Oscar producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer are exhibiting a strong focus on comedy for the 84th Academy Awards presentation to be held in February. The twosome have hired a group of veteran screenwriters to bring some humor to the show. The scribes boast credits for shows counting "Saturday Night Live" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and will be making an attempt to breathe new life into a program that in the last few years seemed to have fallen flat.
Many of the writers have a record of working with either Ratner or his Oscar host, Eddie Murphy, and will work chiefly with Murphy. They will put in writing bits for the actor-comedian ahead of time and will be backstage in the writers’ room the night of the event.
Ratner stated that he was new to this and that he wanted to feel comfortable, since he had to drive this whole thing. Hence he brought in guys with whom he had a personal relationship and with whom he had worked before.
The one, beyond doubt veteran Academy Awards scribe on the case is Jon Macks, who besides writing for the last 14 Oscar shows has also penned bits for the Emmys and the Country Music Awards.
