Randy Holmes/ABC Jimmy Kimmel, center, on “Jimmy Kimmel Live†with, from left, Robin Williams, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia.This interview may contain spoilers for people still catching up on YouTube hoaxes and/or “Breaking Bad.â€
The past year had been a good one for Jimmy Kimmel even before he hoodwinked the Internet a few weeks ago with a much discussed â€" and reported on, probably to the chagrin of some TV news directors â€" prank twerking video.
Last September he took on the high-profile gig as host of the 2012 Emmy Awards. In December he saluted David Letterman, his longtime idol, at the Kennedy Center Honors.
Then in January, his ABC talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,†finally moved to the prime 11:35 p.m. slot after spending its first 10 years at 12:05 a.m. The move to a more respectable late-night neighborhood, which placed him opposite Mr. Letterman, among several others, didn’t dampen the show’s anarchic spirit. One episode featured Mr. Kimmel gagged and duct-taped as Matt Damon, whose faux-contentious relationship with the host is a long-running joke, “took over†for a night. In July “Jimmy Kimmel Live†received four Emmy nominations, including one for best variety series.
None of which was top of mind at the outset of a recent conversation, which found Mr. Kimmel still “traumatized†over the previous night’s episode of “Breaking Bad.â€
“The death of Hank is haunting me,†he said.
Mr. Kimmel sufficiently regrouped to discuss moving to an earlier time slot, killing off Tracy Morgan at last year’s Emmys and resembling a bargain soda, in certain contexts. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
You broke my heart with the flaming twerking hoax.
I’m sorry. You were upset that she wasn’t burned?
What is there left to believe in, if not a girl lighting herself on fire on YouTube?
Some bonehead wrote a thing saying people should be angry because I’ve stolen people’s innocence, or some nonsense.
The show began before the viral video era took offâ€"
Actually the first viral video I remember getting was one from “The Man Show†where we had this little boy sell beer like it was a lemonade stand. People were emailing that to me, not realizing I made it.
So did you know from the beginning of “Jimmy Kimmel Live†that you wanted to do these sort of guerrilla-style videos?
All of this is accidental â€" none of it is part of a master plan. Although the first show I did, I showed a video of Andy Milonakis singing the stupid song about the Super Bowl and strumming his guitar. So I guess viral videos have been part of the show from the first night.
Do you get any validation from the Emmy nomination in your first year at 11:35?
Oh absolutely. It’s especially exciting for the staff, because we kind of toiled in anonymity for a long time and people would say, “Oh yeah, I saw that funny video you did.†But the show as a whole is still the most important thing. The most satisfaction I get is when I do a show that is solid from beginning to end. Getting the consistency to a point where you don’t feel like dry heaving after the show every night is a major milestone.
When did you get to that point?
There still are some nights where I don’t feel that I’m anywhere near that, but I think probably around three and a half years ago. It’s funny: I felt I was ready for 11:30 probably from a month after we went on the air. [Laughs.] I look back and realize that I’m delusional and possibly insane.
Has moving to the earlier slot changed the way you approach the show?
We really just live day to day and bit to bit. If I have a good monologue and a good show, I feel somewhat O.K. when I go home. And if I don’t, I’m ready to go back and do it over again and wash that mediocrity out of my mind.
You produced some memorable bits when you hosted the Emmys last year. This year you’re presenting â€" do you have anything special planned? Do they even give you that kind of latitude?
I have a suspicion that they write something mediocre for you so that you come up with something on your own. I’ll figure it out this week sometime.
How do you think you did as Emmy host?
I think I did very well. I’m pretty critical, but I did what set out to do. I did some weird things; I did not drag the show out. I put myself in the “In Memoriam†montage, which I know wasn’t for everyone, but was something that delighted me to no end. I had the guys from “Breaking Bad†in the opening to “The Andy Griffith Show,†which was fun to shoot. I threw my parents out. I caught Jon Stewart racing out of the theater, live. We killed Tracy Morgan. I feel like it was mission accomplished.
Your adoration of David Letterman is well documented. Where does paying tribute to him at the Kennedy Center rank on your list of career highlights?
It’s probably No. 1. A lot of times you get asked to do something and you say, “It was my pleasure.†I think this was the only instance in which it truly was. Growing up I was so obsessed with the show â€" every textbook cover had “Late Night With David Letterman†on it. For those friends and family members, especially, who know how deep those roots go, it was very, very exciting. I never would have imagined meeting Dave, never mind having an uncomfortable ride down in an elevator with him at the State Department.
How was that ride?
[Laughs.] It was uncomfortable but thrilling. It was uncomfortable because I knew he was uncomfortable but I was bursting at the seams.
Is Letterman the standard you aspire to?
I don’t compare myself to him because that depresses me. I also don’t think you can separate it. There would be no Shasta if weren’t for Coca-Cola â€" I think of myself as the Shasta in this situation.
