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Weeks before the 96th Academy Awards, Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel told The Times, “I’m not always elegant and pristine.” His opening monologue on Sunday reflected just that.
The late-night comedian tackled hot headlines, ranging from the Hollywood strikes to the Oscar-nominated power duo “Barbenheimer,” as he returned for the fourth time to host the industry’s biggest night. He also had his sights on “Oppenheimer” star and Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr.
“This is the high point of Robert Downey Jr.’s long and illustrious career,” Kimmel said, “or one of the high points.”
The camera quickly panned to the three-time nominee, who has been open about his past struggles with drug addiction. Downey tapped his nose, to which Kimmel responded, “Is that too much on the nose? Or is it a drug motion he made?
In response to a disappointing joke by Kimmel about his body, Downey encouraged the comedian to finish the joke by doing a fishing motion.
During his opening, Kimmel addressed “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig’s snub, delved into Sony’s “Madame Web” and singled out canine actor Messi from “Anatomy of a Fall,” who caused a stir in media circles. Oscar days before the ceremony. .
With more commentary on “Killers of the Flower Moon” best picture nominees Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper, Kimmel’s monologue on Sunday was less direct than his opening of the 2023 ceremony. Last year he addressed the controversial slap of Oscar winner Will Smith during the 2022 show. “We want you to feel safe,” he joked last year, “and most importantly, we want me to feel safe.”
The veteran ABC host, whose tenure as Oscar host included that infamous best picture envelope debacle in 2017, concluded his monologue by addressing the months-long writers and actors strikes in 2023 that halted the production and promotion of film projects and television.
For months, the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA negotiated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to address several pressing issues, including waste and the growing use of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry. The writers’ strike ended in late September 2023 and the actors’ strike ended in early November 2023.
“We can be proud of the fact that this long, difficult work stoppage taught us that this strange town of ours, as pretentious and superficial as it may be, is at heart a union town,” Kimmel said.
He added: “It’s not just a bunch of Nepo babies heavily touched with Botox, drinking Hailey Bieber milkshakes… with perpetually shaking chihuahuas. This is a coalition of strong, hard-working, mentally strong American workers. “Women and men who would surely die if we had to touch the handle of a shovel.”
Crew workers then joined Kimmel for the final moments of his monologue. As the Oscars audience rose to its feet, Kimmel vowed to show solidarity with low-wage workers as they undergo negotiations.
“We will also be with you,” he said.
Before the Academy Awards, Kimmel admitted to The Times, “I didn’t think I would be (Oscars host) again.”
“I did two of them and they turned out well; one of them had something crazy happen with a story I’ll have for the rest of my life,” he said in an interview published last month. “I know how much work is involved, so I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t necessarily want to do this again.'”
What convinced him to return were projects like “Barbie,” a popular film that led much of the cultural conversation last year and gained Oscar cred when the film directed by Greta Gerwig, one half of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, was nominated in eight categories. And Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which was nominated for 13 awards to top this year’s list of Oscar contenders. Both films compete for the best film award.
“’Well, maybe I’ll do this again, because at least I have a point of reference with everyone,’” Kimmel said.
The 96th Academy Awards aired live on ABC from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.