In the wake of an unbelievable 48 hours framed by the departure of both Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy from the 2011 Oscars show parade, the analogous either-or movie reference that comes to mind is far removed from the actor’s crackerjack first effort. In Murphy terms, the only echo of his bust-out-of-SNL mid-80s form is the fact that not a single person in Hollywood would be interested right now in trading places with the ArcZapped, Stern-fried Rat.

There’s just something so painful about the fact that Ratner ran Murphy through the paces of a Tinseltown train wreck as unfunny as 2007′s Norbit and as misguided as 2002′s The Adventures of Pluto Nash. Like those Murphy messes, an Oscar show script from Ratner had its inherent problems, but no one could have anticipated it turning out this bad.

In the early months of 2007, Murphy famously stormed out of the Kodak Theater about an hour before the end of the show. But it takes a real Tinseltown magician to get the host expelled from that same auditorium, a full three months before the extravaganza is set to begin.

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Less than 24 hours after Brett Ratner resigned as producer of the 2012 Academy Awards for using a homophobic slur, host Eddie Murphy dropped out as well.

The Academy released the following statement Wednesday:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak announced that Eddie Murphy has withdrawn as host of the 84th Academy Awards. “I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well,” said Sherak.

Commented Murphy, “First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support each party’s decision with regard to a change of producers for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I’m sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job.”

In the wake of Brett Ratner‘s resignation as co-producer of the 84th Academy Awards, FishbowlLA wondered how long it would take for a prominent journalist to raise the issue of Eddie Murphy‘s full F-word rant in Delirious. We now have the answer–this morning, New York Times media columnist David Carr touches on the comedian’s Mr.T-Honeymooners opening bit, suggesting that the routine makes Ratner seem “positively refined by contrast.”

Meanwhile, Jewish Journal columnist Danielle Berrin (a.k.a. “Hollywood Jew”), who claims she owes her full-time status at the publication to the controversy caused by a 2008 profile of Ratner, refreshed that infamous angle last night. It seems Ratner has never stopped inappropriately chasing after the reporter:

Every time I see Ratner, he hits on me again. Though only after he insults me: “You’re still at the Jewish Journal? Your piece on me was supposed to advance your career.” (Editor’s note: It did. I got salaried and health insurance.)

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The Hollywood Reporter reports director Brett Ratner is out as producer of the 2011 Academy Awards:

“Ratner had been named as the producer of the 2012 Academy Awards show, but he has been under fire for making a series of ill-judged remarks in recent days, including saying “rehearsal is for fags” and discussing his sex life with Howard Stern.

The Academy is expected to issue an announcement detailing the situation later today. It is not yet known whether Eddie Murphy, who stars in Ratner’s film Tower Heist and was recruited by Ratner to serve as the host of the Oscar show, will remain involved with the production.”

Ratner issued an apology Monday for saying “rehearsal is for fags,” but it appears it wasn’t enough for the Academy.

Update: 4:30 p.m. — After the jump is a statement from the Academy on Ratner submitting his resignation:

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Tower Heist director Brett Ratner issued an apology Monday for using a gay slur during a screening of his latest film at the Arclight Hollywood last Friday.

According to TheWrap, Ratner used the word during a Q&A with an audience member:

Q: “So you get this entire group of actors together — what was rehearsal like?”

A: “Rehearsal? What’s that? Rehearsal’s for fags. Rehearsal. Not much. A lot of prep, preparation, complex action sequences, visual effects. Storyboards, animatics. The process was I made the actors stick to the script. And they wanted to, because the script was great.”

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Just a few months after Gil Cates told LA Times reporter Mary McNamara that he was amenable to engineering a 15th Oscars telecast, the much loved 77-year-old director, producer, founder of the Geffen Playhouse and two-term president of the Directors Guild of America has passed away.

In writing about him today, McNamara highlights some advice that Brett Ratner, Don Mishner and first-time host Eddie Murphy may well want to pay attention to. Cates, who entered the Oscar TV show producing fray in 1990, said the key is not to try and re-invent the wheel:

Cates brought a matter-of-fact understanding of the show, its strengths and its limitations, that is harder to replicate. “It is what it is,” he said when we last spoke of the future of the Oscars. “It’s a big beautiful television show about the movies.”

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Last year, with Chelsea Handler on board, the MTV Video Music Awards notched their best ratings since 2002. This past weekend, with no one hosting, the show recorded its best ratings ever.

So let’s perhaps forget the notion of Ben Stiller for the Oscars or the idea of a second encore for Ricky Gervais with the Globes. At this fractured, social media-driven juncture, when everyone on Twitter is a wise-cracking comedian, the best option may well be to dispense with the idea of awards show hosts altogether.

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We like Sasha Stone‘s way of thinking. In reaction to the latest wave of media speculation about Billy Crystal returning for a ninth turn as Oscar show host, the AwardsDaily.com maven instead has her money on another, younger, more logical star:

Somehow I doubt if they’re going to all the trouble to hire the presumed “young and hip” Brett Ratner to produce, it seems unlikely they will veer off that path and head into more traditional waters with Crystal.  More likely, Ben Stiller is the one they’ll get to host.  Stiller is starring in Ratner’s upcoming Tower Heist.  I have my money on Stiller hosting.

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Julian Schnabel’s paintings of bones (used in the credit sequence of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) are on view at Gagosian Gallery, with a preview party last night. Schnabel’s at work on his next film, because he evidently needs no sleep.

Tilda Swinton, Lauren Hutton, Ben Silverman, the Weinsteins, Brett Ratner, and Diane Keaton were sighted.

Fashion icon Lisa Eisner (she owns Sammy Davis Jr.’s wardrobe) and Nicky Hilton both looked great but not together, naturally.

We said hi to Roger Friedman but didn’t recognize David Carr from the NY Times. (We don’t seem to be the only ones.) Gabe Snyder took a smoke break with Schnabel, but we were too busy feeling inept.

We were just about to snap John Waters with our Speed Graphic camera disguised as a phone, when the official photog hissed at us to get out of his way. Waters told us he never watches The Wire, as it’s too depressing, and that he’s delighted for Patty Hearst and her show dog, but no, he’s not making a movie about dog shows.

Outside, the paparazzi were getting soaked.