Brief Thoughts Concerning the 68th Golden Globes

I missed the most recent 68th Golden Globes, but Peter Travers has provided an excellent summary of the top ten moments of the awards ceremony here. I'm very pleased with the outcome especially with the awards for best screenplay adaptation going to Aaron Sorkin, easily one of the best screenwriters in Hollywood today, for The Social Network, and to Steve Buscemi for best TV actor in this year's breathtaking new series from HBO, Boardwalk Empire. I downloaded and watched this new series here in Afghanistan and was immeasurably pleased with it especially by Buscemi's lead performance whose roles in the past usually have involved playing the goofy sidekick (e.g. Con Air) or the eccentric miscreant (e.g., Fargo). But here he terrifically plays the real life Prohibition Era Atlantic City criminal kingpin Enoch "Nucky" Johnson (though his name is slightly changed to Enoch Thompson for the show). Here's a brief preview clip:




The other big buzz from this year's Golden Globes awards ceremony centers around one of my favorite comedians, Ricky Gervais (known by most as the creator of the original The Office) who hosted the Golden Globes for the second year in a row. He's apparently catching some flak for his "no holds barred" routine (e.g., here). He especially made fun of Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie's The Tourist (based on the many reviews of this movie I've read Gervais' ridicule appears warranted in my opinion). What baffles me is why anyone is surprised by Gervais' antics. First, he warned several weeks ago that he would not "hold back" like he did when he hosted the Golden Globes last year, and, secondly, anyone familiar with any of his material, especially his stand up, knows this is perfectly consistent with his comic method. So you uptight Hollywood asses should just shut the "bloody hell up". Anyways, as a closing to this post enjoy this bit of Ricky Gervais stand up: