MATT LAUER, co-host:
He ruffled more than a few feathers at this year's
Golden Globes
, but the
Hollywood Foreign Press Association
is now confirming
Ricky Gervais
will be back as the show's host.
NBC
's
Jeff Rossen
has the details on this.
Jeff
, good morning.
JEFF ROSSEN reporting:
Hey, Matt. Good morning. Look, if you ever wanted to host the
Golden Globes
,
here's exactly what you need to do:
insult
Angelina Jolie
,
Hugh Hefner
,
Mel Gibson
, God and
Tom Cruise
.
Ricky Gervais
did it last time at the
Globes
and they just invited him back. Oh, he insulted
NBC
, too. Apparently that's OK as well.
ROSSEN:
Hollywood
has a good sense of humor, but
Ricky Gervais
sure pushed it at the
2011
Golden Globes
.
Mr. RICKY GERVAIS:
Jim Carrey
and
Ewan McGregor
, two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay, so the complete opposite of some famous
Scientologists
then.
ROSSEN:
He took some heat, but heat works when you want buzz. The
Hollywood Foreign Press Association
just announced
Ricky
is back again in
2012
. By the way,
Gervais
skewered them, too.
Mr. GERVAIS:
Eva Longoria
has the daunting task of introducing the president of the
Hollywood Foreign Press
. That's nothing. I just had to help him off the toilet and pop his teeth in.
ROSSEN:
This will be
Ricky
's third straight year hosting. He tweeted Wednesday, "Just told
Billy Crystal
he better not use any of my
Holocaust
or pedophile material at the
Oscars
.
Mr. MATT BELLONI (Editor, The Hollywood Reporter):
He's going to do exactly what they want him to do, which is to cause controversy and stir things up and give people a reason to tune in.
ROSSEN:
At last year's
Globes
,
Ricky
taunted everyone from
A-list
celebrities...
Mr. GERVAIS:
Please welcome
Ashton Kutcher
's dad,
Bruce Willis
.
ROSSEN:
...and
Robert Downey Jr
....
Mr. GERVAIS:
Many of you in this room probably know him best from such facilities as the
Betty Ford clinic
and
Los Angeles County
jail.
ROSSEN:
...to the nominees.
Mr. GERVAIS:
Seems like everything this year was three-dimensional except the characters in "
The Tourist
."
ROSSEN:
Not everyone was amused.
Mr.
ROBERT DOWNEY Jr
.: Aside from the fact that it's been hugely mean-spirited with mildly sinister undertones, I'd say the vibe of the show's pretty good so far, wouldn't you?
ROSSEN:
The producers were reportedly divided whether to bring
Ricky
back, but this is
TV
and the ratings talk. The most recent show brought in nearly 17 million viewers. But what will he do this time?
Mr. BELLONI:
These award shows tend to be kind of boring and a little bit of the same old, same old. If you can have someone on there that is like, 'Wow, I wonder what he's going to do next,' that's gold for ratings.
ROSSEN:
Everyone here in the studio is howling. Just to show you how quickly things change here in
Hollywood
, just after the last show, one of the organizers said, quote, "
Ricky
will not be invited back to host the show next year for sure." Now they say the vote to bring him back was overwhelming.
The Golden Globes
with
Ricky Gervais
will air on Sunday,
January 15th
, right here on
NBC
. And,
Matt
, I know you'll be watching.
