The comedian Jimmy Kimmel, during the Oscar 2018 edition.CONTACT (CONTACT)
The film academy returns to a safe bet.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscar gala on March 12, 2023. It will be the first time in five years that the awards have a single master of ceremonies.
The organizers have been experimenting for years in the format of the awards in the face of falling audiences.
The last solo presenter, in 2018, was precisely Kimmel, the veteran comic against
late night
from ABC (the network that broadcasts the awards).
Kimmel has a lot of experience in sketches and political humor, in which he makes no secret of his sympathy for the Democratic Party.
"We know he will be funny and ready for anything," Oscar producers Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said in a statement on Monday.
These, in addition to humor, have highlighted Kimmel's love of film and his 23 years of experience on the small screen headlining his late night show.
In 2017, in what was the first time in front of the Oscars, Kimmel was the master of ceremonies in an edition remembered for the error of Warren Beatty, who gave the most important prize of the night to
La La Land
when the real winner It
was
Moonlight
by Barry Jenkins.
The blunder was corrected, but the gesture marked the first of several unique Academy Awards episodes.
The most recent of these was, of course, Will Smith's swipe at Chris Rock after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
One of the rumors that followed the slap controversy was that Chris Rock had been offered to host the ceremony.
The comedian claimed this in August, during a stop in Phoenix on his stand-up tour, and where he claimed that he had turned down the invitation.
The academy never confirmed the claim of Smith's wrath victim, who will not step on the awards red carpet again for a decade as punishment.
The organizers have not revealed this Monday if they offered someone else to host the event, but it is a good sign that Kimmel is in charge because his sense of humor is capable of the same kind of comedy as the one that outraged the protagonist of
Men in Black.
.
“Being invited to present the Oscars for the third time is either a great honor or a trap,” Kimmel joked.
"Either way, I am grateful to the Academy that they offered it to me so quickly after everyone else said no," he added in a statement.
Kimmel becomes the fifth celebrity to present the Oscars for the third time.
A list that includes Steve Martin, Jerry Lewis, Conrad Nagel and David Niven.
Still, he is far from having any record as a driver.
Bob Hope did it 11 times and Billy Crystal 9.
ABC Chairman Craig Erwich said Monday that it was a dream come true for Kimmel to return to the Dolby Theater stage.
"As seen every night on his show, Jimmy can handle any subject with heart and humor," the executive said in a statement.
Kimmel and the producers of the gala have among their responsibilities raising the audience of the awards, which has been in a tailspin for years.
This effort fell this year to three women: Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer.
The female comedians, although famous in the United States, lacked international recognition.
The 2022 edition was seen by 16.6 million viewers, an increase in recent rating numbers, but still a long way from the 50 million that the awards reached.
The last time Kimmel presented the awards, in 2018, the ceremony was viewed by 26.5 million people.
The nominees for the new edition of the Oscars will be announced on January 24.
The ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby, which is across the street from the El Capitan Theater, where Kimmel hosts his show Monday through Friday.
