Jimmy Kimmel does not anticipate another Oscars flub like last year's Moonlight/La La Land debacle.
The Jimmy Kiimmel Live host is hosting the Oscars once again, and he took the stage during ABC's winter press tour day to talk to press about we can expect, both in the aftermath of the Best Picture announcement and in the midst of Hollywood's sexual harrassment revolution.
In case you've forgotten, during last year's ceremony, presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty were accidentally given the card announcing the award for Best Actress, which went to Emma Stone from La La Land, so they announced that La La Land was the winner, when it was actually Moonlight. Kimmel joked at the time that he would never get this gig again, but he was obviously wrong.
"If it happens again, literally everyone that works at ABC should be fired," Kimmel told reporters. "If it happens once I think that's understandable, if it happens a second time, no one is competent enough to running a television show or network. If it happened again, I admit it would tickle me deeply."
During the opening for last night's Golden Globes, Seth Meyers joked that his monologue was like "sending the first dog into space to see if it came back alive" since it was the first major award show monologue since the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment allegations and all the news that has followed. Kimmel says he and his wife (Molly McNearney, head writer of Kimmel's writing team) felt like the joke was just for them.
"I did feel that," he said of the dog in space comparison. "I do thank him for being that litmus test."
As for how he will cover the topic, Kimmel couldn't really say.
"The problem is [The Oscars are] two months from now," he explained. "It's almost like getting into a hot tub or something, you can't really know what the temperature is until you get there. … But suffice it to say I think it will be a significant part of the show."
While there will be a lot of focus on the more serious matters in Hollywood right now, Matt Damon will also, no doubt, be the butt of many of Kimmel's jokes, since the two have been deeply embroiled in a rivalry for years now.
"Matt Damon was born a joke as far as I'm concerned," Kimmel said. "I hope that we're focused on something else two months from now, but if there's a chance for me to give Matt a little elbow in the ribs, I'm always open to it."
We can also look forward to something similar to last year's tour group that suddenly found themselves in front of the entire Oscars audience. Kimmel says he likes to "have an element that could go either way."
"That could have been an absolute disaster, and some people thought it was, but I loved it," he said. "I do like there to be some danger in the show. And I hope it will be appreciated for what it is."
The Oscars will take place Sunday, March 4 on ABC.