Getty Hosts John Mulaney (L) and Nick Kroll during the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards.
After Kevin Hart stepped down as the 91st Academy Awards’ host amid controversy over past tweets that many deemed homophobic in nature, the internet has been wondering who the Motion Picture Academy will choose as their replacement for the Oscars. Contributing to the predictions and speculations, the Twitter account for John Mulaney and Nick Kroll’s Oh, Hello threw the shows’ characters Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland into the hat as potential hosts.
The account, @OhHelloShow, tweeted “We were asked to host the Oscars and we have accepted. We are hosting the Oscars.” The tweet was written in the same comedic style that the account uses for many of its tweets, fully integrating the personalities of the show’s characters. They write “Who knows WHO will win? Maybe your favorite movie star. Tune in” so that those familiar with the comedy act can hear Gil and George distinctive voices as they read.
We were asked to host the Oscars and we have accepted. We are hosting the Oscars. Thank you to ABC and the Oscars. Who knows WHO will win? Maybe your favorite movie star. Tune in.
The Academy has not commented on there being any truth to this tweet, nor have they offered any indication of who the new host will be since Hart stepped down on Thursday night. John Mulaney and Nick Kroll, retweeting the joke to their own Twitter accounts. Mulaney wrote “I know George and Gil #CharmedImSure take anything offered but I worry they will be unprepared and out of their element. I wish them well but I have qualms.” Kroll simply said “Very happy for Gil and George.”
Pulling from behind the scenes and promotional photos that were taken in-character, Mulaney then posted a photo of Kroll as Gil Faizon with the words “Oscars 2019” quickly photoshopped in yellow. He wrote that the “underwhelming” marketing was “a clear sign that George and Gil #charmedImsure don’t have the right team behind them.” Kroll added to this with a photo of their two elderly Upper West Side creatives sunbathing, fully clothed, between the words “The Oscars / Only on ABC / Any Movie Could Win” (he chose a red font color). Kroll mimicked Mulaney’s concern, writing “This feels undercooked. I’m worried the boys aren’t taking this opportunity seriously.”
This feels undercooked. I’m worried the boys aren’t taking this opportunity seriously.
Marketing roll out has begun and it feels underwhelming . This is a clear sign that George and Gil #charmedImsure don’t have the right team behind them.
Fans of the comedians and their collaboration reacted to the tweets with references to Oh, Hello as well as hope that there might be some truth to the tweets. @thenotoriousgb tweeted “please let this be real I can’t take another L this week;” @ChunkySpaceGal wrote “This would honestly make the Oscars 100% better. @nickkroll @mulaney.”
Yesterday, Entertainment Weekly published a piece that asked “Who should be the last-minute-panic host?” for the 2019 Oscars that Mulaney and Kroll were “Truly, the only straight white men I will accept in this role.” They referenced Mulaney and Kroll’s hosting of the Independent Spirit Awards early this year, and said they “would be phenomenal Oscar hosts.”
Film Independent shared Mulaney and Kroll’s 11+ minute opening monologue from the 2018 Independent Spirit Awards to YouTube, and the video has over 790,000 views. You can watch their monologue, in full, below:
Oh, Hello closed on Broadway on January 22, 2017, but not before Netflix taped a performance to release as a special on their streaming platform. Prior to their Broadway run, Kroll and Mulaney developed this comedy act for television; Gil and George were featured on Comedy Central’s Kroll Show, as well as season 8 of IFC’s Portlandia. Three weeks ago, they reprised their roles in a video advertisement for the Cadillac XT4 with Awkwafina (who played “Val” for the comedy clip).