{"id":83464,"date":"2016-12-06T01:44:53","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T06:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=83464"},"modified":"2016-12-06T01:44:53","modified_gmt":"2016-12-06T06:44:53","slug":"jimmy-kimmel-host-academy-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2016\/12\/06\/jimmy-kimmel-host-academy-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Kimmel to host Academy Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Whether<\/a>
Whether Kimmel can spark a comeback will be a considerable test for the 49-year-old comedian. (Photo: Oscars<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK\u2014The Oscars finally have a host: Jimmy Kimmel will emcee the 89th Academy Awards.<\/p>\n

The late-night host will be presiding over the ceremony for the first time. Kimmel has been a regular awards host, having twice previously hosted the Emmy Awards (including its broadcast in September) and once led ESPN’s ESPY Awards.<\/p>\n

The selection of Kimmel gives ABC, home of the Oscars telecast, the choice the network had long sought. His \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d has previously followed ABC’s Oscar broadcast. The network also has new muscle to flex; it signed a deal with the Academy of Motion Pictures in August to remain the Oscar broadcast home until 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I am hosting the Oscars,\u201d Kimmel said on Twitter. \u201cThis is not a prank. And if it is, my revenge on the academy will be terrible and sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The academy waited much later than usual to name a host for the Feb. 26 ceremony. This year’s show is being produced by veteran producer Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd, president of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company, Pearl Street Films. This is also their first time producing the Oscars.<\/p>\n

The lengthy search has perhaps been a product of increasing pressure on the broadcast. Last year’s show was hosted by Chris Rock and was dominated by backlash over its second straight year of all-white acting nominees. Its 34.3 million viewers marked an 11-year low for the telecast.<\/p>\n

Whether Kimmel can spark a comeback will be a considerable test for the 49-year-old comedian. His Emmy Awards broadcast on ABC drew a mere 11.3 million viewers, a new low.<\/p>\n

But ABC Television Group chief Ben Sherwood publicly lobbied for Kimmel. In September he said the network was \u201cvery hopeful that Jimmy will get\u201d the Oscar hosting gig and that he had \u201celevated\u201d the Emmys.<\/p>\n

This year’s Oscar favourites don’t appear to feature the kind of big, popular films that can drive audiences to watch the awards. The top contenders \u2014 \u201cMoonlight,\u201d \u201cLa La Land\u201d and \u201cManchester by the Sea\u201d \u2014 have together totalled less than $15 million at the box office, though \u201cLa La Land\u201d is yet to open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK\u2014The Oscars finally have a host: Jimmy Kimmel will emcee the 89th Academy Awards. The late-night host will be …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":83465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[3679,206,12714,740,12715],"class_list":["post-83464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-entertainment-2","tag-hollywood-2","tag-jimmy-kimmel","tag-oscars","tag-the-academy-awards","mauthors-jake-coyle","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}