seen these movies and I’d seen not a one of them,” Mulaney joked. And he is correct. Conan did the job like he was destined to do it. It was a perfect showcase for his silliness, but that isn’t the only reason Mulaney was right to turn down the gig.
John Mulaney has found a showcase that perfectly fits his talents in Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney. The bizarre talk show, co-hosted by Richard Kind, has the energy and wit of late-’90s Conan. The only snag is that it doesn’t seem to be catching on as much as it should (also like late-’90s Conan). The man fought children, and it barely made a blip! That should have been huge! But the cool people know it’s out there (like late-’90s Conan). Hopefully, it gets a second season and grows in popularity. It deserves it.
