You might be surprised at some of the talents that have hosted the Independent Spirit Awards over its 35-year run. While John Waters is the cult favorite of longtime attendees and watchers, Samuel L. Jackson, Andy Samberg, Queen Latifah, Kate McKinnon, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, and, most recently, Aubrey Plaza all emceed from the tent on Santa Monica Beach (except for those few years it was downtown). For 2021, new Spirit Awards host Melissa Villaseñor has a benefit none of her predecessors could count on. Her entire portion of the shot is pre-taped.
Before you fret, don’t worry. The winners will be announced live. Villaseñor’s monologue and her bits, however, are already done. As she revealed when we spoke on Monday, “I’m very excited Thursday to see it all pieced together. That’s going to be so cool.” (She’ll also be standing by live just in case anything goes wrong technically).
And with that added prep time, you can bet that the “Saturday Night Live” cast member will pull out a number of her celebrity impressions for the telecast. Villaseñor is known for spot-on impersonations of Dolly Parton, Natalie Portman, Kristen Wiig, and Jennifer Lopez, among others. That was just one topic during our quick conversation before the show.
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The Playlist: Melissa, are you excited to host the Spirit Awards on Thursday?
Melissa Villaseñor: Oh, very excited. It’s all pre-taped, too, so I already hosted.
Really? Is it done?
It’s done. Yes, my pieces myself, but I’m very excited Thursday to see it all pieced together. That’s going to be so cool.
Did you guys shoot it in New York, or did you come out to LA?
I’m here in LA. Yeah. We’ve taped it here in LA.
How are the winners being announced?
That’s the portion that will be live, and I’m going to be on standby, actually. I’m going to be dressed up in one of the dresses that I wore from the pre-tape just if something goes wrong. I’m going to be waiting, ready to jump in and say like, “Uh-oh, we lost them. I’ll take the award,” but yeah, no. So that’ll be live, which I’m glad because I thought originally they were going to all pre-tape the acceptance speeches, which would have been so heartbreaking and cruel. But yeah, so my sketches, my monologue, all that we taped so they can edit nicely, which I think puts it in a better place for a show that’s virtual. I think it’s tough to do them live.
Was it a relief in that you could be like, “Hey, can we just do it again one more time because I just didn’t love that take?”
Yeah, a lot of room for that. That felt really nice for all the pieces. But the monologue was cool because the first few takes, I taped it without an audience, which is just weird. I want to hear the laughs. Naturally, I am someone that if something cracks me up, I laugh right then. So a lot of the jokes in the monologue, I cracked myself up alone. And then, on the later takes, we brought in the crew. Everyone’s spread out, and it felt so good to have their laughs. And I did a better job, too, with the practice and having that energy there.
I was looking through your resume, and it doesn’t look like you’ve hosted an award show before?
No, I’ve always dreamt about it, though. Throughout the comedy journey, I felt like when I’ve watched Ellen [DeGeneres] host the Oscars or Jimmy Fallon, that’s when I was in high school, but when he did the VMAs, Sarah Silverman hosting award shows. There was always a part of me; I was like, “Oh, I can do that.” Because I feel like my comedy is warm, and it’s inviting for everyone, and it’s silly. There are voices and singing, and I think I have a lot to offer as a host. So it made perfect sense. When I got the offer, I was so honored, and yeah, I’m very proud of what I did. I’m very excited for people to see it.
When you got the offer, was there anything that you immediately wanted to do? Any ideas that came to you that “If I host an award show, I always want it to be this”?
Hmm. The monologue was truly special because I was myself in that, and that felt really good because that was very new. I’ve never done that. With stand up, yeah, I’m myself, but I felt like that was really cool to do that. That was different. That was the first time. Whenever something’s new, challenging, or exciting, that gets me excited, I think. But yeah. No, but there was nothing. I said, “We have to do this.” I knew I would do a range of things, so yeah, I’m glad I did it all.
In the bits that you’re doing, do any famous friends pop up at all in these pre-taped bits?
Well, it’s all me, but I’m playing some famous people. But there’s still going to be some celeb presenters. I’ll say, “Please welcome so-and-so.” “Now to …” Yeah.
Every time I’ve talked to someone who’s hosting the show, they always insist they have watched all the nominees. Have you watched all the nominated films for the Spirit Awards?
I haven’t watched all of them. There are so many. I didn’t get around to all of them, but I would say the main ones, yes. Yes.
Any that stood out to you in particular?
Oh, “Sound of Metal” was insane. God, he was so good. Riz Ahmed is amazing. And I’d never seen him. It was exciting to see someone new. A lot of the nominees are. But, man, I really felt for him. Yeah. No, there’s a lot of good ones. I think “Minari” really holds a special place in my heart, I think, that movie.
It looks like you’re actually going on a comedy tour in a few months. How excited are you to be able to go back into real clubs across the country and pop out of the pandemic in that way?
I think I’ll feel very alive, because, all performers, there’s a part of us that went silent and quiet and disappeared. And you’re like, wait, why am I not fully me? And she’s like, oh man, because this was taken away, and I think I’m going to be just pure joy and so, so grateful to be going back.
Is it for the whole summer, or is it just for a short run?
Well, that particular one, it’s called the California Girl Tour, because my special when I get to LA will be called California Girl. I’m from there, and it’ll be my family as a crowd. But that tour will be I’m driving cross-country with my dog, and we’re taping that, documenting it along the way. And so I’ll be doing some spots there to prep the hour, but then I’m sure I’m going to book other shows in other states throughout the summer that I obviously would fly into, not drive to, and stuff.
So, wait, I missed this part. Is it for a taped television special as well? Well, someone, if they’re listening, I hope they want to pick up the special because they’ll be a lot of fun to share with some, with everyone on one of the big streaming services. But there’s no one at the moment, so I’m available!
The 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast on IFC on Thursday, April 22, on IFC and AMC+ at 7 PM ET, 10 PM PT.