The Academy Awards have become a pretty contentious ceremony in recent times. What was once the quintessential evening in celebrating film has become a pretty murky. I reckon it all started with the desperate plea to millennials in having Anne Hathaway and a truly blazed James Franco host the 2011 show.
What a disaster.
The hosts have only gotten better, tbh. Remember Ellen DeGeneres and that iconic as hell selfie?
If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014
How about Chris Rock‘s powerful and fucking hilarious opening monologue about Hollywood‘s diversity issue this year? That was bloody legendary.
Today, our Oscars host for 2017 was officially announced: beloved late night talk show dude, ex-boyfriend of Sarah Silverman, and Matt Damon‘s nemesis, Jimmy Kimmel.
Much like the other late-night Jimmy, Jimmy Fallon, Kimmel’s show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, is incredibly popular – mainly because he happens to be friends with the most charming of celebs, like Gary Oldman, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, and national treasure Nicole Kidman.
He also hosted the Emmys this year to pretty solid reviews, so that’s quite an achievement. Needless to say, he’s pretty stoked about the step up.
Yes, I am hosting the Oscars. This is not a prank. And if it is, my revenge on @TheAcademy will be terrible & sweet. Thx to @alsformalwear
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) December 5, 2016
It’ll be hard to top Rock’s impressive return to the Oscars stage this year, who hadn’t hosted the gig for 11 years – especially considering he could offer pretty firsthand experience re: lack of nuanced cultural representation in Tinseltown.
Luckily for Kimmel, however, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences have pledged to diversify the shit out of their voters by 2020, so hopefully the controversy could have slightly settled by February next year.
And with LGBT/people of colour narratives such as Moonlight, Fences and Loving already in the running as fave Best Picture contenders, things are lookin’ up.
Source: Rolling Stone.
Photo: Getty / Randy Holmes.
