In his opening monologue, Academy Awards host Jimmy Kimmel encouraged award recipients to discuss social issues, thank family members and give words of encouragement during acceptance speeches, but Kimmel announced there is an incentive to keep speeches short:
A Brand New Jet Ski! Retail value: $17,999.
To the tune of the Price is Right theme, Kimmel showed off the brand new jet ski on the Oscars' stage. When Sam Rockwell took the stage to win Best Actor in a Supporting Role, he said he would keep his speech short in an effort to win the jet ski.
“Why waste precious time thanking your mom when you could take her” on a jet ski ride, Kimmel said.
During his monologue, Kimmel was not afraid to get political, and acknowledged some of Hollywood's recent shortcomings. Kimmel discussed the Me Too movement, and the importance of the academy of expelling Harvey Weinstein following sexual misconduct revelations were reported.
“The world is watching us. We need to set an example,” he said. “The truth is if we are successful, women will only have to deal with harassment all the time every other place they go.”
Kimmel also pointed out Hollywood's liberal slant.
"We don't make films like 'Call Me By Your Name' for money. We make them to upset Mike Pence," he said.
While Kimmel only delivered a few overly political jokes, he opted to make a flub fom last year's Academy Awards when the wrong film was announced as Best Picture a central theme of his monologue on Sunday.
“What happened last year was unfortunate,” Kimmel said, “I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do comedy with the accountants.’ And then the accountants went and did comedy on their own.”
