Oscars Announce Movie-Musical Tribute While Seth MacFarlane Spoofs Psycho

We’re still not entirely sure how Seth MacFarlane will do as an Oscar host at the Academy Awards telecast in February. The brain behind Family Guy and Ted brazenly attempted Hitler jokes while co-hosting the nominations telecast with Emma Stone. But this new promo for the Academy Awards is going with a more traditional gag … a shout-out to Alfred Hitchcock’s masterful Psycho.

Ironically, the Oscar hopeful about the making of Psycho, director Sacha Gervasi's Hitchcock, whiffed in all major categories, earning only one nod for Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling. Maybe this is a subtle dig on MacFarlane’s part? Probably not, though. It’s likely just another effort to insert MacFarlane into old Hollywood classics … Billy Crystal-style.

And as the Academy continues to honor the tradition in its industry, the Oscars’ organizers revealed that there will be a special celebration of the movie musical genre – focusing on films from the past 10 years as the show honors Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables this year. Dreamgirls, Chicago and Les Mis are the three movies that will be showcased on the telecast according to co-producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. If they are smart, we’ll hopefully have performances by former cast members (like Renee Zellweger and Jennifer Hudson) to possibly bring down the house.

This will be shown in addition to the previously announced James Bond tribute that celebrates the franchise’s 50th anniversary, as well as Adele agreeing to perform her Skyfall theme song for the first time live on stage during the telecast. So while we remember the best of 2012, the Oscars also plan to honor the best of Hollywood’s past. The Oscars will be telecast on ABC on Sunday, February 24th.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.