When Academy Awards producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer settled on the idea of staging the Oscars as a visual journey through movie history, they decided the hosts should be young, energetic actors who could pull it off. Come Feb. 27, viewers will see James Franco, 32, and Anne Hathaway, 28, travel back in time in an ambitious opening montage and become immersed in a digitally-enhanced “virtual” set. To kick off Oscar week, The Hollywood Reporter corralled Franco and Hathaway on Feb. 21 for their first interview together.
If you want to know why Hathaway originally turned down the gig, Franco’s thoughts on Twitter, and their extent of involvement of planning the show pick up The Hollywood Reporter at newsstands.