The Golden Globes happened. People wrote about them. Here's how it went:
Ricky Gervais was shocking and will definitely not be invited back, says Tara Ariano, who then details many of the ways in which Gervais mocked both the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the stars on the show, and assorted others. (But she's wrong when she says he "took aim" at Scientology; rather, he took aim at a couple of prominent Scientologists.) I think she misinterprets Robert Downey Jr.'s response to Gervais, but the biggest problem is the lack of context: I mean, Gervais did something pretty similar last year, and was immediately invited back. I wouldn’t be so sure that the Globes didn't get what they wanted from the guy. (omg!)
On the other hand, HFPA president Philip Berk — who was essentially mocked in Gervais' comments as a doddering old man — told Bryan Alexander that the comic "definitely crossed the line." Magnanimously, Berk opted to criticized not the savage swipes at the Globes themselves, but Gervais' comments about individual celebrities, which Berk said were not condoned by the HFPA. "[S]ome of the things were totally unacceptable," he said. "But that's Ricky." (The Hollywood Reporter)
Additional comments from Berk's interview: Gervais did not allow the HFPA to see his copy ahead of time, so Globes officials were hearing it at the same time as the audience. "When you hire Ricky Gervais," he said, "you expect the unexpected." Actually, I'd expect pretty much exactly what they got — and I'd expect more of the same next year if they invite him back. Which, by the way, Berk declines to say if he'll recommend.
When Gervais did what many awards-show hosts do — which is to say, largely disappear from the show for its middle hour — Twitter was apparently abuzz with speculation about what had happened. Kimberly Nordyke, Philiana Ng and Tim Goodman round up the conspiracy theories: he'd been fired mid-show by the HFPA, he'd gotten drunk, or the Scientologists had done something to him. New CNN host Piers Morgan was among those tweeting his concerns, which might mean that Morgan doesn't watch many awards shows. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Gold Derby, meanwhile, polls its readers to see what they thought of Gervais' performance. And if NBC and the HFPA are paying attention, the results might persuade them that Gervais should be invited back. As of the wee hours of Monday, the top two positive choices ("Greatest. Host. Ever" and "Granted, he went too far, but I loved it") were receiving almost 70 percent of the vote, and the bottom two ("He was shockingly tasteless and not even funny" and "He should be flogged, booted out of the U.S. and never permitted back in") only about 15 percent. (Gold Derby)
As for Gervais himself, he sums up the fallout from the evening to Geoff Boucher and Nicole Sperling at an after-party: "The HFPA doesn't want me, NBC doesn't want me. Scientologists are out to get me. Johnny Depp is going to beat me up in the parking lot – and America won't want me anymore after my atheist comment." But he didn't think twice about any of his jokes, he didn't think he went too far, and he only feels a little bad about insulting Depp. (Awards Tracker)
Melena Ryzik calls it "a Globes full of conventional wisdom," and wonders what effect it'll have on awards contenders. "Will this spell the end of drama until the Oscars nominations are announced next week? Or will it simply make people who might be on the edges of the fray … campaign even harder to get the attention of the Academy?" Well, I think it's safe to say that it won't do that last thing, since Oscar ballots are already in. Until January 25, those people "on the edges of the fray" have no choice but to play a waiting game, not a campaigning game. (The Carpetbagger)
Kris Tapley starts his analysis this way: "Zzzzz … huh?, wha? Oh … "But he nonetheless finds stuff to say about Annette Bening and Paul Giamatti and Robert De Niro and a few others. (In Contention)
David Poland responds to the controversy over the charges in Michael Russell's lawsuit against the HFPA by blaming both the organization and the way Hollywood is "a willing hostage" to the TV show: "this is a broken, corrupt mess that is allowed to stand because it is seen to be of more service to the industry than trouble." (The Hot Blog)
(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
