https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/billy-crystal-wasnt-asked-emcee-host-oscars-2019-1183383

The eight-time Oscars host took over emcee duties in 1990, a year after the notorious debacle of the 1989 hostless ceremony. Crystal hosted for four straight years after that hostless Oscars. Yet speaking on The Late Late Show, Crystal said he's excited about this year's hostless ceremony. "They have very creative producers," Crystal told James Corden. "I know some really funny people who are doing it," he said about the upcoming ceremony. "I think it can work great, though I do like the fact that when I was there, or when Ellen or any of the other successful hosts, that you're there to comment on something that happens."

Hostless Oscars should copy The Masked Singer (https://themuse.jezebel.com/a-radical-proposition-for-the-no-host-academy-awards-1832393614)

The hostless Oscars should try the "radical" idea of putting its host in costume like The Masked Singer, with the revelation coming with the Best Picture announcement. "The host for this year’s Academy Awards should be a Famous whose star is dimming, in desperate need of a comeback or just a little heat from fame’s bright, searing light," says Megan Reynolds. "Much like The Masked Singer, the goal will be to figure out who is behind the mask, though there will not be a singing portion of the event. Instead of celebrity judges Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, and Jenny McCarthy, the celebrities presenting the awards will also be tasked with offering their best guesses about who is behind the mask. There will be clues, of course, but the masked actor will be forced to provide said clues themselves—who has time for a flashy package put together by production, it’s the freaking Academy Awards, and so they must monologue for their supper. The masked actor in question will be tasked with delivering a line or five from each movie nominated for Best Picture."

They very rarely make good movies, so why would anyone watch the AA when the movies suck?!

I still want Drew Carey to host the Oscars one year...I wonder if this will be a good idea?

The 2019 Oscars proved that a host wasn't needed (https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/2019-oscars-review.html)

Without a host, "the telecast (https://forums.previously.tv/topic/33299-the-annual-academy-awards-topic/?page=164) settled into a pleasingly laid-back groove and never left it" once the Oscars started handing out awards, says Matt Zoller Seitz. "This year, we were spared the familiar ritual of half-smiling, half-squirming through an opening monologue (and often, an opening video skit as well) by hosts (https://www.thewrap.com/15-oscar-hosts-ranked-kimmel-franco-crystal-photos/) who either knew how to read the room (Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres) or prided themselves on not trying (David Letterman, Seth 'I Saw Your Boobs' McFarlane). And it was now easier to recognize that committing to a host also meant committing to a series of human-shaped speed bumps that must be surmounted between categories, after ad breaks, and deep into the telecast, when it invariably became clear that things were running long again and that, according to tradition, someone would have to go onstage and make a self-deprecating joke about how things were running long again. Not having to put up with any of that was like being surgically relieved of obstructions that you didn’t realize were making your body work harder than it needed. Call it a host-ectomy. Or maybe a Kevin-otemy?"

ALSO:

Let's never have an Oscars host again (https://www.salon.com/2019/02/24/lets-never-have-an-oscars-host-again/): "An Oscar host is like an appendix. Unnecessary at best, a source of searing abdominal pain at worst," says Mary Elizabeth Williams, adding: "Think of even the better hosts. This year's rumored secret host Whoopi. Jimmy. Steve, without Alec. Would any one of them rate more than a solid B- for the entertainment they provided over the course of their respective interminable evenings? The legacy of Ellen DeGeneres's two runs as host is a record-breaking … selfie."
It wasn't as bad everyone expected -- it was worse (https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-oscars-were-an-embarrassment-green-book-for-best-picture-really): "The telecast famously went without a host for the first time in decades, and the result was a convincing case for why a host matters," says Kevin Fallon, adding: "Some might say that the telecast was nicely paced, something owed to not having a host. I’d say it played more like a hectic sprint, and suffered from not having someone there to recenter things, remind us to breathe, maybe make us laugh, and then move things along in way that made sense. Were the lame bits and gags that have made so many previous telecasts insufferable missed? Absolutely not, and in that way the host-less experiment should be a lesson in what we do and do not need from a host. But a host is needed."
It was an Oscars distilled down to their finest points and moments of highest tension (https://variety.com/2019/film/columns/91-academy-awards-show-review-oscars-1203147911/) — which did end up feeling too rushed for the one beat more of consideration that was needed
What the host-less Oscars revealed (https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/academy-awards-2019-the-oscars-came-so-close-to-getting-it-right.html): That so much of the broadcast’s filler, the stuff that takes an endless amount of time and drags on and on is … the host and his bits
This year's ceremony proved the need for a host to "run" the show may be overrated (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/arts/television/academy-awards-review.html)
Losing a host meant led producers to find fresh energy (https://ew.com/oscars/2019/02/25/oscars-2019-tv-review/)
Hollywood still needs to do something about lousy speeches — surely there are personal trainers for this exercise (https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/oscar-keeps-it-shorter-without-a-host-but-something-still-needs-to-done-about-those-speeches/2019/02/25/834aa124-388a-11e9-a06c-3ec8ed509d15_story.html)
Ceremony wasn't weighed down and overwhelmed by montages, stunts, tributes and presenter shtick (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/91st-academy-awards-tv-review-emotional-speeches-steal-show-1190282)
No host means no viral moments -- the ceremony felt a little lacking in personality (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/02/oscars-2019-no-host-91st-academy-awards-presenters/583504/)
Setting the bar low paid off: What seemed like the Oscars’ biggest liability became an unlikely advantage (https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/2/25/18239304/oscars-winners-academy-awards-losers)
In the end, the unpredictable nature of the Oscars worked in its favor (https://www.indiewire.com/2019/02/91-academy-awards-review-oscars-green-book-win-1202046824/)
The host-less Oscars was like when Michael Scott left The Office, and it worked out fine before a new boss showed up (https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/1099855202964905984)
The 13 best, worst and weirdest moments (https://tvline.com/2019/02/24/oscars-2019-best-worst-moments-photos/)
Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry proved that the best Oscar fashions weren't on the red carpet (https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/oscars-costume-design-melissa-mccarthy-brian-tyree-henry-rabbit-dress.html)
Spike Lee's speech was extremely weird, yet absolutely wonderful (https://www.newyorker.com/news/current/oscars-2019-spike-lees-extremely-weird-wonderful-acceptance-speech)
The Oscars bleeped Lee saying "Do not turn that motherf*cking clock on!” (https://twitter.com/kylebuchanan/status/1099872839086166021)
Spike Lee stormed out of the Oscars after Green Book won (https://variety.com/2019/film/news/spike-lee-oscars-green-book-1203148178/)
Presenting all the awkward celebrity reaction shots from Queen's opening performance (https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/queen-oscars-reaction-shot-supercut.html)
The 12 most awkward and cringey moments from the 2019 Oscars (https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a26450491/oscars-awkward-moments-2019/)
Examining Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's "steamy" performance of "Shallow," frame by fram (https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/02/25/lets-break-down-lady-gaga-bradley-coopers-steamy-oscars-performance-shallow-frame-by-frame/?utm_term=.53913b22048a)