The first time Jimmy Kimmel presented himself to Oscars, he did not have a ticket. It was the mid-1990s, back when he was on KROQ's morning show “Kevin & Bean,” and he and host Kevin Ryder decided to sneak into the Oscar Governors' Ball.
“I remember we showed up at 9 a.m. in tuxedos,” Kimmel recalls. “We figured if we stayed there long enough, we would feel like we belonged there.” But moments before the guests arrived, they kicked us out. »
Their mistake was pretending they were guests of Gil Cates – just a name they saw in the Oscar credits, but in reality the longtime executive producer of the Oscars. Still, Kimmel and Ryder returned — and then had a glorious evening. “The only thing I really remember about that night was that we told John Travolta we were sneaking out — and he went to get us food,” Kimmel recalls.
This memory still anchors Kimmel, who remains erased even if he has become the essential host of the biggest evening in Hollywood. THE “Jimmy Kimmel live! » The host received plaudits for his hosting role at the Oscars in 2017 and 2018 — including for how he handled the infamous envelope snafu, when “La La Land” was accidentally named best winning film before “Moonlight” was properly honored.
ABC and the Academy decided not to host another host for three years before tapping Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes to do the honors in 2022, which marked another infamous moment (“slapgate”) by Will Smith). Kimmel was back last year, increasing ratings and interest in the TV show: The 2023 Oscars saw an 8% increase in viewers over 2022 and a 1% increase among adults 18-49 years. Now the job seems to be his for as long as he wants. Could it be the permanent host of the Oscars?
“You suppose I was asked about next year,” he said. “That’s not an assumption I would ever make.”
Still, if Kimmel returned in 2025, he would tie Johnny Carson five times as Oscar host. (Only Billy Crystal and Bob Hope have done it more.)
“Maybe we should leave that number to Johnny,” he jokes. “I think it was also very different back then. I think it was more of a “show up and make a few jokes” type of situation. I don't necessarily focus on the numbers part.
When Variety catches up with Kimmel a few weeks before the show, he's laser-focused on locking down the TV show. “That's kind of the hardest part, because that's when I have three times more material than I need,” he says. “I have to figure out what to cut and what to keep. It's hard because you fall in love with the jokes and you hate cutting them. You know you're doing a good show when you make good jokes.
Pre-tapes don't play as much of a role at the Oscars as they used to, Kimmel notes. Most of that production energy is now devoted to promotions, including one he recently did with Kate McKinnon, who revisited her Oscar-nominated role as “Weird Barbie” from “Barbie.”
“I think pre-tapes are underrated by home and studio audiences,” Kimmel notes. “I feel like what people enjoy the most are really strong jokes. And stepping in when you need to be on stage and not being on stage when you don't need to be. Just keeps the show moving in general.
This year, with blockbuster films like “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” in the running, Kimmel says it's been easier to find material. “It's hard to make jokes about things people don't know about, so having films where most of the audience has seen them helps a lot. In many ways, this is why Trump jokes work so well. You don't need to explain it to him at all before you can get straight to the punchline.
As for this year's show, besides the Oscar contenders, Kimmel is hoping for another round of strong acceptance speeches. “If they're half as good as last year, we'll have a great show,” he said. “Because that’s what really makes the show at the end of the day, whether the speeches are moving or funny or surprising or exciting. It makes the show come alive. And if they aren't, it makes the show boring. There's not much you can do about it. So we leave it to luck.
Juggling Oscar duties with hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” every night is a challenge, but the talk show is dark the week before the ceremony so Kimmel can focus on preparation.
“The hardest day actually isn’t even the day after the Oscars,” he says. “It’s the Wednesday after the Oscars, where almost everyone has forgotten about them. You're running on steam, but you still have to put on a good show. I sometimes imagine it would be a lot easier if I didn't have to host a late-night show while preparing for the Oscars.
But wait. Despite reports that Kimmel is ready to hang it up, the truth is he has no idea what he'll do when his contract with ABC for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is in place at the end of 2025.
“People seem very interested in when I leave. I have the same thing when I go to parties,” he jokes. “The real answer is I don’t know. It's not like I'm playing any game. It's far away and I almost feel like someone is asking me what I want for lunch in a year's time.
“I guess I could say, 'I'll keep doing this until I die.' And that would satisfy people – but it’s not true. This will have to stop eventually, and I don't know when it will. »
VIP+ analysis: is Oscar audience correlated with box office?