In January, O’Brien described hosting as a “moving target” in the wake of the city’s wildfires, so he found a middle ground in bringing tragedy and comedy together with some help from the LAFD
In January, Conan O’Brien described his hosting gig at the 2025 Academy Awards as a “moving target” in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. “We have a million ideas, but which ones will we use?” he considered. “What’s going to be appropriate? What’s the right tone?” His solution was to bring tragedy and comedy together on Sunday evening with some help from the Los Angeles Fire Department.
O’Brien has been on a roll tonight, hitting joke after joke out of the park. But there were a few, he said onstage, that even he wasn’t brave enough to read out loud — so he let some first responders read them from the teleprompter instead.
“To play Bob Dylan, Timothée Chalamet learned how to sing,” one said. “In fact, the singing was so good he almost lost the part.” Another jabbed: “All of our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes — and I’m talking about the producers of Joker 2.”
The audience responded with semi-shocked laughs, partly because O’Brien told them they can’t not laugh at jokes from heroes and partly because the jokes were genuinely funny.
O’Brien mentioned the Los Angeles fires during his opening monologue, reminding the audience that the biggest night in Hollywood is about more than just movies. “So yes, even in the face of terrible wildfires and divisive politics, the work — which is what this is about — continues,” he said. “And next year and for years to come, through trauma and joy, this seemingly absurd ritual is going to be here. I will not. I’m leaving Hollywood to run a bed and breakfast in Orlando, and I’d like to see you there. But the magic, the madness, the grandeur, and the joy of film worldwide is going to be with us forever.”
Leave a Reply