I'm putting this in chat on purpose. The only real news is that, yes, he has been confirmed as host again.
I was always a big Oscar fan as a kid...from sometime around 1980 until recently I saw every telecast. When I was in school, I would often miss the Tuesday after the broadcast because I was sleeping in. Crystal was always the perfect host, with really great charisma and top notch singing in his opening sets.
A couple of years ago I realized the Oscars had stopped being fun...I was watching each year but not even looking forward to it. So after nearly thirty straight broadcasts, I stopped viewing. It was tough, but liberating. I've missed a couple of them now with no regret. The movies no longer seemed special, the awards no longer seemed special...hell, even when they showed the audience it seemed to be mostly b listers, very little star power. The Academy Awards used to be oozing stars...now, not as many were there and today's stars are pale imitations in the shadow of the likes of, say, a Paul Newman. Nobody today really matches up. It just felt less than special.
But, with Crystal back, the man I felt should have been the new Bob Hope and just hosted the fucking thing every year, I might MIGHT watch again.
Yet...I've seen none of the films it will recognize, it will still be a shoddy production, and the junior league stars will still dominate the proceedings.
Oh, and they are giving Oprah an Oscar (sigh)...though, I've heard rumors her award may not be given during the actual broadcast. She might get the second tier treatment they award to the technical wizards.