Ricky's Golden Globes

This afternoon will see the kickoff of the "Not quite as glam as the Oscars" Golden Globes awards ceremony, which will be live-blogged by yours truly and other experts in their fields including James Croot, Carolyn Enting, and Tracey Bond.

What I'm most looking forward to, apart from spending the avo in front of the telly and calling it "work", is Ricky Gervais in hosting mode. Let's hope he doesn't tone down the scathe...

Obviously Ralph Fiennes is a huge fan of Ricky's - he's appearing in his upcoming film Cemetery Junction - here's a tres amusing preview teaser... (with a rather gormless "clevver" frontwoman suggesting it will bore you to tears...)

According to AP:

Golden Globe Awards host Ricky Gervais has firm ideas about who should win Sunday and who should have been nominated in the first place - for instance, him. 

Gervais said he plans to follow in the footsteps of Bob Hope, who, as Academy Awards host, jokingly whined about being overlooked for his movies. Gervais failed to get a nod for The Invention of Lying, which he starred in, co-wrote and co-directed. 

''There will be questions asked,'' Gervais warned, adding he might drag the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the ceremony's organiser, onstage for questioning. 

''Look forward to that,'' he said, with more than a touch of glee. 

He also places tongue-in-cheek blame on Daniel Day-Lewis, who's up for musical or comedy acting honours for Nine. The oft-acclaimed Day-Lewis has received Oscars for the dramas There Will be Blood and My Left Foot. 

''How dare he move in on comedy? It's just not fair,'' Gervais said. ''He doesn't need it, does he? I need it more than he does. ... It's like Barack Obama having a go. He doesn't need to. Just showing off. Stop it.'' 

Gervais, the ceremony's first host in 15 years, isn't abiding by any expectations of neutrality for the Globes from Beverly Hills.

''Am I meant to be impartial? Because I'll blow that straight away. Whoever wins (for best TV drama), I'm going to give it to either Damages or Dexter," he said. 

Gervais is downright fanatical about Showtime's Dexter, which he considers a class act. ''It's quite incredible that you're totally on the side of a serial killer,'' he said sincerely, then couldn't resist adding a quip: ''Which is good.'' 

Although he confessed that, as of a couple weeks ago, he hadn't seen all the nominees, he's a big fan of Up in the Air and its star, George Clooney. The film is ''a proper, grown-up, funny romantic comedy, which proves they can be done'', Gervais said, adding that Clooney is ''such a brilliant comic actor''. 

Another nominee, the animated movie Up, is ''lovely, such a sweet film'' and his favorite of last year, Gervais said.

As for his approach to hosting the ceremony, he doesn't plan any skits and is only roughly shaping his monologue. ''Then we'll see what happens,'' said Gervais.

Could Gervais take part in a Globes song-and-dance number? 

''If I'm drunk enough; I'm certainly not planning to. But who knows what will happen by act three?'' he said.

And what's his planned look for the evening? 

''I thought fat and sweaty and crumpled. What were you thinking?''

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I do hope we get HBO's new animated series The Ricky Gervais Show here in NZ soon... (are you listening TV programming gods?).

Anyway, tune in (or however you access Stuff webpages) after lunch for the Golden Globes coverage on Stuff. Fingers crossed that Gervais comes anywhere close to being as funny as my favourite awards host thus far - fellow Brit comedian Stephen Fry.

Your thoughts on the Golden Globes - luv 'em, hate 'em, what's a Golden Globe? - below.

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