2015.02.22 大卫-莱特曼炸毁奥斯卡的那一夜

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The Night David Letterman Bombed the Oscars
Twenty years ago, the legendary late-night host tried his shtick on Hollywood's biggest night. It didn't go well.

By Matt Schiavenza

Oprah Winfrey evidently forgave David Letterman for making fun of her name at the 1995 Academy Awards. The two are shown here in 2012. (Chris Bergin/Reuters)
FEBRUARY 22, 2015
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As Neil Patrick Harris prepares to host the 87th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, he won't need to look far in the past to find examples of what not to do. There was Seth MacFarlane, whose performance in 2013 was deemed "misogynistic" and "crudely sexist" by The New Yorker's Amy Davidson. But at least MacFarlane showed signs of life—which was more that can be said about James Franco. Hosting with Anne Hathaway in 2011, the somnambulant Franco showed about as much energy as a throw pillow. Even the 2009 outing by the talented Hugh Jackman, whose skill set most closely resembles Harris's among Oscar hosts, was widely seen as a failure.

But the gold standard of Oscar bombing remains David Letterman, whose notorious turn as host is now 20 years old. In 1995, the late-night host was at the peak of his career. His Late Show, which debuted on CBS two years before, was wildly popular, consistently beating NBC's Tonight Show, hosted by Letterman's bitter rival Jay Leno, in the ratings. But almost from the minute the Oscars began, it became clear that it wasn't going to be Dave's night.

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Noting an aural similarity between the names of two prominent female celebrities, Dave launched into a trance-like routine. "Oprah. Uma. Oprah. Uma. Oprah. Uma. Have you kids met Keanu?" Few laughed. And then things got worse. Jokes about Tim Robbins and Arnold Schwarzenegger landed with a thud, and attempts to graft popular bits from the Late Show—like the "Top 10" list—didn't work.

The critical reception was savage. The New York Times accused Letterman of leaving the show's "pacing in shambles," and added that "glamorous people waiting for awards announcements aren't terribly interested in New York City cabdrivers or stupid-pet tricks."

So what can Neil Patrick Harris learn from the Letterman's experience? The first lesson is that it's fine to snark at Hollywood stars—provided you are one yourself. Dave, for all of his fabulous success in comedy, never strayed from the medium, and his outsider shtick didn't work for the ceremony. As Conor McKeon wrote of Letterman in 2011:

Having a show based in New York City means Hollywood comes to him. It’s telling that the first laughs of the night came when Letterman said, “I won’t lie to ya, I’m very, very excited.” Letterman didn’t care whether he was beloved, and everyone knew it.

Fortunately for Harris, who the long-term consequences for bombing at the Oscars are low. Hathaway, Jackman, and MacFarlane have had little trouble finding work in the years since their failed stabs at hosting. As for Letterman, he retires this year as arguably the most successful, popular late-night host ever. (And, he confided to The View in 2010, he was even approached to host the Oscars again.) No matter what happens on Sunday, Harris won't have to worry too much.

But he might want to go easy on the Uma/Oprah jokes.



大卫-莱特曼炸毁奥斯卡的那一夜
20年前，这位传奇性的深夜主持人在好莱坞最大的夜晚尝试了他的戏法。它并不顺利。

马特-希亚文扎报道

奥普拉-温弗瑞显然原谅了大卫-莱特曼在1995年奥斯卡颁奖典礼上取笑她的名字的行为。图为两人在2012年的合影。(Chris Bergin/Reuters)
2015年2月22日

当尼尔-帕特里克-哈里斯（Neil Patrick Harris）准备在周日主持第87届奥斯卡颁奖典礼时，他不需要在过去找寻什么是不应该做的例子。还有塞斯-麦克法兰，他在2013年的表演被《纽约客》的艾米-戴维森视为 "厌恶女性 "和 "粗暴的性别歧视"。但至少麦克法兰表现出了生命的迹象--这对詹姆斯-弗兰科来说更有说服力。2011年与安妮-海瑟薇（Anne Hathaway）一起主持节目时，昏昏欲睡的弗兰科表现出的能量就像一个枕头一样多。即使是有才华的休-杰克曼（Hugh Jackman）在2009年的出场，也被广泛认为是失败的，他的技能与哈里斯在奥斯卡主持中最相似。

但是，奥斯卡轰炸的黄金标准仍然是大卫-莱特曼（David Letterman），他作为主持人的臭名昭著的经历现在已经有20年了。1995年，这位深夜主持人正处于其职业生涯的巅峰。他的《晚间秀》两年前在哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)首次亮相，大受欢迎，在收视率上一直打败了莱特曼的死对头杰-雷诺(Jay Leno)主持的NBC《今夜秀》。但是，几乎从奥斯卡颁奖典礼开始的那一刻起，很明显，这不会是戴夫的夜晚。

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注意到两位杰出女性名人的名字在听觉上的相似性，戴夫进入了一个恍惚的程序。"奥普拉。乌玛。奥普拉。乌玛。奥普拉。乌玛。你们这些孩子见过基努吗？" 很少有人笑了。然后事情变得更糟。关于蒂姆-罗宾斯和阿诺德-施瓦辛格的笑话砰然落地，试图从《晚间秀》中嫁接流行的片段--如 "十大 "名单--并没有成功。

评论界的反应是野蛮的。纽约时报》指责莱特曼让节目的 "节奏变得一团糟"，并补充说，"等待颁奖公告的有魅力的人对纽约市的出租车司机或愚蠢的宠物把戏并不感兴趣。"

那么，尼尔-帕特里克-哈里斯能从莱特曼的经验中学到什么？第一个教训是，讽刺好莱坞明星是可以的--只要你自己也是。戴夫，尽管他在喜剧方面取得了巨大的成功，但他从来没有偏离过媒介，他的局外人的伎俩在典礼上并不奏效。正如Conor McKeon在2011年写的关于莱特曼的文章。

在纽约市有一个节目意味着好莱坞会来找他。当莱特曼说："不瞒你说，我非常非常兴奋 "时，当晚的第一个笑声就出现了，这很有说服力。莱特曼并不关心他是否受到喜爱，每个人都知道这一点。

对哈里斯来说，幸运的是，在奥斯卡上爆炸的长期后果是低的。海瑟薇、杰克曼和麦克法兰在尝试主持失败后的几年里，几乎没有找到工作。至于莱特曼，他今年退休了，可以说是有史以来最成功、最受欢迎的深夜主持人。(而且，他在2010年向《观点》杂志透露，他甚至被邀请再次主持奥斯卡颁奖典礼）。无论周日发生什么，哈里斯都不必太过担心。

但他可能想在乌玛/奥普拉的笑话上放轻松。