While the Academy ultimately went after the safest possible choice and put Billy Crystal in the hosting spot following Eddie Murphy’s departure along with Ratner, it looks like the HFPA has a taste for punishment and has decided to invite back Ricky Gervais.
The UK comedian famously told some relatively cheap, but refreshingly toothy jokes throughout last year’s ceremony that caused a minor shitstorm following it. It was fun times for everyone, as Ricky got to dissect the evening in countless interviews, while the Golden Globes managed to stay relevant for a week or so longer than usual! What hilarious is to look back at the fallout and see HFPA members tripping over themselves to dramatize how devastating Hollywood’s reaction was going to be, and that Gervais would never ever neiver ever errrvr ever ever never be asked to host again. Even the awards head of the HFPA itself called the performance “totally unacceptable.”
And so, the Ricky Gervais-hosted 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be held on January 16th, 2012.
Deadline describes the decision as a push-and-pull between one half of the HFPA that appreciated the attention and edge Gevais lends to the ceremony, and the other half that feels his insult cut too deep and cheapen the Golden Globes brand (lol). NBC, hungry for ratings improvement by whatever means necessary, was apparently pushing hard for Gervais to return, which may well have tipped the scales. There’s speculation that perhaps some extra vetting of Gervais’ material will be part of the new arrangement, but I somehow doubt Gervais is going to give a shit. Hell, I’d be surprised if less than half of his jokes don’t actually revolve around the idea of him being collared this year.
In any event, now that Gervais is back maybe there will be a reason to do a CHUD live commentary once again.
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