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Ricky “did every gag we planned.”

Longtime collaborator Stephen Merchant says Ricky Gervais stuck to the script at the Golden Globes.

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Hollywood is still debating Ricky Gervais’ now-controversial Golden Globes gig.

“That was the schedule of the evening,” longtime collaborator and writer Stephen Merchant said. “He did every gag that we planned.”

As to whether his targets gave permission to be the butt of the gags, he said:

“I don’t think anyone gave permission. But to me that’s in the mould of, Bob Hope went and entertained the troops and has a go at the colonels. You always have a go at the boss. That’s funny.

“We thought it was going well,” he added. “It got the right mix of laughter and gasps.”

Australian-born Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Phillip Berk (who was one such target) still isn’t impressed.

“He definitely crossed the line,” Berk told The Hollywood Reporter. “And some of the things were totally unacceptable. But that’s Ricky.

“Any of the references to individuals is certainly not something the Hollywood Foreign Press condones,” he added.

He says Gervais would not allow jokes to be vetted.

“I had absolutely no idea what Ricky was going to say so anything I heard was at the same time you heard it,” Berk says. “When you hire Ricky Gervais, you expect the unexpected.”

Berk agreed there was no hauling the host into line backstage, while the HFPA acknowledged some gags went too far.

Gervais will talk to Piers Morgan on CNN on Thursday (US).

Source: NY Times, Hollywood Reporter

8 Responses

  3. @Wade “Making some jokes about horrifically overpaid and pampered people who pretend to be other people for a living?”

    Are you talking about the Hollywood Foreign Press Association?

  4. I’m sure the HFPA would have at least had a look and confirmed what he was going to say in if not, that’s their own stupidity.

    I don’t think any of his jokes went too far, I’m pretty sure being the butt of a joke was a lot less than some of them deserved for some of the things he was joking about, Charlie Sheen anyone? xD

  5. If scientology didn’t have such a big strangle hold over hollywood, none of this complaints would even make the news. Ricky did a great a job, unlike a certain ‘science’ based religion does with truth.

  6. Ricky was brilliant as usual, here is what he himself has said of the matter on his blog.

    “I enjoyed the Globes more this year. I think I had better gags. More along the lines of the Mel Gibson one last year.

    Obviously the rumour that the organizers stopped me going out on stage for an hour is rubbish. I did every link I was scheduled to do. The reason why the gaps were uneven is because when I got the rundown I was allowed to choose who I presented to. I obviously chose the spots that I had the best gags for. They couldn’t move around the order but I could move around however I wanted.

    All the same conspiracy theories as last year too… “So and so was offended”… “hasn’t been invited back yet”… exactly the same as last time. “Paul McCartney was furious”… no he wasn’t. And nor was Tim Allen and Tom Hanks. I was drinking with them after.

    Why do people have to embellish? They’re allowed to say they hated it. They’re allowed to say they didn’t find it funny, that it was tasteless, over the top, or whatever. But why do they speculate and make stuff up?

    Don’t worry, I know the answer. Because it’s more interesting than “it went fine and some people won some awards and then went to a party”. But that’s all that happened”

  7. Mr Berk…what line did he cross? Making some jokes about horrifically overpaid and pampered people who pretend to be other people for a living? Get a grip.

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