BILLY CRYSTAL is one name that is synonymous with the Oscars. This is also his moment of happiness when he literally gets to say the iconic dialogue from the 1991 flick Terminator 2: Judgement Day, “I’ll be back”. At a time when the Academy is facing serious crunch in terms of management and lack of presenters, Crystal’s decision to host the show for the ninth time, just hours after Eddie Murphy stepped down, came as the only bail out option.

In the past, the Academy also tried to introduce new methods so as to have an upward trend in the ratings. Last year, James Franco and Anne Hathaway tried to pull it off but failed miserably as they lacked on-stage chemistry, and adding to the woes was their dumb witted antics. With Eddie Murphy, too, this month, having back tracked and accent problems with the Americans (if a British hosts the show), Crystal was the only option, whose in-the-nick-of-time decision has got the management breathing a sigh of relief.

The troubles started when Oscar producer Brett Ratner made some derogatory comments against homosexuals thus leading to a massive public outcry against Ratner. With the producer having left, Murphy would have felt handicapped and thus he followed suit. To come in terms with the new found troubles, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences instantly got Brian Grazer and don Mischer aboard, which subsequently had Crystal too. Crystal’s inclusion too was a result of a huge public demand.

After the official announcements were made, Academy President Tom Sherak said that Crystal is a comic legend and he is where he belongs. Appreciation from other quarters too flowed in, with one celebrity blogger quoted saying by USA Today that, “Billy is not just making a dramatic, triumphant return to the Oscars, he's coming to the academy's rescue. They had to call in the real pro this time."