The Academy Awards aren't exactly known for off-the-cuff surprises, but that all changed at the 2017 Oscars, when the biggest on-stage mixup ever was broadcast for the world to see.
By now we've talked plenty about Warren Beatty's perplexed expression, Ryan Gosling's mysterious smirk, and the fate that awaited the poor accountants at the center of the blunder. But one thing that gets lost in the mix was host Jimmy Kimmel, who handled the flub with equanimity. He was also sly enough to parlay it into a joke about his rookie-status at the Oscars; "I knew I would screw this show up. I really did," Kimmel said at the end of the telecast.
The Academy, apparently, thought he did a bang up job too. As reported at The Hollywood Reporter, Kimmel will be returning for the 90th Academy Awards that will take place on March 4, 2018. He'll be joined by producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd, who also worked on the 2017 show.
“Mike and Jennifer produced a beautiful show that was visually stunning. And Jimmy proved, from his opening monologue all the way through a finale we could never have imagined, that he is one our finest hosts in Oscar history,” said Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs in announcing the decision.
Kimmel reacted to the decision with a very appropriate tweet:
As noted at THR, the selection is a bit unusual in how early it came. Usually, the Academy president announces the producers first, then later mulls over the pick for the host (a process that can be a protected one). THR notes a handful of factors that may have led to the early decision; namely that Boone Isaacs is stepping down from her role in July, and that, after last year's blunder, an early decision gives everyone more time to prepare for next year's show. Also, ABC had just inked a new contract last summer to broadcast the Oscars through 2028. Certainly, the network would be eager to get one of its own TV personalities on the Oscars (we'll set everything on fire if it's ever Ryan Seacrest, who just joined Live with Kelly).
There's absolutely no doubt that Kimmel will have some fun with the 2017 mixup at the 2018 Oscars, and he'll have about 10 months to work on the material. Now we play the waiting game.
