Neil Patrick Harris compares hosting Oscars to Tonys – says favorite past host is Billy Crystal

We are 10 days away from the Oscars so host Neil Patrick Harris is doing a lot of press.

Here are some excerpts from his chat this week with the Los Angeles Times:

Q. You brought the house down at the Tonys. What makes the Oscar crowd different?

A. With the Tonys, you’re dealing with an audience that’s seen all the shows. Everyone’s excited to see performance after performance. You do one too many performances at the Oscars and they’ll turn on you. It’s more about the awards and the honoring. And yet, if you do too many awards … it may become derivative. That’s the tricky part. It’s masochistic fun.

The most important thing is to establish a tone. It’s well worth over-thinking. …

You don’t want to be too [Johnny] Carson, though his jokes are funny. You don’t want to be too [Ricky] Gervais, though his jokes are funny too. …I want jokes to be smart. Biting if necessary. …I don’t have much interest in punch lines that make them feel bad about themselves. That being said, there’s lots of fodder this year. How many hacking jokes is too many? One? How many “Selma” jokes is overkill? Seven? We’ll soon see.

Q. Who’s your favorite Oscar host and why?

A. Billy Crystal became the most brilliant Oscar host in my memory. He brought an element of musicality to it. … It felt like he was one of them. And yet he could parody movies and songs. He always had a twinkle in his eye, and it felt accessible. … We’ve had to abandon great ideas because Billy Crystal came up with them a decade ago…. He’s really the great archetype.