The Golden Globes Awards “are just like the Oscars but without all that esteem,” host Ricky Gervais said during last night’s Golden Globes telecast, his third stint hosting the annual show. The ceremony—featuring awards handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press—includes some nice surprises as well as great disappointments.

Here’s a look at the big winners and losers of the evening.

Oscar Contenders

Winners: “The Artist” and The Descendants”
Both films are likely to be major Oscar contenders, and both left the Globes with renewed momentum. “The Artist” collected awards for best comedy or musical, best actor (Jean Dujardin) and best score. Meanwhile, “The Descendants” collected two awards: best actor in a drama (George Clooney) and best drama. Their wins likely foreshadow their future success at the Academy Awards and could lead to more moviegoers checking out these two smaller films.

Losers: “Moneyball” and “The Ides of March”
Despite the fact that it was nominated for four awards, “Moneyball” walked home with zero awards. Even Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”), Steve Zaillian (“Schindler’s List”) and Stan Chervin didn’t win for their brilliant screenplay. Woody Allen took home the award for best screenplay for his wonderful comedy, “Midnight in Paris.” “Ides of March,” the political thriller directed and co-written by George Clooney, also went 0-4 during the evening but Clooney didn’t leave the show empty-handed (see winners).

Acceptance Speeches:

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Award show season is here, and it’s the time when I get all excited and giddy for the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Academy Awards.

The 69th Annual Golden Globes starts at 8 p.m. EST tonight and will be hosted again by British comedian Ricky Gervais. I can’t wait to see who he offends this time.

Let’s take a look at who’s nominated this year for Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes. Favorites of the HFPA this year are “The Artist” and George Clooney. I’ve gone through the nominations and picked who I would like to see win and who will most likely win.

FILM

Best Motion Picture – Drama

The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

“The Help” was one of the most incredibly moving films of the year and featured a stellar, talented cast. It was also one of the best book adaptations I have ever seen. But I think the HFPA is in favor of Clooney this year. My Pick: The Help Who Will Win: The Descendants

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Ricky Gervais will not apologize for the jokes he’s planning to tell during this weekend’s Golden Globes telecast.

At least, that’s what he’s been explaining in one media interview after another to drum up interest for the show. Usually, the avowed athiest just does his shtick and gets out of the way.

Heck, if the folks behind the annual Globes telecast don’t want him back for another hosting assignment, so be it, he often says.

Lately, Gervais has been downright chatty in defending himself against charges that he’s far more cruel than funny. So, will this year’s event, to be broadcast 8 p.m. Sunday night on NBC, bring more of Gervais’s politically correct firepower – hitting addict celebrities, aging starlets and people of faith?

Can Gervais resist a Tebow crack?

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Today:

Gervais, who has hosted the Globes for the past two years and will do so again on Sunday night, continued his chat from last week with TODAY’s Matt Lauer on Wednesday, refusing to apologize for being offensive from time to time.

“What am I doing? I’m coming up with jokes and annoying people,” he said. “I think offense is taken, not given. If you don’t let yourself be offended, you’re not offended. Some people are offended by quality; some people are offended by mixed marriage; some people are offended by homosexuality. What are we meant to do, stop all those things because someone’s offended? No.”

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The only thing more painful than hearing someone explain a joke is listening to the teller defend said joke.

The newest Entertainment Weekly lets frequent Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais do just, and it was as awkward and self-serving as you might fear.

Gervais, the star of “The Office” and a loud and proud athiest, used a guest column in EW [link not available] to defend himself against charges he’s a cruel, vindictive joke slinger. You’d think an edgy comic would revel in such a reputation, especially since all those mean jokes didn’t prevent him from securing yet another Globes hosting gig this Sunday.

No, Gervais wants to show us he’s a kinder, gentler comic, and in doing so he pens a self-serving rant that’s neither funny nor illuminating.

Gervais says he “tends to explore contentious and taboo subjects,” one reason why so many people are offended by his act. “I like to take the audience to places they haven’t been before,” he boasts. But will his Sunday shtick really be so cutting edge? Will he dare poke fun at the current occupant in the White House? Will he mock those who wish to strike words out of the English language?

Doubtful.

It’s far more likely he’ll taunt people of faith – but not Muslims – and other soft targets.

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Over the course of my writing, I and some of my friends have written many articles about the obsession on the left known as “PC” or Political Correctness.  These articles include, but are not limited to:  “Has PC Taken Away Free Speech,” “When Christmas was the Holiday,” “If it walks Like a Duck“ and “Synonyms.”

Unfortunately, this PC obsession on the left seems to have infected all aspects of our country ranging from education to entertainment, whether it is television, film, or the written word.  In fact, some friends of mine in education have told me that almost everything in education is controlled by PC at this point.  One of the most recent examples is the news that Mark Twain’s classic piece of literature, Huckleberry Finn, is now being edited to take out all usage of the dreaded “N” word “nigger.”

As I stated in my earlier article cited above “Has PC Taken Away Free Speech,” episodes of the classic television situation comedy “Sanford and Son“ are being edited now on TV Land to remove all usage of that word.  This is true regardless of whether the usage is funny or fits within the context of the episode.  The same is also being done to other situational comedies from the 70’s which contained irreverent and/or racial humor.

In fact, use of the dreaded ”N” word has gotten so toxic that just talking about it in this column makes me feel uncomfortable.  The mere suggestion that the word exists puts you into a different category of human beings unless of course you are an African-American rapper, at which point you can use that word as many times as you want without any fear of being called a racist pig.  (By the way, that is just one example of liberal hypocrisy).

Most of this, as it relates to the entertainment industry, came to a head last weekend at the Golden Globes ceremony.  The host was British comedian Ricky Gervais.  Mr. Gervais’ style is that he pulls no punches, and being British does not have the obsession with being PC that Americans do.  If you want to watch all of his monologues from the event, please click here:  Ricky Gervais on the Golden Globes.  This will give you a good example of his irreverent humor. (more…)

One of the most frustrating things about writing blogs or trying to win over hearts and minds is the slow realization that the opposition actually possesses a different thought process.  It’s not just about laying out the facts, pointing out data, and drawing reasonable conclusions, it really comes down to the way the left looks at the world and parses data.

The other day, I clicked the link at the top of Big Hollywood that led me to a commentary by Michael Lee at “The Wrap.” Mr. Lee takes aim at John Nolte’s commentary about the Ricky Gervais performance at the Golden Globes.  As I waded  through the piece I quickly realized that Mr. Lee didn’t understand the basic points that John made.

And this, unfortunately, is typical.

John Nolte made the astute observation that Gervais‘ performance was awesome because he took the witty, acidic, and mean spirited humor that is usually aimed by Hollywood at the American populace and turned it on the sanctimonious, self-righteous entertainment community.   Had Gervais been ten times more vulgar but aimed it all at Sarah Palin, George Bush, and people who believed in God, there would be no discussion.  There would be no outrage.  There would be absolutely zero press.  Gervais would probably be paid double to return next year. (more…)

Though the media ceased to amaze me some time ago, that doesn’t mean my head doesn’t shake at times in complete dismay over the way things get spun. Criticism or an honest response from another point of view is one thing. When they completely get it wrong, that’s another. Twice now I’ve gone back and re-read both articles I wrote about Ricky Gervais and twice now I have to wonder what the Atlantic and Wrap read.

The point of both my pieces seems crystal clear, narrow in their scope, and even a little repetitive. But let me repeat it again…

 Hollywood has spent the last two decades hammering and insulting Middle America, Christians, and conservatives. Worse, they do it with sucker punches that insultingly come out of nowhere in what’s advertised as apolitical entertainment. Furthermore, this is an industry that prides itself on pushing the “edgy” envelope at every opportunity right in our face and when we least expect it. Sunday night, Hollywood got a taste of their own medicine and proved they couldn’t take it. It was revealing and it was deserved. Bravo, Ricky.

That’s not a political or partisan statement. It’s more of what you might call a Ms. Manners type of approach. I never said I thought Gervais was funny and I never said anything close to what many others have about all these “puffed up, self-important stars getting what they had coming.” Undoubtedly there are many stars who are puffed up and self-important but I truthfully don’t think that alone is reason enough to spoil their evening. And I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Gervais is a little puffed up and self-important in his own right. (more…)

The Daily Mail is positively gushing over Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais and his willingness to pretty much hit every star in the room directly in their soft spot. Meanwhile, back in America, the Hollywood Reporter has a host of quotes, including from some top Golden Globes execs, stating Gervais “definitely crossed a line”. That pretty much sums up how this unimportant but revealing scandal is playing out across the world: Reality v. Hollywood, and Hollywood stupidly allowing their heightened complaints and indignation to feed this fire is the dumbest of all dumb public relations moves.

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In the bubbled, hypocritical mind of some in Hollywood, the only reason Gervais crossed a line is because he went after them. Had he been as relentless in ripping apart Sarah Palin, her young children, Jesus Christ, or George W. Bush, today the comedian would be celebrated as “edgy” and “courageous” — because only in Hollywood is throwing red meat to a hard-left crowd considered “edgy” and “courageous.” But Gervais didn’t do that. Instead, he trained his satirical fire on Hollywood Power and today there’s serious talk about whether or not the comedian will be brought back to the Golden Globes next year as host.

Hrm…? Someone not being allowed to work at the Golden Globes because they ridiculed Hollywood? 

Goldlisting?

The bubbled stupidity we’re seeing here is in Hollywood’s willingness to keep this story alive for a second day. It’s one thing for this community to have a thin skin, it’s completely another for them to announce it to the whole wide world. Regardless of what some stars and Golden Globes execs might think personally, if they understood how this event is playing out, publicly they would stop baring their asses. The smart  gameplan would’ve been titled Common Sense: Paste on a smile, praise Gervais to show you can take a joke, and then privately make sure he never eats lunch in this town again. (more…)

Father of the Year?

“And I want to thank all the female nominees tonight for helping demonstrate to my young daughter that elite is not a bad word, it’s an aspirational one. Honey, look around, smart girls have more fun, and you’re one of them.”

Because we all know how grounded and at peace with himself the elitist Aaron Sorkin is.

Yep, if we were handing out life advice to impressionable young children, you can bet Mr. Sorkin would at the top of the list. No demons or bitterness or mercenary impulses there. Just the kind of sunshine and gumdrop elitism that turns you into the kind of person who, during misogynist rants undoubtedly crafted while wearing elitist eyeglasses that have been conspicuously absent during awards season (self-conscious much?), wishes hunters would accidentally shoot one another. (more…)

Dare I say, God bless Ricky Gervais?

How many times have those of us in Middle America gotten all settled in for an expected evening of relaxing entertainment, be it at the movies, in front of the television, or in bed with a good book, only to get sucker punched by some cheap, out-of-nowhere sucker punch aimed at our identity, faith or country? You former “Law and Order” fans know especially of what I speak. And so last night Gervais gave the entertainment industry a little taste of what that sucker punch feels like. First, there’s the surprise; then there’s the disappointment and anger; finally, there comes the worst part: the waiting on edge for it to happen again.

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The Washington Post claims Gervais “crashed” last night and had a “meltdown.” The Guardian suggests Gervais toned down his act later in the show after being disciplined backstage. The New York Times declared Gervais “merciless” and suggests he will not be asked to return for a third time as host. The Hollywood Reporter is almost positive Gervais won’t be asked back after “bruising all those egos.”

No, Hollywood is not happy with Mr. Gervais for ruining their evening with cheap shots, ridicule and insults.

Well, how does it feel, Hollywood? How does it feel to be “blindsided” and trapped for a few hours not knowing when it might come again?

Kind of sucks all the fun out of the evening, doesn’t it? (more…)

Watch monologue below…

Reuters:

Gervais’s jokes were so incendiary that when he went missing during the second half of the show, the Twitterverse lit up with suggestions that he’d been fired backstage. Clearly, Gervais had done so much damage entertaining the viewers at home (or appalling them, depending on their belief in decorum), that he became the story of the night. …

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Returning Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais did indeed let it be known that he wasn’t going to hold back in skewering Hollywood’s most famous celebrities. And, in what will undoubtedly be his last hosting gig for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (and, who knows, maybe any Stateside awards) he didn’t disappoint.

But in the process of making searingly funny jokes at more than just the obvious targets (Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, the HFPA itself), the heat he put into the punch lines might have made him more of the story than the actual winners.

And yet, it made for compelling — if sometimes wince-inducing — television. Given the staid lameness of most awards shows — hello, Emmys — at least he kept those who are not in the industry laughing uproariously. (His “I warned them” line came after a particularly funny joke about Hugh Hefner’s new fiancee, complete with physical comedy and facial expressions). (more…)

Although the Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie-starrer “The Tourist” has been faltering at the box office, it recently received unexpected support from the Golden Globe nominations. Along with a nomination for best musical or comedy, the film also earned acting nominations for both Depp and Jolie. As in many other cases, audiences were right in their distaste with it and the Hollywood Foreign Press was mistaken in its misguided support for a film that doesn’t even qualify as either a musical or a comedy.

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“The Tourist” begins with Elise Clifton-Ward (Jolie) under heavy surveillance. She sits at a European restaurant while agents watch her every move waiting for her daily routine to change. She’s a woman who stays on schedule so any deviation from it could bring the agents information on their real target: Elise’s former boyfriend and well-known thief, Alexander Pearce.

As the agents watch her, Elise receives a note from Alexander to board a train and find a stranger that resembles the missing thief. This person will help her divert attention away from the real Alexander when he arrives back in town. Frank Tupelo (Depp), an American schoolteacher, is the man that Elise chooses. Frank is amazed that such a beautiful woman wants to talk to him and he follows her every move. Soon enough, the police and the mobster that Alexander betrayed are keeping tabs on the couple and trying to figure out who Frank is and how he fits into the equation. (more…)

WARNING: ‘FLORA & FAWNA’ IS CRUDE (and this is even cruder than the last one)

Striving to outdo a rival celebutard at the 2010 Slammy Awards, Flora and Fawna debut a radical new eco-trend: The Booty Blast Blocker which traps CO2 emissions of a decidedly personal kind.  But the ass-blast trapping trend backfires in ways the girls may never be able to live down.

YouTube FLORA & FAWNA - Gasbags

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Last night, the 67th Golden Globes Awards were given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). According to the HFPA mission statement, one of the goals of the organization is to “recognize outstanding achievements by conferring annual Awards of Merit, serving as a constant incentive within the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television…”

At the beginning of the show, the Globes did just that but there were other times (including the conclusion of the program) when undeserving victors beat out more worthy competition.

The awards show cast a new light on two deserving performers who were not well-known for their strong acting abilities. First, in what I thought was the highlight of the night,  Mo’Nique won the award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” for ”Precious.” She was given the first award of the night and gave a wonderful speech. In her brilliant performance, the comedienne portrayed a selfish and cold woman who abuses and enables the abuse of her own daughter. At the Globes, Mo’Nique started her speech by thanking God for “the amazing ride.” Later she spoke of all the “Preciouses” and about speaking up about abuse. It was a classy moment. (more…)

On Sunday, March 7th, 2010, the best picture winner at the Academy Awards will be announced. Although there are ten nominees in that category this year (up from the usual five), they will likely not include the following:  “Twilight,” “The Hangover,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “The Proposal,” or “Star Trek.” Undoubtedly, none of the “Twilight” pictures will ever be recognized by the Academy, though one of them was named best movie of the year at the People’s Choice Awards (PCA) last week.  Looking at the list of acting nominees and winners from that award show,  it seems unlikely that many of those nominees will receive Oscar nods, but one person who might be able to get nominated for both is Sandra Bullock.

This year, Bullock won “Best Movie Actress” at the PCA. On the PCA website it does not clarify if she won for a specific movie or for her total work last year as a whole (where she appeared in movies like “The Proposal” and “The Blind Side”), but her performance in the latter has garnered her both commercial and critical success. In fact, “The Blind Side” may actually help to win Bullock an Oscar nomination.  (more…)

A onetime global but now aging action hero once told me in private how he took pity on an ugly woman pining for an autograph by taking her to bed, only to find that he couldn’t reach climax until he stood up, gazed upon his own image in a full length mirror and finished himself off. Hollywood’s award season is upon us and we are that ugly woman.

The first few months of every New Year, Hollywood accessorizes itself by folding back the sidewalks of Los Angeles and New York and laying down a bed of red carpet. They dress the night up with flashing bulbs, free booze and silicone injected starlets wrapped in ten-thousand dollar Vera Wang sequined napkins. They walk the carpet, upright men in monkey suits, holding fifty thousand dollar gift bags and smiling for the cameras. The cameras suck them in as they sashay and pose, they tell funny little antidotes about how life should be for everyone, while adding how normal they are because they’ve started taking the latest mystical potion. (more…)

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The Golden Globe nominations were released last week. As usual, many of the television categories were dominated with long-running programs. However, a few new shows received welcome nominations, a boost that could lend more credibility to these freshmen programs. 

“Glee” was one of the new major nominees for the Globes, earning a nomination in the “Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy” category.  As I noted in a review of the program, “Glee”  revolves around a high school glee club.  Even though the show has stumbled a bit throughout this season, it has still emerged as as a entertaining and worthy hit. I was glad it got some attention from the Globes. The most obvious nomination for the program went to Jane Lynch, whose role as cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester is one of the highlights of the program. Other nominations for the show went to Matthew Morrison, who plays the glee coach, Will Schuester, and Lea Michele, who plays the overzealous singer Rachel. (more…)

Well after its phenomenal success of eight Oscars, four Golden Globes, seven BAFTA’s, and $350 million at the boxoffice, “Slumdog Millionaire” has managed to stay alive. As much an amazing longshot victor as its hero, an urchin from the Mumbai slums cum tea server at a phone call center who wins a fortune in an Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” “Slumdog” has kept making news in ways deeply rooted in its own depiction of the world.

Recently the film’s British director Danny Boyle, serving as jury president of the 12th Shanghai Film Festival, confided during a panel discussion that on “Slumdog” he had shed the patronizing, “imperialist” mentality, relying heavily on a local Indian crew. Boyle also observed that while it was “regrettable” that Beijing imposed censorship restrictions on its filmmakers, he’d nonetheless love to work in China, as it would be a “challenge learning Mandarin.” Boyle neglected to mention that on “Slumdog” he’d skipped the challenge of learning Hindi, necessitating an Indian co-director, and also skipped the patronizing practice of paying Western wages, and the low pay for local child actors would fuel most of the subsequent controversies. (more…)