[IMG:L]Movies have Oscars, TV has Emmys, music has Grammys and theater has Tonys. Always competitive, sports didn’t want to be left out, so ESPN created its own ESPY awards in 1993. For its 2007 telecast, producers chose Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel to host the show which airs Sunday, July 15 at 9 P.M.
Kimmel comes off of a recent medical scare. On Wednesday, June 20, Kimmel was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. One week later, he was already back at the office, working on a new episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
On the phone, casually chatting about his upcoming hosting gig, Kimmel seemed unphased. He joked about his mini-crisis and was ready to add an all night event to his usual schedule of nightly talk shows. He might have a tough act to follow, as his girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, made a big splash at the MTV Movie Awards.
Hollywood.com: How are you doing after the surgery?
Jimmy Kimmel: I’m doing fine. Apparently, the appendix is a worthless [organ]. Just the fact that it’s called an appendix should tell you all you need to know. They took it out and they threw it into the ocean and I’m fine.
HW: When will you be back and up on your feet?
JK: I’m actually back. I got the operation late Wednesday night, was released Thursday and came back into work Friday.
HW: Were you scared during the medical ordeal?
JK: Well, you know I have no fear. No, I was not scared. I am not scared of anything. If anything, I just looked at it as an opportunity to lay around in a hospital bed for a day or so eating Jello. But I really wasn’t that scared because number one, I have a feeling I have really good doctors. I knew that it’s basically a tonsil operation only down low. If you don’t catch it in time it’s no good but I didn’t feel like I was at that danger zone.
HW: Hosting an awards show sounds like an intense gig. How do your doctors feel about that?
JK: Well, Dr. Dre, actually, is my doctor, so he told me to just go for it and don’t be a wuss. My doctors are fine. They said, “As long as you don’t lift anything heavy, you’ll be fine.” I really wasn’t planning to lift anything heavy anyway, so I should be fine.
[IMG:R]HW: Do you expect it to be more intense than your live show, or a piece of cake?
JK: It’s different, and I wouldn’t call it a piece of cake. But I think once you do a few awards shows – and I’ve done a few of them – you kind of figure out how they work and they’re much less intimidating. If you can go up there and do 10 jokes that people love and will quote the next day, you’ve pretty much done all you can do.
HW: Are you preparing different sorts of jokes or humor for that sports audience?
JK: For me, it’s great because I was trying out some jokes on my girlfriend. She didn’t get any of them which is okay by me, because I get to be a little bit more inside sports-wise, which I don’t get to do on my show. It’s nice to be able to talk about things like Jason Giambi without having to go into a big explanation of who Jason Giambi is, and what baseball is, beforehand.
HW: Do you feel you have to top Sarah‘s MTV Movie Awards performance?
JK: Yes, we’re very, very competitive. No, we’re very supportive of each other and I think we’ve probably hosted more awards shows than any couple ever.
HW: Will you go for any controversial stuff like steroids in baseball?
JK: Definitely.
HW: Are you hoping Paris Hilton will show up for the show?
JK: Let me tell you something: I will give her $100,000 myself if she comes to this show because she is the greatest gift to comedy one could ever receive. But I’m guessing she learned her lesson at the MTV Movie Awards.
HW: What about Kobe Bryant? Will you make jokes about him?
JK: Well, I have a feeling I might have something to say, but I don’t want to dissuade Kobe from coming to the show itself. So I’m going to lie and say no, I promise I will not make any jokes about Kobe.
[IMG:L]HW: Do you turn into a geeky fan around athletes?
JK: Definitely. One of the ways you realize you’re old is when the players you idolize are younger than you. There is something inherently wrong with that. So it’s hard for me now that I’ve met some of these guys to feel the same way I did about the guys that I idolized when I was a kid. For me, I love Mike Piazza, and then I met Mike Piazza and realized he was a year younger than I was. It just seemed odd, so I’m sticking to the Steve Garveys and Magic Johnsons and Tom Seavers of my youth who I idolized. I’ll just admire the other guys.
HW: Did you ever think the ESPYs were silly, and how do you see them now?
JK: Well, let’s be honest. All awards shows are silly and ridiculous. We give so much credence to the Oscars. Especially something like the Golden Globes, where you find out there are bike messengers from Latvia voting on these things. With the ESPYs, there’s still some opinion there, but at least they’re physical achievements. Whereas acting and singing and that sort of stuff, a competition doesn’t seem to fit into those things. It’s just weird inherently that you’d say who is the best musician. When did music become a sport? At least these are sports and you could feel a little more comfortable handing a trophy to someone.
