The first video promo for the 2012 Oscars has hit the Web, and it's certainly hyping the ceremony as a night of blockbuster entertainment. Set up as the trailer for an epic movie, the clip stars a mustachioed Josh Duhamel and a mostly silent Megan Fox as two agents (for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, we presume) charged with hunting down an elusive man known only as "The Host" -- or, as you've probably surmised by now, this year's Oscars emcee Billy Crystal. Watch the trailer below!
As you might have noticed, William Fichtner, Vinnie Jones and Robin Williams all make cameos -- as an Academy producer, a bartender and a Mongolian gondola driver, respectively. While they do aid Duhamel and Fox in their quest, it's ultimately an "old friend" that convinces Crystal to tackle Academy Awards hosting duties for the ninth time.
Of course, in real life, the hunt for a 2012 Oscars host was also a bit of an epic quest. Initially, Eddie Murphy was supposed to host with his Tower Heist director Brett Ratner producing the show. But then Ratner resigned over his public use of a derogatory gay slur, and Murphy soon followed. With the tock clicking and no one on tap to produce or host, the Academy hired Brian Grazer as producer and he tapped beloved former host Crystal to emcee the event for the first time since 2004.
This ad definitely has a different feel from the promos for last year's Oscars, when the Academy tried to appeal to a younger audience by asking Anne Hathaway and James Franco to host. Their stint headlining the show was a critical failure, and it actually ended up being Crystal's short appearance onstage that garnered the most laughter. This new trailer seems to announce a return to the glory of Oscars past -- and hopefully that's what will happen when the 84th Academy Awards air Feb. 26 on ABC.
