Academy Awards organizers have determined to stay with a tried and true host: Jimmy Kimmel.
Mr. Kimmel, the late-night comic who has hosted the occasion 3 times, will return to the Oscars stage on March 10 to steer the 96th ceremony, in response to two individuals briefed on the plan, who spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to reveal it. Molly McNearney, the co-head author of “Jimmy Kimmel Reside!” on ABC, will function an government producer for the 96th Oscars telecast.
The Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences didn’t reply to queries.
In search of cultural relevancy for the ceremony following a interval of plunging rankings, the academy and ABC, which broadcasts the Oscars, have bounced between codecs in recent times. They tried three hosts in 2022 (Wanda Sykes, Regina Corridor, Amy Schumer) and nil hosts, from 2019 to 2021. For the 2023 present, the academy returned to at least one host — Mr. Kimmel, who additionally did the job in 2017 and 2018.
He delivered. Viewership rose to just about 19 million individuals this 12 months, in response to Nielsen, up from 16.6 million the 12 months earlier than and 10.4 million in 2021, the bottom ever. Earlier than 2018, the telecast had by no means dropped beneath 32 million.
Simply as vital for the academy, Mr. Kimmel’s return was freed from controversy, serving to to revive luster to an occasion tarnished in 2022 when Will Smith marched onstage and slapped Chris Rock. The academy and ABC additionally overhauled the crimson carpet preshow, hiring consultants with expertise on the Met Gala to make star arrivals really feel much less chaotic and extra glamorous. The crimson carpet was vanquished in favor of a champagne-colored one.
Internet hosting the ceremony was as soon as seen as a feather within the cap of high comedians like Billy Crystal, a nine-time host, and Whoopi Goldberg, who was M.C. 4 instances. However many stars have develop into leery concerning the time dedication and potential backlash that internet hosting can deliver. Trash-talking the Oscars — for its stilted banter, for the alternatives made by voters, for its very existence — has develop into an indicator of the social media age.
Hollywood’s awards season has been gradual to begin this time round due to the actors’ strike, which prevented stars from selling completed work. With the strike resolved, studios and publicists have rapidly ramped up awards campaigns, pushing stars like Emma Stone, a front-runner for a finest actress nomination for her debauched efficiency within the surrealist comedic drama “Poor Issues,” and movies like “American Fiction,” a satire a couple of author who places collectively a faux memoir that activates racial stereotypes.
Different movies anticipated to prominently determine into the 96th Academy Awards embody “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” each of which had been runaway successes on the world field workplace. In the event that they obtain as many nominations as individuals in Hollywood anticipate, it can assist Mr. Kimmel: Viewership for the Oscars tends to extend when widespread movies are honored.
