Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel has savaged James Cameron and Tom Cruise after they missed the ceremony this year, despite both being up for awards.
Cameron, 68, isn’t nominated for Best Director, but his hugely popular Avatar sequel The Way of Water is up for a number of big awards, including Best Picture.
Similarly, while Cruise may not have had a Best Actor nod for reprising his role as Lieutenant Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, the film Top Gun: Maverick is also up for the Best Picture accolade, among many others.
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But neither of the pair showed up today – something that Kimmel was sure to mention in his monologues throughout the night.
"Everyone loved Top Gun,” he said.
“I mean, everyone.
"Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene? ... Hubba hubba!"
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He continued: “You know, Tom and James Cameron didn’t show up tonight – the two guys who insisted we go to the theatre... didn’t come to the theatre.
“So if you’re hoping to get a look at Tom Cruise, he’s not here.”
Kimmel then pointed to Judd Hirsch in the audience, joking that ‘that’s Tom Cruise right there, wearing a Mission: Impossible mask.
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As Hirsch pretended to peel his face back as if it were a mask, Kimmel added: “There’s only one way to find out for sure: Judd, we’re gonna need you to drive a motorcycle off the roof of the theatre.”
A spokesperson for Cruise told People that he had to miss the ceremony as he was filming Mission: Impossible 8 overseas.
Entertainment Tonight reported that if Top Gun: Maverick wins Best Picture, producer Jerry Bruckheimer would be on hand to accept the award.
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Elsewhere in the evening, Kimmel took another swipe at Cameron, also making a dig at the lack of diversity among the Best Director nominees.
“James Cameron is not here,” he began.
“You know a show is too long when even James Cameron can’t sit through it …
“Some of the critics are saying Jim Cameron isn’t here because he didn’t get a best director nomination.
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“And while I find that very hard to believe about a man of such deep humility, he does have a point.
“I mean, how does the Academy not nominate the guy who directed Avatar? What did they think he is, a woman?”
Topics: Oscars, Celebrity, Jimmy Kimmel, Tom Cruise, TV and Film
Jess Hardiman