Jimmy Kimmel will host the 90th Academy Awards next March on ABC. Kimmel hosted the show this past February, and had a nice success. Michael DeLuca and Jennifer Todd will repeat as producers. The show airs late this year– March 4th– because of the Olympics on NBC.
Oscar prognosticators are already predicting the winners and front runners, etc for next year even though no one’s seen any of the movies. But some of the names already in the mix are Steven Spielberg with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep for “The Post,” Rooney Mara for “Mary Magdalene” from the director of “The Lion,” Christopher Nolan for “Dunkirk,” and so on. No one really knows a thing.
Kimmel’s hosting of the Oscars runs along party lines, so to speak. He’s on ABC. These days the hosts of awards shows are drawn from the networks they’re on. That’s the way it goes.
Meantime, Cheryl Boone Isaacs has stepped down from running the Academy after two progressive, innovative years. A number of people are running for the Academy board including actors like Rita Wilson. Hawk Koch, who preceded Isaacs, wants to return to the lead position, which I think is a good idea. No one asked me, however!
