BURBANK, California (AP) -- Chris Rock's eyes darted around the room, studying the chattering group of international print journalists. He licked his lips, clasped his hands ... and only dropped one F-bomb as they questioned him in a variety of accents.
"I'm never proper or careful, but I never curse in front of my mother, either," Rock told the writers. So he's not worried about getting bleeped on worldwide TV when he hosts the February 27 Oscar ceremony.
"I don't think people are nervous," Rock said later during an interview with The Associated Press. "I just came off tour in America, a million people came to see me. They weren't nervous."
Shooting a glance at Oscar show producer Gil Cates, he asked, "Are you, Gil?"
Cates didn't flinch.
Neither has the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, although having the acerbic Rock as host is certainly a change of pace. The academy is known for its sedate style and the predominantly older, white membership that fills the Oscar night audience.
Rock mimicked the typical question he gets these days: "Oh, a black comic, how are you going to make it whiter? I'm like, 'Dude, look around, can you get any whiter?' "
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/28/oscarinsider.therock.ap/index.html
"I'm never proper or careful, but I never curse in front of my mother, either," Rock told the writers. So he's not worried about getting bleeped on worldwide TV when he hosts the February 27 Oscar ceremony.
"I don't think people are nervous," Rock said later during an interview with The Associated Press. "I just came off tour in America, a million people came to see me. They weren't nervous."
Shooting a glance at Oscar show producer Gil Cates, he asked, "Are you, Gil?"
Cates didn't flinch.
Neither has the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, although having the acerbic Rock as host is certainly a change of pace. The academy is known for its sedate style and the predominantly older, white membership that fills the Oscar night audience.
Rock mimicked the typical question he gets these days: "Oh, a black comic, how are you going to make it whiter? I'm like, 'Dude, look around, can you get any whiter?' "
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/28/oscarinsider.therock.ap/index.html