Billy Crystal Is That Much Closer to His Oscar Precious

The minute Billy Crystal (pictured) showed up at the 2011 Oscars --much to the relief of an audience given a brief respite from whatever James Franco and Anne Hathaway were supposed to be doing -- it was clear that Crystal was going to do whatever it took to get his old job back. The look of smug satisfaction, that "see, kids, this is how you entertain, old school, like we used to in the Catskills" Mighty Mouse vibe ... he wasn't going to let this go. This was his job.

Now that Brett Ratner has been tapped to produce the next Oscars -- a fact that's not gonna sink in for a few months, around the time he asks Turtle to produce the musical number -- Crystal is showing a little more leg. Give him his precious:

"I came out last year as a surprise. It was a last-minute decision," Crystal explained to the sold-out audience on Friday. "They had called and said would you do this thing and honor Bob Hope and that was a kind of cool thing to do. I said OK. I did it, and people wanted to see me, they stood up, and I couldn't talk for about a minute [while waiting for the ovation]. And, um, I got a little itchy. So we'll see what happens. I can't promise anything."

The people, they wanted to see him! Who is Billy Crystal to deny the people what they want? Now, yes yes, closer now ... GIVE IT TO HIM. Yes ... yes ... clever hobbits, to climb so high.

By the way: If Crystal hosts the Oscars, it will mark the 10th anniversary of him actually appearing in a movie.

Billy Crystal is 'itchy' to host again [LA Times]
Billy Crystal's Grand Plan Is Falling Into Place; Would Consider Return To Oscars [The Projector]