Oscar writers says it got awkward with James Franco and Anne Hathaway

While the Oscars don’t take place for another few weeks, this year marks the 10th anniversary of perhaps the most infamous Oscar telecast, the 83rd Oscars hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway.

The Academy hoped to inject some youthful energy into the telecast – and deliver a boost to the ratings which had sagged in recent years – by bringing in Franco and Hathaway, but the result was among the most awkward telecasts in recent history.

Writers David Wild, Jordan Rubin and Bruce Villanch opened up on that infamous night to The Ringer, where they detailed just how awkward it was between the hosts.

Wild revealed that his first reaction upon hearing that Franco and Hathaway would host was, ‘Huh?’ in his head, when a production executive told him.

‘The one thing you learn in life, is that you have to react and address something as it’s happening. You’ve got to listen to that voice, or else,’ he said.

The opening monologue with the hosts immediately showed their contrasting styles, Hathaway all smiles and a bundle of energy, while Franco was busy recording the audience as he walked on stage.

‘It was like the world’s most uncomfortable blind date between the cool rocker stoner kid and the adorable theater camp cheerleader,’ Wild added.

‘She showed up ready to play and committed 110 percent and he was a great guy but often looked like he had just woken up from a nap,’ added Jordan Rubin.

‘It’s almost like you’re showing up to a tennis court and one person decided that they were going to play in the U.S. Open and the other wanted to play in jeans and just kind of hit a few balls,’ he continued.

The show was put on blast by critics from the start, with The Hollywood Reporter saying, ‘it could go down as one of the worst Oscar telecasts in history.

Wild, who has written for live event telecasts for over 20 years, said, ‘I call it an incredibly dark significant comic event in my life.

Villanch, an awards show legend who has written for over 25 Oscar telecasts, added bluntly, ‘I think its legacy is floating somewhere near the Costa Concordia,’ the Italian cruise ship that ran aground and sank off the coast of Tuscany in 2012, killing 32.

A year earlier, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin hosted the Oscars, and while it resulted in the highest Oscar ratings in five years, producers wanted to target a much younger demographic for the 2011 Oscars.

Justin Timberlake, who played Sean Parker in The Social Network that was up for Best Picture at the 2011 Oscars, was the Academy’s unofficial first choice.

Wild adding that he was working with the actor-singer at the time and ‘soft-asked’ if he’d be interested.

‘He said that he’d love to do it, but he thought it was a year too early for him. He wanted to wait until after The Social Network had gone through an awards season,’ Wild said.

When the producers landed Franco, he reached out to Judd Apatow, who brought in writers Rubin and then 22-year-old stand-up and Upright Citizens Brigade member Megan Amram, who herself was confused by the choice.

‘I thought that it sounded at the time like someone had run pop culture through an algorithm and spit out this thing on paper that sounded like it would appeal to the youth. But in practice, it was very random,’ she said.

During prep for the show, Hathaway was said to be very open and collaborative, while Franco was barely reachable.

‘He always seemed to be on a flight and it was very hard for me to get a hold of him. That was a red flag,’ Rubin said.

Wild, who wrote for the actual live telecast, recalled a moment during rehearsals where the friction was noticed, as Hathaway offered a note to Franco.

‘Again, this is a memory, but [she] was like “Maybe you should try that,” and he was like “Don’t tell me how to be funny,”‘ Wild said.

Rubin added that nothing contentious happened between the hosts, but said that, ‘I think he wanted to play it as buddy-cop movie with two opposite characters.’

This year, the 94th Oscars will be the third year in a row that ‘Hollywood’s Biggest Night’ has not had one host, let alone two.