Late-night comedians applaud diverse 2018 Oscar nominations
The nominations for this year's Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday.
— -- Late-night TV hosts weighed in on this year's Academy Awards nominations on Tuesday, with some applauding the Academy for its attempts to honor diversity, while others used it as an opportunity to mock last year’s epic Best Picture flub.
"Live" host Jimmy Kimmel, who's slated to host the ceremony on March 4, called out some of the most noteworthy nominations during his opening monologue Tuesday night, but he said he's only excited about one category: Best Picture.
"I'm excited! I can't wait to see who accidentally wins Best Picture," Kimmel joked, referring to last year's Best Picture flub.
"The Shape of Water" led the way with 13 nominations, including one for Best Picture.
"'Shape of Water' got so many nominations. Finally Hollywood is recognizing a monster other than Harvey Weinstein," Kimmel said. He also highlighted so-called snubs for "Wonder Woman," actor Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg.
But in true late-night TV fashion, Kimmel found a way to sneak in a President Trump joke.
“I think they missed this picture, it was the best picture of 2017,” he said before showing an image of Trump with his wife and son looking at the solar eclipse.
“That's right. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, starring directly into the eclipse,” he said shamefully.
On “The Daily Show,” host Trevor Noah acknowledged the Academy for attempting to diversify the nominations after receiving complaints from viewers who said people of color were being overlooked.
“This year Oscars are renominating 'La-la Land' [just] to take the Oscar away from it again,” Noah said. “The truth is, representation is so much better this year. Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig for Best Director. 'Mudbound'’s Rachel Morrison is the first-ever woman nominated for cinematography.
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” also pointed out the Academy’s attempt to diversify the nominations.
“These are the first Oscars in the wake of the #metoo movement, which means there will be some changes. For instance, the Oscar statue will now be fully clothed,” Colbert said.
“Meanwhile, Jordan Peele was nominated for directing ‘Get Out,’ making him only the fifth black director ever nominated for a best directing Oscar,” he noted. “Now, Jordan Peele is invited to a big party thrown by rich white people. I hope he's seen ‘Get Out.’”