New Oscar Producer Brett Ratner: ‘Comedy Is the Key’

The Academy has made a dramatic move for the 84th Academy Awards, picking director Brett Ratner to produce the show alongside last year’s co-producer, television veteran Don Mischer.

Ratner (left), the director of the “Rush Hour” series, “X-Men: The Last Stand” and the upcoming “Tower Heist,” is a director and producer whose typical fare is action-packed, energetic and ignored by the Academy come Oscar time.

His choice by AMPAS president Tom Sherak is a clear sign that the Academy is anxious to stage a fresher, younger-skewing Oscar show — though the presence of Mischer (below), a steady hand and veteran of countless awards shows, will presumably counterbalance Ratner’s wilder instincts.

One thing the Academy might want to worry about: Ratner lives in the Beverly Hills house formerly owned by Allan Carr, who produced a historically awful Oscar show in 1989.

“I hope that’s not a curse,” laughed Ratner a few minutes after the announcement was made. “I think Allan is probably up there laughing, and saying, ‘I hope you learned from my mistakes.'”

Ratner and Mischer told TheWrap that they have not yet had any specific conversations about who might host the show, and have yet to discuss specifics about the Oscars. “We just accepted the job this morning,” said Ratner. “I have some names in the back of my mind, but we literally have not had a single conversation about it.”

One thing Ratner would say: the show will be heavy on laughs. “I think comedy is the key,” he said. “That’s the most important thing I can accomplish. If people can sit in that theater and laugh, and people can watch at home around the world and laugh, then I’ve accomplished what I want to do. The numbers [ratings] will be what they are.”

Mischer, who directed the last Oscar show and co-produced it with Bruce Cohen, said the biggest thrill for him will be working with Ratner. “More than anything, I’m very, very excited about working with Brett,” he said. “He radiates ideas, and he is immersed in the film business from so many angles.”

The veteran producer of high-profile live telecasts, a current Emmy nominee for February’s Oscars, said that even after Super Bowl halftime shows, Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and Obama’s Inaugural celebration, there’s something different about the Oscars.

“I’ve done a lot of things in my career,” he said, “but I must say, there’s nothing like being able to do the Academy Awards.”

Ratner’s initial meeting with Sherak and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson was scheduled to last for half an hour, but wound up lasting three hours. He accepted their offer to produce the show, he said, only after looking at a number of past shows. (Some were provided by Mischer, who said he sent Ratner “a batch of DVDs” that included Oscar shows hosted by Bob Hope and Johnny Carson.)