Eddie Murphy as Oscars host – Good or bad choice?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that the coveted, highly anticipated host of the 2012 Oscars will be comedian and actor Eddie Murphy. Now this is not an easy gig.

Last year, the Academy tried to make the telecast more youthful by having young Hollywood superstars Anne Hathaway and James Franco co-host – a decision critics bashed after the show fell flat and Franco seemed to show a lack of interest in his hosting gig.
Now the Academy is putting its faith in Eddie Murphy, who also follows in the footsteps of past comedian/entertainer hosts like Bob Hope, Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin.

So far, it seems like Hollywood is on board with Eddie too. I caught up with Whoopi at the season premiere of “The View” and she thinks Eddie would be a great choice. She says, “You have to have a funny person. You have to have somebody that loves the movies, you have to have somebody who’s engaged and I think Eddie is engaged. He knows our business, he gets what the audience is like… I love the idea of Eddie Murphy.”
"Showbiz Tonight" also caught up with actor Nick Nolte (Murphy’s co-star in their classic flick “48 Hours”) at the premiere of Nolte’s new film “Warrior” and he also thinks Murphy is a great choice. “He's going to be great,” Nolte says. “You know with Eddie, it’s a pure genius. You just don't know what he's going to bring. He'll bring a lot of humor. A lot of fun to it."
I think Eddie’s got the right personality for this gig and he should be great. The question is though, is he relevant enough to draw in viewers? Although Murphy used to star in many hit movies, his biggest recent role has been “Donkey” in the “Shrek” films, although Eddie was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Dreamgirls” back in 2006.

What do you think of Eddie Murphy as this year’s Oscar host – is it a great choice or a terrible choice? Post below and join us tonight for this debate at 11 p.m. ET/PT on HLN.