The 89th Academy Awards are tonight, and late night host Jimmy Kimmel is all set to host the biggest night in movies. There's a lot of pressure on the host of the Oscars to keep things running smoothly and, most importantly, entertaining. Past hosts who have failed do this have been skewered (just look at James Franco and Anne Hathaway), so how is Kimmel preparing himself for the big night? Well, he doesn't seem too nervous because he took the time to pull a little prank on his eternal rival Matt Damon. Check it out.
The greatest fake feud in late night continues! Ahead of his hosting gig at the Oscars tonight, Jimmy Kimmel decided to stick it to nominee Matt Damon. Stumbling upon Damon's assigned seat for the night, Kimmel doodled on his picture, giving Damon a mustache, unibrow, and missing teeth (the classics). Kimmel posted his work to Instagram and took it one step further with the caption "Best Picture Vominee Mat Damon." Damon is a nominee this year as a producer, having produced the non-stop sad-fest Manchester by the Sea. We can only imagine how Damon will retaliate at tonight's show.
Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon certainly have one of the most interesting relationships in late night. The two have created a playful rivalry between themselves, which has gotten tons of mileage on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The feud originally started when Kimmel began signing off the show with "my apologies to Matt Damon; we ran out of time." Kimmel did this every night, joking that they could never quite find the time to have Damon on the show. The bit took off from there, escalating into several viral hits that include Ben Affleck sneaking Damon onto the show, Kimmel and Damon going to couples counseling, and a recent segment where the two find out which one of them is the father of Kimmel's wife's child (it's Tracey Morgan).
Earlier last year, Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Emmys and proved that he was more than adept at breaking up the show with some memorable jokes, such as his mother making attendees a packed lunch with personalized notes. However, what really stole the show was when Matt Damon came onstage after Kimmel lost in the Variety Talk Series category. It's pretty hilarious and you can check it out the clip below.
Fingers crossed that we get to see something like this tonight! The 89th Academy Awards air at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.
