Jimmy Kimmel isn’t having a hard time rehearsing for the 2024 Oscars!
In a video the host posted to Instagram on Sunday, Kimmel floated some prank ideas for a very special guest: Messi, the canine star of one of this year’s Best Picture contenders Anatomy of a Fall.
The video comes amid rumors that the dog will not be present at Hollywood’s biggest night.
“What do you think of this?” Kimmel 56, asked his companion before trying out the gag. “Casting is a huge part of any movie. Without a casting director, how would Bradley Cooper even think of casting Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro?”
When Messi didn’t react, Kimmel tried again. “Okay, let me try one more thing: Casting is a delicate art. When you get it right, the actors disappear into their roles. When you get it wrong, the audience asks questions like, ‘Why are all the teenagers in Fat they look like they have kids and a reverse mortgage?’ ”
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That one didn’t land with Messi either. The camera captured the dog as it slowly turned its head and looked straight at the camera, clearly confused.
Kimmel continued, “Okay, you might like this: If you think the show is too catchy for you, imagine how Messi feels right now. In dog years, this show has been on for five and a half months!”
This time, the dog barked in approval. “Oh well, well, we have a winner,” Kimmel concluded.
He captioned the hilarious snap, “Pranks before the #Oscars…,” adding the show’s airtime.
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Messi in the audience during the 96th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty
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Messi arrived at the 96th Academy Awards and was photographed in his seat at the Dolby Theater in California before the show began. He wore a black bow tie around his neck.
During Kimmel’s opening monologue, he even got a shout-out, with Kimmel praising his performance in the Killers of the flower moon.
Meanwhile, despite the last-minute rehearsals, Kimmel has his own pregame practice.
He’s spent months cracking jokes and will turn the timely material into comedy gold right up until the ceremony. The host also saw all 53 of this year’s nominees – and, perhaps most tellingly, upped his game in the gym to get into tuxedo-ready shape.
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Jimmy Kimmel hosts the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California on March 12, 2023.
Kevin Winter/Getty
“I have to start working on my ‘explosiveness,'” Kimmel, who is hosting the Oscars for the fourth time this year, recently told PEOPLE, before admitting that he lives on “sad salads and a lot of crappy boxed meals delivered to my home” recently.
And the gig never gets old for him. “I feel like Kansas City Chiefs going to the Oscars,” Kimmel teased. “It’s like you’ve been there before, but it doesn’t make a difference. It’s still exciting and you still have to be good.”
The 96th Academy Awards will air live on ABC from the Dolby Theater on Sunday, March 10, at 7:00 PM ET.
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Source: HIS Education