John Mulaney hosted the 14th Governor’s Awards, held Tuesday night at the Ray Dolby Ballrooom. He killed.
The gala is an annual event held by the Academy of Motion Arts and Pictures, which honors lifetime achievement in Hollywood and features awards conferred by the Academy board of governors. Mulaney kept the audience in stiches with his polished humor.
“We have to be out of here by 10 p.m.,” Mulaney said as the crowd milled at the start of the show. “There is a corporate event for some personal-injury attorneys coming in. They’ll be using the same decorations.”
He continued, “Hello, ladies and gentlemen. It is an honor and a favor to be here. This is a strategic obligation. It is a pleasure to stand here on this temporary stage. For those of you that don’t recognize me from the Tuesday night AA meeting in the Palisades, my name is John Mulaney.”
He went on to praise Bradley Cooper’s work in Maestro, noting that no one knows what real conducting looks like. He also praised the cast and crew of Oppenheimer and tookon a shot at himself, saying he was recently considered for the part of “Young Cop” in an untitled Maggie Gyllenhaal project He didn’t get it.
“But let’s stop focusing on failure. All right, enough failure. Tonight, there are only winners,” Mulaney joked before going on to speak about the honorees.
Watch the video above.