Jimmy Kimmel’s signature line at the end of every one of his shows: “Apologies to Matt Damon. We ran out of time.” Well, in 2013, Damon had enough of that. He took over Kimmel’s show one night, re-titling it “Jimmy Kimmel Sucks”, for a highly-entertaining hour. Guests included Amy Adams, Nicole Kidman, Ben Affleck, Reese Witherspoon, Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, the late Robin Williams and Kimmel’s ex, Sarah Silverman.
“Frenemies” Kimmel and Damon re-ignited their relationship last year when Kimmel hosted The Primetime Emmys. Damon came-out on stage once Kimmel lost the Outstanding Variety Talk Series category – eating an apple and rubbing the loss in his face.
And earlier this month, Damon snuck-onto Kimmel’s set disguised as Super Bowl-winning Patriots QB Tom Brady. Kimmel had him kicked-out.
Now, with Kimmel hosting The Oscars this Sunday, and Damon as a nominee (for producing Best Picture contender “Manchester by the Sea”), they’re bound to do something. The question is, when will it be: during a taped piece, the live monologue, at some point in the middle of the show, or at the very end? “Manchester” likely won’t win the night’s top honor, so Kimmel could go after Damon for that, but it’s also the end of a really, really long awards show.
My Prediction: expect a fun banter during the monologue (that includes a couple of “Great Wall” jokes), which, if Kimmel is on his A-game, should be very sharp.
SIDE NOTE: In Jan. 2016, I met Damon at the Critics Choice Awards. He was nominated for Best Actor for “The Martian”. I asked him, “Are you and Jimmy Kimmel really friends?” He laughed and, with a smile, said, “Publicly – definitely not.”