Jimmy Kimmel Is Ready for Anything!

BACK AS OSCARS HOST, THE LATENIGHT STAR HOPES FOR MINIMAL DRAMA AND MAXIMUM LAUGHS

- ELIZABETH LEONARD

When Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Oscars for the first time in 2017, the unimaginable happened: The wrong Best Picture winner was announced on live TV thanks to a backstage envelope snafu. But in retrospect, Envelopegate seems more an unfortunate blip compared to the unforgettable moment on last year’s telecast when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face onstage. “It’s still shocking that that happened,” says Kimmel, 55, who was watching from home in disbelief. Nonetheless, the unflappable star signed on to host Hollywood’s biggest night for a third time (the Oscars air live on ABC on March 12 at 8 p.m. ET). No matter what may befall him, Kimmel is sure of one thing: “I’m going to give it 110 percent.”

How’d you feel being asked to three-peat as host?

My initial reaction was that my wife [Molly McNearney, an executive producer for the Oscars broadcast] is not going to be excited about this. The first time they asked me to host, she almost started to cry. But I was mistaken. She was actually excited about it!

When you look back on the Best Picture envelope mix-up, what goes through your mind?

It’s still hard to believe it happened. In some ways it feels like an episode of a TV show I watched and then put out of my head. It was a very intense and confusing end to what was otherwise a pretty great night.

You kept your head. It was remarkable.