Conan O’Brien wasted no time getting on to the good stuff at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday (March 15), delivering a monologue that delivered well-aimed blows to some of Hollywood’s most high-profile targets, with the controversy over Timothée Chalamet’s ballet and opera firmly in his sights.
O’Brien opened with a false safety warning.
“Security is very tight tonight,” he told the Dolby Theater audience.
“There are concerns about attacks from the ballet and opera communities.” He then turned directly to Chalamet with a deadpan quip: “They’re just mad that you left out jazz.”
It was one of the sharpest lines of the evening, and one that was delivered perfectly considering how widely Chalamet’s February remarks had been dissected within the industry in the weeks leading up to the ceremony.
O’Brien also criticized the increasingly tense relationship between Hollywood and politics, warning the room that things could get uncomfortable. His solution?
“There’s another Oscar ceremony hosted by Kid Rock. It’s at Dave & Buster’s down the street.”
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos was also unhurt.
O’Brien played up the irony of a streaming executive sitting in a movie theater, evoking what Sarandos might think while watching an audience enjoy a movie together.
“Why are they all having fun together? They should be home alone, where I can monetize it,” O’Brien said, doing his best Sarandos impersonation.
The monologue followed a pre-recorded cold open in which O’Brien appeared in full makeup as Amy Madigan’s character, Aunt Gladys of Weaponscrushing scenes from this year’s Best Picture nominees while being chased by the horror movie’s killer children.
The sequence ended with a stuntman being chased live into the Dolby Theater itself, at which point O’Brien emerged from the chaos in a tuxedo, composed as always.
This was his second time hosting the Oscars, having first taken on the role last year, and from the looks of it, he’s settling in comfortably.
