As Judy Berman already pointed out, last night’s Golden Globes weren’t quite the comedic bloodbath that we’ve come to expect from the show’s three-time host Ricky Gervais. Maybe there was too much hype — especially from the comedian himself — about just how vicious he would be this go around. Perhaps for all of his bad boy showboating, he really was kept in check by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — who apparently gave him a strict list of rules to follow throughout the night. He certainly seemed to get less screentime than we’ve seen in previous years. In fact, by the end of the evening, you could easily compress all of Gervais’ most scathing moments into a two and half minute clip. Don’t believe us? Click through to check it out now, courtesy of video editing wiz Jesse Pynigar.

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Let’s face it: We all tuned in to tonight’s Golden Globe Awards to watch Ricky Gervais rip into celebrities. Unfortunately for those of us hoping to indulge in some Hollywood schadenfreude, aside from a few delicious digs in his opening monologue, Gervais didn’t really have his spear sharpened. But that doesn’t mean the entire evening was without its memorable, unexpected moments. Although you never can tell exactly what comes from the script and what’s spontaneous on an awards show, we’ve pointed out a few highlights we’re pretty sure weren’t planned, from Tina Fey photobombing Amy Poehler to Michelle Williams’ touching acceptance speech.

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1. It has been announced that Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Melissa McCarthy will be among the presenters at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, which airs this Sunday night at 8pm on NBC. So, there you go, that’s three celebrities who aren’t afraid to be in the same room with the evening’s host, Ricky Gervais. [via EW]

2. Exciting news for contemporary art lovers: Yesterday, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s board approved the hire of Sheena Wagstaff, the chief curator at the Tate Modern in London for the past ten years, to oversee a new department at the Met that will be devoted entirely to work from the 20th and 21st century. [via Daily Intel]

3. Apparently director Alexander Payne already has a lead actor in mind for Nebraska, his black-and-white followup to The Descendants, but the person who he wants hasn’t even read the script for the father/son road trip comedy yet. Any guesses who it could be? [via The Playlist]

4. Diplo has a picture book called 128 Beats Per Minute: Diplo’s Visual Guide to Music, Culture, and Everything in Between coming out in April on Universe Publishing, a Rizzoli imprint. He also thinks that this year’s Coachella lineup looks pretty lame. [via Pitchfork]

5. In case you missed this yesterday, the very intense first five minutes of Steven Soderbergh’s excellent new action flick Haywire are streaming on Hulu. We’ve seen the entire film, and promise you that it’s definitely worth checking out in theaters when it opens on January 20th.

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Another year is drawing to a close, which means it’s time to make 2010′s roundup of the year’s most controversial magazine covers an annual thing. As usual, 2011 brought plenty of outrage over starlets showing skin, but that’s hardly the only transgression that had parents, pundits, and censors worked into a lather. Meet the grocery store chain that thinks gay families are as explicit as Penthouse, learn why it’s not cool to put Kim Kardashian on the cover of Turkish Cosmo, and take one last, long look at Michele Bachmann’s crazy eyes, after the jump. Read More »

David Bowie’s androgynous early-’70s alien character, Ziggy Stardust, is not only one rock’s most memorable characters; he’s also one of its most distinctive fashion icons, sporting skintight jumpsuits, pounds of glitter makeup, and a bright-red hairdo that gives mullets a good name. Although he’s nearing his 40th birthday, Ziggy’s iconic style continues to influence musicians, fashion designers, artists, and fans, as pop-culture homages to the bisexual space invader abound. Models have been the subjects of Ziggy Stardust-themed fashion shoots, actors have portrayed (and parodied) the role onscreen, and celebrities of all kinds have taken it upon themselves to revive the lightning-bolt look for fun and profit. See some of the best and funniest Ziggy Stardust tributes after the jump. Read More »

Following yesterday’s announcement that Ricky Gervais would be hosting this year’s Golden Globe Awards, we had two big questions. First, would any celebrities actually be willing to show up and risk being a target of his opening monologue? And perhaps more importantly, what happened to his promise never to host the show again in the wake of all the controversy and backlash it caused last year? While today doesn’t deliver the answer to either of these questions, it does bring us a new blog post from Gervais that provides some interesting insight into why he decided to host the show for a third, and “definitely final” time.

“It was a tough decision to be honest,” he writes. “There were many pros and cons. I loved doing it, but I was worried that I couldn’t improve on last year. I’m in LA anyway as I’m launching Life’s Too Short on HBO. But then I didn’t want the Globes to overshadow the series. I knew some people would be uncomfortable with me being host. (This was a pro by the way.)”

So what finally make him come around? As he explains, “the fact that it would shut up all those f*cking idiots who said that I’d never be invited back.” Given that Gervais is entering into his hosting duties knowing that he doesn’t plan to return, if we were the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — or say, Ashton Kutcher — we’d be pretty nervous about him deciding to go out with a bang. [via Vulture]

Weeks of canoodling with NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association suggested it, but now Josh Dickey at Variety is exclusively reporting that Ricky Gervais will host the Golden Globes for a third time next year. “Some details still need to be worked out before the decision is ratified and announced, but with all parties now in agreement, Gervais is all but locked to appear on the January telecast,” he writes. While we know that the comedian has become an increasingly divisive figure in recent months (in part, thanks to cringe-worthy behavior like this), we can’t help but be excited by the news. Frankly, the Golden Globes, which was once a kind of meaningless event where celebrities got drunk, is quickly becoming the only awards show that we actually look forward to watching anymore — and given that last year’s broadcast drew in 17 million total viewers, evidently we’re not alone. What do you make of it? Do you think that Gervais should tone things down this time around? [via Pop Culture Brain]

1. Hollywood big shot Brian Grazier has stepped in to replace Brett Ratner as the producer of this year’s Oscars. Despite some initial speculation, Grazier now says that there’s no way that he’s going ask Eddie Murphy to reconsider his exit as host. [via Deadline]

2. Ricky Gervais says that NBC wants him to host this year’s Golden Globes, but with only two months to go before the event, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is still unsure. One potential reason for the holdup: Deadline reports that there’s at least “one A-lister who is threatening not to attend if Gervais emcees.” Any guesses who it is?

3. The Criterion Collection — or at least 46 of its titles — is now available on iTunes! But wait, there’s a catch: even if you purchase a film, you won’t have access to the extensive special features, which is kind of the whole point, right? [via Slashfilm]

4. A list of the musicians who will be making cameo appearances on Season 2 of Portlandia includes Eddie Vedder, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, Johnny Marr, and Joanna Newsom. [via THR]

5. The Rolling Stones (apparently sans frontman Mick Jagger) are meeting up in a London studio later this month, sparking rumors of a 50th anniversary show. Keith Richards denies the reports: “We’re just going to play a little together, because we haven’t played for three or four years. You don’t necessarily want to rehearse or write anything – you just want to touch bases.” [via NME]

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Today at Flavorpill, we enjoyed Nerve’s roundup of five bands named after Smiths songs — in order of their Smithiness, of course. We wondered what was motivating these women struggling to drink water. We watched four seasons’ worth of Tom Haverford’s absurd pickup lines on Parks and Recreation. We found it hard to believe that Ricky Gervais may be hosting this year’s Golden Globes — despite what a fancy dinner with NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association might suggest. We were surprised to learn that Twister could have been called King’s Footsie or Pretzel. We met the guys who write the taglines for TV and movie posters. We discovered that the first prank call probably happened way back in 1884. And finally, we really, really wished that someone would make this Daria sweater a reality. We’d wear it to work everyday, like a uniform!

1. Should you care to spend your morning listening to the full version of the Lou Reed and Metallica collaboration album Lulu before its official release on November 1, it’s now streaming at their official website. [via NME]

2. Justin Timberlake has a new music video you guys! Before you get too excited, you should know this: It’s actually for a new song from a rock/hip-hop band called FreeSol, whose album Timberlake produced. But still, here he is rapping! [via Vulture]

3. Warner Bros. has officially given the green light to a live action remake of Akira which will be helmed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, Unknown, House of Wax). According to reports Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) is the front runner for the starring role of Kaneda, the head of the biker gang. [via Slashfilm]

4. Ricky Gervais is in trouble again, this time for frequent use of the word “mong” (a shortening of “mongoloid”) on his Twitter. “I have explained, even during stand-up shows, that the meaning of words changes over time,” he explains. “Gay, for example, would never be used to mean happy any more. The modern use of the word mong means ‘dopey’ or ‘ignorant.’” [via Gawker]

5. Sad news for fans of the Impressionists: A strike by security workers protesting staff cuts at Paris’ Musée d’Orsay has postponed the long-awaited reopening of the museum’s newly revamped galleries, which have been closed for the past 18 months. [via ArtsBeat]

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