Gervais Goes Golden Again

Remarkably, he's back. Thanks to his extremely divisive performance--and it was a real performance--as the host of last year's Golden Globes, even non-Anglophiles now know of Ricky Gervais. Determined to undercut the pomp and circumstance of the Hollywood ceremony, the British actor/writer/director/producer/troublemaker was unapologetic as he threw barbs around the Beverly Hilton Hotel auditorium, sparing no one, not even his Office associate Steve Carell.

In anticipation of more deliberately offensive Gervais comments, let's revisit some of his best biting bits from the 2011 awards:

On Charlie Sheen: "It's going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking. Or as Charlie Sheen calls it--breakfast. Wow, so let's get this straight, so what he did was, he picked up a porn star, paid her to have dinner with him, introduced her to his ex-wife--as you do--went to a hotel, got drunk, got naked, trashed the place while she was locked in a cupboard, and that was a Monday. What does he do New Year's Eve?'

On bribery: "I'd like to crush this ridiculous rumor that the only reason The Tourist was nominated was so that the foreign press could hang out with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. That is not the only reason--they also accepted bribes. All that happened was some of them were taken to see Cher in concert. How the hell is that a bribe? 'Do you want to go and see Cher?' 'No.' 'Why not?' 'Because it's not 1975!'"

On Sylvester Stallone: "The next presenter is a true Hollywood icon. In 10 of the biggest blockbusters of all time, he has shown his extraordinary acting versatility. He has played a boxer...and Rambo. Please welcome Sylvester Stallone!"

On Carell: "He was a jobbing actor, career not going that well if I'm being perfectly honest, who got his big break when I cast him in a show called The Office. He is now leaving that show, and killing a cash cow for both of us. Please welcome the wonderful Tina Fey and the ungrateful Steve Carell!"

While Gervais's antics amused some, including fellow volatile Brit Christian Bale, others were none too entertained, notably movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who issued the ol' "you'll never work in this town again" threat almost verbatim.

Fully aware of the scenario that he's walking back into, Gervais recently wrote in The Huffington Post, "What have I learned from last year's outrage? Nothing at all." Sounds like we're in for a good time.