You wouldn't think the movie Rush Hour and the Oscars would be mentioned in the same sentence... until now. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that Brett Ratner — the director and producer behind the Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan crime comedy trilogy — will produce next year's Academy Awards telecast. Ratner, who also directed X-Men: The Last Stand, is certainly an unusual choice, given his action-oriented resume: The job typically goes to a more obviously distinguished producer or director. But after last year's critically-ravaged show (starring an all-too-mellow James Franco), does the Academy's decision make sense?
No. Ratner's reputation precedes him: It's not easy to create an Oscars telecast that can entertain a broad audience without tarnishing the event's highbrow reputation, says Anne Thompson at Indie Wire. History proves, however, that "it's far better to go classy than cheesy." Inevitably, Ratner will sacrifice "the patina of cinephile class" the Academy requires.
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