TV and Movies

[keri]

2014 Oscars Date Set as Justin Timberlake Hosting Rumor Heats Up

by Natalie Finn Today 2:53 PM PDT

AMPAS, Jason Merritt/Getty Images

The 2014 Oscars have been ski-booted into March.

Allowing for the completion of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has set a later-than-usual date of March 2 for the 86th Academy Awards.

Once again, ABC will do the broadcasting honors.

The calendar-marking move (oh, and the 2015 Oscars will be that Feb. 22, FYI) comes hot on the heels of a National Enquirer report—which then spread like wildfire—that Justin Timberlake has vaulted to the top of the list of possible hosts and is in talks with the Academy to emcee Hollywood's biggest night.

Well, they know he already has a suit and tie, not to mention song-and-dance skills, charisma and a humongous young fan base.

Sure, J.T. lovers are all for it, but the big reveal likely remains months away (Seth MacFarlane wasn't announced as the 2013 host until October) and it's possible there may be another flavor of the month by then. Gossip Cop also quoted a source as saying the speculation was "premature and ridiculous."

But, as Timberlake has proved with his recent onslaught of new material and TV appearances, some celebs never go out of style.

===============================================

Changing the date to March isn't really such a big deal because until recently, the Oscars were always awarded in April. Suddenly the schedule changed to March, then most recently, February.

Justin Timberlake has proven himself on SNL many times as a hilarious host and entertaining musical guest, but emcee-ing the Academy Awards is an entirely different realm. Look at how many others have tried and failed. Obviously AMPAS wants to appeal to a younger demographic as far as TV viewers are concerned, but the average Academy voter-attendee is probably twice or three times the age of that cherished target TV demo. Is it possible for JT to connect with them?