Jimmy Kimmel may avoid political statements at Oscars

Jimmy Kimmel's monologue at the 90th Academy Awards won't be issue-oriented, say Oscar producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd

They said the show will be political, but will not be as political as Kimmel has been this year in his talk show.

De Luca says the Oscar political comedy will be of a different stripe, reports usatoday.com.

"Jimmy's job as the host of his own show is different than his job as the Oscars host. His monologue, his humour is less issue-oriented for our purposes. It will be current, but not as pointed," De Luca said.

This month, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has featured its host emotionally pleading US President Donald Trump on air to discuss gun control. Kimmel also discussed topics like healthcare over the past year.

De Luca said: "We don't give him direction. He intuitively knows what the Oscars call for. He loves the tradition of (past Oscar hosts) Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. And he really embraces that. He followed that tradition last year and plans to again this year."

The Oscars will pay respect to Time's Up, the movement started two months ago in Hollywood to advocate for gender equality in the workplace, reports usatoday.com.

"We've been working with them to try to find the right way to acknowledge this really historical moment, but without making the show about that," says Todd, adding "we will find a moment or two where we find we can address it appropriately."

But the goal of Oscars 2018 will center around entertaining the worldwide television audience. The Oscars will be held on Sunday, and will air live in India on Monday on Star Movies and Star Movies Select HD.

Kimmel and the show's producers have even made light of the "Envelopegate" disaster from last year.

The incident refers to the time when the incorrect envelope was handed to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway for 2017's Best Picture award.

"You have to have a sense of humour about life generally and this in particular," said De Luca, who believes people will tune in to see the live broadcast to see what's going to happen this year.

--IANS

sug/rb/hs