Jimmy Kimmel felt "like a distant relative had died" after being asked to host the Oscars.
The 49-year-old funnyman, who is presenting the prestigious ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday (26.02.17), was disappointed to only be offered the job for the first time in December, as he would have liked more time to prepare.
He said: "It was like a distant relative had died, in that I knew what was ahead. I work a lot. I work 12 hours a day. Having time to think about what you might do with a big show like this is important to me . . . I was bummed it didn’t come a week or two earlier, cause then I could get a jump on it."
The American chat show presenter says the 89th annual ceremony "will definitely be significantly longer than" three hours long but plans to focus on making the A-list audience laugh by being spontaneous.
He told VanityFair.com: "It’s really the only thing I have. I can’t sing or dance. I’m not an actor. I figured I’ll stick with my strengths. A big song-and-dance number is something people assume you might do. That was never in the plan."
Jimmy’s entire family have been begging for one of his 12 allocated tickets to the show and he admits: "It’s like having a tiny wedding."
Jimmy Kimmel wanted more notice for Oscars
