Here's what convinced Jimmy Kimmel to host Oscars again

LOS ANGELES: American TV host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who is set to host the 96th ceremony next month, said that he did not expect to return to the Oscars stage. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Kimmel told the Los Angeles Times, "I did not think I would ever do it again."

He first hosted the Academy Awards in 2017, when La La Land was accidentally announced asbest picture instead of 'Moonlight'. He returned in 2018 and then again last year. "I did two of them, and they went well -- something crazy happened at one of them with a story I'll have for the rest of my life," he said of the 2017 and 2018 gigs.

"I know how much work goes into [the Oscars], so I thought, 'Yeah, I don't necessarily want to do this ever again.'" Kimmel stated that much of the difficulties of presenting the Oscars stem from talking about films that his audience has not watched, as per the Hollywood Reporter. In 2017, he said, "I made a joke about Moonlight that made it clear to me that the vast majority of the room had not seen the movie, even though it won Best Picture."

Last year, Kimmel said 'Top Gun: Maverick' changed his mind. "I knew there was a movie that people had seen, and it just makes the job easier." Though he expected that would be the end of it, Barbie left him with the same emotion about the 2024 event. "I am sitting in a movie theatre watching Barbie and thinking, 'Well, maybe I'll do this again because at least I have a point of reference with everyone,'" he said.

"I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times," Kimmel joked when he was named host in November. He is now the fourth-most frequent Academy Awards host in history, trailing only Bob Hope (19), Billy Crystal (9), and Johnny Carson (5). Molly McNearney, Kimmel's wife and co-head writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live!, also serves as an executive producer of the show.

The 96th Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC on March 10 from the Dolby Theatre.