Ready for round two! Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the 2018 Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, March 4, with a hilarious opening monologue. Below, Us Weekly rounds up the five best moments from the host’s introduction!
1. Best Picture Mix-Up
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host, 50, immediately joked about the headline-making snafu that occurred at the end of last year’s ceremony, when La La Land was erroneously presented with the night’s top prize instead of the actual winner, Moonlight.
“This year, when you hear your name called, don’t get up right away. Give us a minute,” he told the audience. “What happened last year was unfortunate. I’ve not told the story in public because I wanted to save it for tonight, but here’s what happened. This is true! Last year, about a week before the show, the producers asked me if I wanted to do some comedy with the accountants, I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do that.’ So, the accountants went ahead and did comedy on their own. And I have to hand it to them, it was hilarious, but it won’t happen again.”
Kimmel joked that Oscar (as in the actual statuette) “keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word and, most importantly, [has] no penis at all,” referencing the sexual misconduct scandal in Hollywood that first made headlines after The New York Times published an exposé in October about Weinstein.
“The Academy, as you are no doubt aware, took action last year to expel Harvey Weinstein from their ranks,” the TV host said. “After they did, I was curious, so I looked it up. The only other person to be expelled from the Academy — ever — was a character actor. He was kicked out for sharing screeners. He got the same punishment as Harvey Weinstein for giving his neighbor a copy of Seabiscuit on VHS.”
3. Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams
Kimmel also called out the news that Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million for reshooting his scenes in All the Money in the World, while his female costar Williams was paid an $80 per diem totaling less than $1,000.
“I have to admit, this story really surprised me,” he said. “This one shook me, because if we can’t trust agents, who can we trust? To his credit, Mark Wahlberg announced he would be donating all $1.5 million to the Time’s Up legal defense fund. So, I guess now the ball’s in your court, Michelle. What are you going to do with that 80 bucks?”
The comedian gave a shout-out to Chalamet, who is nominated for best actor for his role opposite Armie Hammer in Call Me by Your Name. At 22, he is the youngest nominee in the category in nearly 80 years.
“He’s missing Paw Patrol to be here tonight,” Kimmel quipped. “Don’t worry. Ryder and his team of pups saved the day.”
5. Guillermo del Toro
Kimmel concluded his monologue by celebrating The Shape of Water, which leads this year’s Oscars with 13 nominations.
“Congratulations, I’m very happy for Guillermo,” he said, speaking directly to the director. “You made a beautiful movie. And thanks to Guillermo, we will always remember this year as the year men screwed up so badly, women started dating fish.”
Tell Us: Which moment from the opening monologue was your favorite?
