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Jimmy Kimmel talks with
UGUIDE about moving to the coveted 11:35pm time slot, competing against his lifelong idol, and dirty jokes before midnight.

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  • So your show is going to be on 25 minutes earlier than it has been. What’s the big deal?

    There are mythology and traditions surrounding that 11:35 time slot that started with Johnny Carson and then became a big deal when Leno went up against Letterman. Plus, for some reason, people go to sleep at midnight. So you lose a lot of people at that time. There are a lot more people up watching television at 11:35 than there are at midnight. It’s as simple as that.

  • Jay Leno is supposedly going to be starting his show a minute earlier than you. What’s your reaction to that and is that going to be a problem?

    I think it’s an interesting strategy. I think, to me, it says that maybe they’re a bit concerned. And I’ll be curious to see how long they’re able to keep that up, because I would assume they have to give a minute of commercial time away in order to do that.

  • So does the new time slot mean no more dirty jokes?

    No, it does not mean that. The jokes will remain exactly the same. That’s something that I discussed with them [ABC] and it’s the same. From a standards and practices standpoint it’s not a huge difference.

  • Who would you most like to compete
    against if you had the choice?

    If I had my pick of the litter, I think I’d want to compete against Mario Lopez. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing when he kicked my (expletive)? At some point, Jay Leno is not going to be able to stay on television forever. But never count Jay out. He’s like Jason in Friday the 13th. He seems to pop up just when you think he’s dead. He comes back to life and he’s got a hatchet.

  • Letterman is clearly a hero of yours.
    How do you feel about going up against him?

    It’s weird, but it’s like if Nolan Ryan is pitching to you: You still have
    to try to hit the ball, no matter how many baseball cards you might
    have in your bedroom or posters of him on the wall.

  • What’s it like sort of having a
    relationship, for a lack of a better
    word, with your childhood idol?

    I’m trying to have a relationship with Dave. I told him I’d like him to stay at my house for a couple of weeks. I would very much like to be his friend, I’m trying to play cool, but so far it’s not working that well.

  • Are you looking forward to
    interviewing someone you haven’t yet?

    Oh, there are a lot of people, but at the top of my
    list are probably Bill Murray and Steve Martin.
    These are guys that I’ve admired for a long time
    and who are great talk-show guests.

  • Are you still going to be doing a
    four-night-a-week schedule?

    We are actually going to do four new shows
    a week. And then we are going to do a
    compilation-of-the-week show for Friday nights.

  • How long do you see yourself doing
    your show? Are you going to be a lifer?

    No, I’m not going to be one of those guys that they have to
    drag off the stage. I mean, I look at it now and I think, you
    know, if we were lucky enough to be able to do another 10
    years, I would be very happy with that.

  • If you could watch only three ABC shows past or present, what would
    they be?

    Lost would be number one. Modern Family I think I’d
    put on that list. And maybe Welcome Back, Kotter.

  • Will you be informing Matt Damon
    of the scheduling change?

    Yes, we’ll probably let him know. He is kind enough to
    take part in our shenanigans from time to time and I’m
    sure he will continue to do that in the future.

  • Would you rather: Ben Affleck or...

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