Jimmy Kimmel: We had lawyers with stopwatches carefully tabulating the length of Oscar winner speeches

Variety

Kimmel kicked off his talk show Monday night by explaining how his jet ski bit ended up being mired in legalese. “Once we decided to do it, because it was technically a contest, the legal department had to come up with rules and guidelines for it,” Kimmel said. “Do we start the timer when the winner’s name is called — so they have to rush to the stage? Well we couldn’t do that because that would be unfair to the winners in the back and people wearing heels — and tight dresses – and you do not want to get in a legal dispute over a personal watercraft. That’s how people get killed.” Kimmel also revealed that the hot dog cannon was specially made for the Oscars broadcast.

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