Emmy host Jimmy Kimmel says he is preparing for the show to be a 'disaster': 'I enjoy putting myself in difficult situations'
Jimmy Kimmel will be 'amused' if the Emmy Awards go wrong.
The 52-year-old talk show host will anchor Sunday's ceremony from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles but the nominees will be on video link from their own homes and there will be no live audience.
'I have a weird masochistic streak where I enjoy putting myself in difficult situations,' joked the comedian to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday. 'So if the worst happens and it all breaks down, there will definitely be a part of me that is amused by it.'
Let the crazy begin! Jimmy Kimmel will be 'amused' if the Emmy Awards go wrong. The 52-year-old talk show host will anchor Sunday's ceremony from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles but the nominees will be on video link from their own homes and there will be no live audience
Jimmy added: 'I sometimes step outside my body and laugh at myself. So whatever happens, it'll be OK.
'I mean, it's just a television show. It's not like I'm flying a jet.'
Jimmy - who hosted the 2017 Oscars when the Best Picture award was famously handed to the wrong movie - admitted reliance on technology means there's a potential for the ceremony to be a 'beautiful disaster'.
Asked what would make the evening a disaster, he told the Reporter: 'If they give the wrong Emmy to the wrong show.
Ready to roll: The 72nd Emmy Awards is relying on technology to get the night going
'No, it would be a disaster if we can't get the nominees and winners on the air. That will be a disaster, but it could also be a beautiful disaster.'
And the presenter doesn't have a plan B in place if things go wrong.
Discussing his back-up plan, he said: 'Nothing, really. I mean, honestly, nothing. If something happens technically, I will be touching upon all the skills I've acquired over the course of my life.
'I know one magic trick. I can kind of juggle. I guess I could draw caricatures of the crew.
'We are heavily relying on Wi-Fi for this Emmys -- more than any show ever has before.'
And the host can also see some positives in the unusual set-up for the evening.
He said: 'We've got some people who are going to be a part of the show who don't typically do this, and that's exciting for me. I don't want to blow anything, but I think that's going to be fun for people to see.
Hilarious: 'I have a weird masochistic streak where I enjoy putting myself in difficult situations,' joked the comedian to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday. 'So if the worst happens and it all breaks down, there will definitely be a part of me that is amused by it.' Seen with Tracy Morgan in 2018 at the Emmys
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'The big public spectacle that is usually the Emmys scares some people away, and we're going to take advantage of that --of those who aren't scared away.'
Emmy Awards bosses have admitted the upcoming ceremony is a 'logistic nightmare'.
The annual event will take place virtually with 130 stars being sent fully-assembled broadcasting units featuring a camera, laptop, ring light and boom mic, so they can connect up via video link for the nominations and acceptance speeches, and producers have admitted there's a huge possibility that things could go badly wrong.
He is used to stress: Jimmy added: 'I sometimes step outside my body and laugh at myself. So whatever happens, it'll be OK. 'I mean, it's just a television show. It's not like I'm flying a jet.' With Joe Biden
Explaining Los Angeles' Staples Center, where the ceremony will broadcast from, was the only facility that could handle so many incoming signals, executive producer Ian Stewart joked: 'You have so many things coming in and also so many things that can stop coming in.
'Trying to get to the middle of nowhere to get one of the camera installed in somebody's house and to get it up and running ― and, of course, under all of the precautions that we obviously are taking ― is a logistic nightmare. How could it possibly go wrong?'
And while fellow executive producer Reginald Hudlin thinks the video links will offer a more relaxed and authentic feel to the ceremony, he thinks the possibility of chaos will add to the fun and admitted they aren't entirely sure how well things will work.
He said during a virtual press conference: 'We're essentially making things up as we go along.
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'I know that's not the most reassuring answer, but it's kind of the truth! We've never done this before.'
Kimmel will be joined at the Staples Center by around a dozen famous faces for various sketches because bosses didn't want to go down the 'easy route' of pre-recording most of the segments.
Ian said: 'We decided let's not do the easy route here and the sanitized route here and do lots of prerecorded things and put them all together and bolt them back to back and put out something that's sort of generic.
'We're in this time ― a stumbling block can be a steppingstone depending on how you use it.
'This is a time to be a bit loose and to have a lot more fun, so live, live, live, live, live, live, live, whenever we can do live.
'And things like a nomination package is pretty hard to do live, but anything that we can do live, we will do live.'
72nd Primetime Emmy Awards: All the major nominations
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards nominations honor the best and brightest in television. Here's a list of all the major categories...
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul, AMC
The Crown, Netflix
The Handmaid's Tale, Hulu
Killing Eve, BBC America
The Mandalorian, Disney+
Ozark, Netflix
Stranger Things, Netflix
Succession, HBO
Succession, HBO
Ozark, Netflix
The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show; Oliva Colman, The Crown and Zendaya, Euphoria
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Brian Cox, Succession
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Outstanding Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
Dead To Me, Netflix
The Good Place, NBC
Insecure, HBO
The Kominsky Method, Netflix
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon
Schitt's Creek, Pop
What We Do In The Shadows, FX
The Good Place, NBC
Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
What We Do In The Shadows, FX
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracy Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Issa Rae, Insecure
Outstanding Lead Actor in Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Meathod
Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek; Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Outstanding Competition Program
The Masked Singer
Nailed It!
RuPaul's Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice
The Masked Singer
Top Chef
The Voice
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Octavia Spencer, Self Made
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
Regina King, Watchmen
Regina King, Watchmen; Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere; Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Outstanding Limited Series
Little Fires Everywhere, Hulu
Mrs. America, FX on Hulu
Unbelievable, Netflix
Unorthodox, Netflix
Watchmen, HBO
Unorthodox, Netflix
Little Fires Everywhere, Hulu
Unbelievable, Netflix
72nd Primetime Emmy Awards: All the major nominations
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards nominations honor the best and brightest in television. Here's a list of all the major categories...
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul, AMC
The Crown, Netflix
The Handmaid's Tale, Hulu
Killing Eve, BBC America
The Mandalorian, Disney+
Ozark, Netflix
Stranger Things, Netflix
Succession, HBO
Succession, HBO
Ozark, Netflix
The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show; Oliva Colman, The Crown and Zendaya, Euphoria
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Brian Cox, Succession
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Outstanding Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
Dead To Me, Netflix
The Good Place, NBC
Insecure, HBO
The Kominsky Method, Netflix
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon
Schitt's Creek, Pop
What We Do In The Shadows, FX
The Good Place, NBC
Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
What We Do In The Shadows, FX
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracy Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Issa Rae, Insecure
Outstanding Lead Actor in Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Meathod
Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek; Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Outstanding Competition Program
The Masked Singer
Nailed It!
RuPaul's Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice
The Masked Singer
Top Chef
The Voice
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Octavia Spencer, Self Made
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
Regina King, Watchmen
Regina King, Watchmen; Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere; Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Outstanding Limited Series
Little Fires Everywhere, Hulu
Mrs. America, FX on Hulu
Unbelievable, Netflix
Unorthodox, Netflix
Watchmen, HBO
Unorthodox, Netflix
Little Fires Everywhere, Hulu
Unbelievable, Netflix