Ricky Gervais plans to 'push' Golden Globe envelope
USATODAY.com
December 2010

Ricky Gervais plans to "push the boundaries a little more" when he returns as host of the Golden Globes on Jan. 16.

"I don't think I went far enough" the first time, (January 2010), he said in a press call today. "Comedy comes from a good or bad place, and I think they know it comes from a good place with me. The last thing I want to do is genuinely offend anyone. I want the victims of the joke to like it as well."

There's "no victory in just being shocking," he says, "I think you've got to be interesting and engaging. I try to do it with a twinkle in my eye and a smile on my face. Hopefully, I can go even further this year and not be chased out of the country."

Gervais said the Hollywood Foreign Press Association asked him to come back and host again while he was hosting the first show. And this time he thinks he can improve his performance.

"Like anything you do for the first time, you immediately go, 'Oh, let me do it again, I can do it better.' Like the first time I had a go at golf, I wanted to go a round again. I think I can do it better."

He says he's ready to "throw away the shackles of worry."

He hastens to say that doesn't mean he's going to "go out and get drunk and have absolutely no planning." He just wants to have more fun with the room. The first time around he gave himself "this weird restriction." He wrote his lines "in an hour" about the people who were part of the show.

Now, he says, "I realize I can reference anyone in the room." So expect to be a target, if you're anywhere in his line of sight.

"The favorite things I said were the introduction - the one-liners about people - the Mel Gibson gag, the Paul McCartney gag, the Jennifer Aniston gag. ... If I can get more of that type of thing that's cheeky, a little bit naughty and risque but not nasty, I'll be happy."

Gervais said he had nothing to lose last time around, that's even more true this time. "I didn't expect to be invited back a second time. I won't do it a third," he vows, "so I've got nothing to lose."

Gervais Joins 'The Muppets' Film Cast
By RTT Staff Writer
December 6, 2010

(RTTNews) - Ricky Gervais has revealed that he will be joining the list of actors with cameos in the upcoming Disney "Muppets" movie.

Gervais will be joining Alan Arkin, Jack Black, Billy Crystal, Zach Galifianakis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Matt Damon, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, and Emily Blunt in the film, which will be directed by James Bobin. The movie will feature the Muppets reuniting to save their studio from a developer.

Gervais says of his role in the film: "'The Muppets' are an institution and I always knew I'd end up in one of those.

The film is slated to begin shooting in Los Angeles in the coming months, with Jason Segel, who also co-wrote the script, playing the film's human lead.

November 29, 2010

"Ricky Gervais: Out of England 2 - The Stand-Up Special," Featuring the Superstar in His Second HBO Stand-Up Special, Debuts Dec. 18

Released by HBO

NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.

RICKY GERVAIS: OUT OF ENGLAND 2 - THE STAND-UP SPECIAL, FEATURING THE SUPERSTAR IN HIS SECOND HBO STAND-UP SPECIAL, DEBUTS DEC. 18

An HBO favorite returns to the network for his second American TV stand-up special when RICKY GERVAIS: OUT OF ENGLAND 2 - THE STAND-UP SPECIAL, showcasing his signature humor and high-spirited, offbeat observations, debuts SATURDAY, DEC. 18 (10:00-11:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: Dec. 23 (10:00 p.m.), 26 (3:45 a.m.) and 30 (1:00 a.m.), and Jan. 3 (10:00 p.m.), 7 (11:00 p.m.), 12 (11:50 p.m.) and 24 (11:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Dec. 19 (10:30 p.m.), 22 (1:55 a.m.) and 28 (12:40 a.m.), and Jan. 15 (3:05 a.m.)

Taped before a live audience at the Chicago Theatre in Oct. 2010, the special includes Gervais' unique, and often politically incorrect, insights on a variety of issues, including: acts of God, the recession, heroin, famine in Africa, animal homosexuality and Noah's Ark.

Gervais' other HBO projects include the series "The Ricky Gervais Show" and "Extras," which brought him an Emmy(R) for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and the Emmy(R)-nominated 2008 special "Ricky Gervais: Out of England - The Stand-Up Special."

Gervais is also a co-creator of the Golden Globe-, Emmy(R)- and BAFTA- winning series "The Office," which is shown in more than 100 countries and has been remade in seven. "The Office" continues to be the most successful British comedy of all time.

Gervais' film credits as an actor include "Cemetery Junction" and "The Invention of Lying" (both of which he also wrote and directed), plus "Ghost Town," the "Night at the Museum" movies and "For Your Consideration." Gervais is the only British actor to write and star in "The Simpsons."

Last January, Gervais became the first master of ceremonies to host the Golden Globes since 1995 and will return as host in 2011. He was subsequently named to Time magazine's list of The World's Most Influential People, and more recently received the Sir Peter Ustinov Award for Comedy at the 2010 Banff World Television Festival.

RICKY GERVAIS: OUT OF ENGLAND 2 - THE STAND-UP SPECIAL is written and executive produced by Ricky Gervais; producers, Pat Tourk Lee and John Moffitt; directed by John Moffitt.

The Big Issue in Scotland - Features - Ricky Gervais
By Helena Drakakis
November 22, 2010

As he approaches middle-age he has discovered the secret to happiness...

Ricky Gervais has only just discovered vegetables. It was about time. He’s turning 50 next year, and the new culinary experience has left him completely loved up. Asparagus hits the spot – he’s even started roasting carrots and parsnips.

“They’re brilliant!” he gushes, leaning back on his leather swivel recliner. His newfound love seems to have paid off, as has his new “regime”. Gervais was – not so long ago –playing pot-bellied putzes, but has lately been burning calories like there’s no tomorrow.

“I just thought, I’m 49 – this is ridiculous. Now I’m proud of being fit and thinner, but I wouldn’t be if I’d had a gastric band. I wouldn’t be if I took a pill,” he frowns.

“I’ve realised something about myself. It’s the struggle, the trying hard that’s the reward.”

With almost an hour each day dedicated to shedding pounds, it’s the kind of masochism reserved for a man in the throes of a mid-life crisis. “I’m not really sure what one of them is,” he counters. “I think it’s someone acting undignified – and I do that all the time anyway. This is actually the opposite. I can’t believe my fucking luck.”

It’s been a tumultuous journey for Gervais. Having not written anything before the age of 36 and not started his career until the age of 40, he’s gone from being “the laziest man in the world” to The Office genius and now Hollywood hot property in less than 10 years.

“I’ve gone from thinking [my success] was fun, to thinking – this is amazing! I constantly prove to myself that it’s never too late – it’s such a revelation,” he says.

But Gervais has come in for a bit of flak recently. There was controversy following his hosting of the Golden Globe Awards back in January. A Facebook group that wants to “slap Ricky Gervais’ smug face” attracted only three members, but the sentiment – that he’d become overblown – has been echoed by several critics both stateside and at home.

Today, however, vainglory is not in Gervais’ repertoire. He recalls that when he was on tour with stand-up show Science earlier this year, it struck him that thousands of people come and spend upwards of £40 to be entertained by him. “It’s a privilege,” he says. “I don’t think – I’ve got an hour, let me churn out the hour. I think – I’ve got one great hour to do this. They’d better hear stuff they’ve never heard before.”

He adds that he’s not on some kind of crusade, but that the job of a comedian is to tickle the funny bones and make people think. “I don’t want to do anodyne jokes, but likewise I don’t want to shock for the sake of it – there’s no victory in that. Everything has to be justified comedically.”

At the Globes, Gervais took savage swipes at the glitterati. With references to Paul McCartney’s divorce from Heather Mills and Angelina Jolie’s adopted multi-national family, Gervais’ jibes were as delicious as they were excruciating. And, having asked him back for another year, organisers have ignored the dissenters.

Gervais, however, doesn’t believe he went far enough. “That was just me testing the water,” he laughs. “I didn’t take anything like the risks I’m going to take this year,” he grins mischievously. Beneath, though, there is something quite measured about Gervais – meticulous, tough and a little manic.

“I can gatecrash funerals and say horrendous things, but where’s the victory? I wouldn’t know what I was doing there – you have to be conscious. Bravery is guided by my own sense of morality,” he explains, “and I wanted to entertain, to do something credible, make people laugh and say things that hadn’t been said before.”

When The Office broke new comedic ground in 2001, Gervais and his writing partner, Stephen Merchant, had no audience to please.

But things are different these days. Their new series An Idiot Abroad – a cross between I’m a Celebrity… and Auf Wiedersehen Pet, where their boneheaded Mancunian mate Karl Pilkington discovers the seven wonders of the modern world under the duo’s misdirection – has garnered an audience of almost one million on Sky1, clocking up the channel’s biggest viewing figures this year.

The Office remains huge. It’s now shown in 90 countries. An Indian version is about to air. It’s being piloted in Africa and a Chinese version is in the offing. Satisfying that fanbase is something Gervais and Merchant discussed when BBC Two series Extras was on the cards.

“We sat down and thought – what did people like [about The Office]? We didn’t know when we did it. So we thought – fuck what they like, let’s do what we like,” says Gervais, arms flailing. “I don’t know – nor care – for my demographic. And I don’t care who likes this.”

Yet Gervais is pie hot on the power of Pilkington’s universal appeal. “Bob in Yorkshire is watching and thinking – he’s right! Some middle-class people are thinking – oh god, he’s an idiot, he hates everything foreign, and others are thinking – that’s so cruel, Ricky and Steve are bullying an idiot savant,” he says, leaning back, his feet now up on the Melamine desk.

Gervais describes Pilkington, whom he and Merchant first met at radio station Xfm, as the “funniest man ever”, followed by Laurel and Hardy “if you’re talking about professional”

Why? Because they are precarious, he explains, and because they understood that funny is about empathy. The yellow Post-it notes covering the wall reveal the stream-of-consciousness scribbles of the next Gervais-Merchant collaboration – a series with dwarf actor Warwick Davis called Life’s Too Short. It follows the day-to-day life of a 3ft 6in 31-year-old who runs a dwarf agency.

“Warwick’s the funniest guy I know,” says Gervais. “This isn’t just about him being short – it’s to do with him having short-man complex. It’s about his opinions and how he wants to live life.”

Gervais talks about his characters with pure sentimentality. “I love them,” he announces. “The worst thing David Brent did was to confuse respect with popularity, and really all he needed was a hug.”

Whatever the reaction, Gervais’ characters are fastidiously observed. He feels the relationship with Pilkington has “turned into a social experiment”, and dismisses the suggestion Pilkington is in any way scripted.

“Karl’s brilliant,” he says. “He’s got a brilliant mind. He’s like an artist, he sees the world differently. It’s fascinating to live in his world.”

The perfectionism he employs, he puts down in part to coming to the business late. It’s made Gervais a workaholic and protective of his material and his time, saving his “pile of goodwill and my column inches and my face time on television for something I’m proud of and in charge of and that’s mine”.

He then reels off the projects that are “his” – The Office, Extras, Flanimals, his stand-up, and two films. The rest – the film cameos; Sesame Street; The Simpsons – “I could do 1,000 of those and they wouldn’t enhance or detract from my career, but the things that are mine I do 100 per cent.”

Gervais bites his lip when I bring up the mixed reception to his high-concept Hollywood rom-com The Invention of Lying, in which everyman hero character Mark Bellison discovers the gift of lying, and in the process that religion is one great big whopper.

“It’s the first atheist rom-com. It’s exactly how I wanted it to turn out. I got my own way,” he says, reassuring himself that he mustn’t worry about what other people think.

Selling out is one thing, he says, but selling out and failing is another. “If I only please myself, if I only know that those things on the shelf are exactly how I wanted them, then I’m bulletproof.”

“If that sounds like smugness it’s not. It’s the only way I can be,” he adds, before breaking his composure and jumping from his seat.

“Do you mind if I go for a wee? Tea goes right through me,” he giggles, while I regain my balance on Stephen Merchant’s swivel chair. “I’m so sorry, it’s built for someone with the neck of a giraffe,” he says, concerned.

That Gervais’ unremarkable office, above a Hampstead estate agent, is a hotbed of creativity both of them share is hard to imagine. Gervais is equally dumbfounded at why his partnership with Merchant has endured. They work in an unusual way, he explains. For every idea, there’s one veto and it’s out.

“There’s no compromise. If I come up with an idea that’s shit, we don’t change it. It’s out.” The result is that they are left with something they’re both completely happy with.

Whatever the reason, Gervais says he’s hit a point of contentment. “It’s all about where you are in your life,” he says. “Forget your knees aching and having less time on the Earth. It’s about being happy, and you can do that at any time – even in your 70s and 80s.”

A substantially lighter Ricky Gervais ditches the fat jokes
By Geoff Shearer From: The Courier-Mail
November 20, 2010

UK comedian Ricky Gervais has trimmed his punchlines in line with his shrinking waistline.

The 48-year-old London-based comic has dropped more than 10kg after taking up exercise earlier this year and has admitted he has toned down his "fat jokes" at live performances.

"I can't really have a go at people now that I'm not fat," he told The Courier-Mail ahead of the release of his latest live DVD next week.

"I don't want people to think that I really am being nasty (telling fat jokes) because it was always a joke. But when you are fat yourself, I suppose you're allowed to do it. But now I probably can't!"

But don't hold him up as the latest pin-up boy for celebrity dieting.

"All I lost was the puppy fat ... I'm not born again. I still eat and drink too much. I just work out now," he said, adding that his weight loss had now "plateaued".

"I've got a gym in my new house and I use it every day. I'm constantly learning it's never too late."

He laughed before adding: "Amazing isn't it, at age 48 I just learned that if you burn off more calories than you take in you lose weight. Amazing."

In an extensive interview in today's ETC section, Gervais talks frankly about the tall poppy syndrome he's experienced firsthand with the UK press and the life lesson he learnt with his TV series The Office.

Gervais said it was his decision, not doctor's advice as reported in the UK, to lose weight. The motivation was when he realised there was no longer a stigma to being overweight.

"I wanted people to come up to me and say, 'Lose weight'; I wanted waiters to come over and go, 'F*** off, you've had enough'. But they didn't so I took it into my own hands," he said.

"Who knows though, I'll probably get fat again. I look forward to that."

Thinner on the ground
By Kylie Northover
The Sydney Morning Herald
November 20, 2010

WHEN Ricky Gervais toured his Animals stand-up show in 2003, he was "that bloke from The Office". The award-winning comedy, first shown in Britain in 2001, was only just gaining cult status after the second series and subsequent DVD releases. Since then, of course, Gervais has become a global star, The Office shown in 80 countries.

But between his television series, his numerous film roles and guest appearances from the Golden Globes to The Simpsons, Gervais returns intermittently to the stage.

Last year he embarked on the latest in his "themed" live shows, with Science, having previously covered animals, politics and fame, all of which were recorded for DVD release.

Science is released in Australia this month but Gervais advises against expecting much actual science.

"As I say in the show, if you've come along to revise as part of your thesis then you're pretty much f--ked," Gervais says on the phone from London.

"I started doing these one-word academic titles as a sort of swipe at the pomposity of comedians who think they can do a 'study' of something . . . I've never been one of these comedians who would rather be applauded than laughed at."

His Politics show, he says, was the most explicit spoof of worthy comics.

"I pretended to be one of these comedians motivated by altruism and trying to bring down the bad guys, but, of course, I kept getting it wrong and I always came down on the wrong side — my targets, far from being George W. Bush and banks and corporations were actually soft targets like Gandhi and Mother Teresa," he says.

"All my stuff is really, on the face of it, the targets of a right-wing pub bore, bigot type. But actually, the real target is our own beliefs and expectations - the audience's and mine.

"I think audiences are clever enough to know when I'm being satirical and getting the facts wrong for their amusement, and when I actually mean something. Like when I deconstruct the Bible or Noah, they know I'm an atheist and I'm properly deconstructing it in a scientific, logical way for their amusement. Whereas when I'm saying things like, 'Nelson Mandela has been out now for 30 years and hasn't re-offended, and that shows prison works', I think they know . . ."

Perhaps the only truly science-based bit in Gervais's new show is his atheism rant.

"It's a hot topic now, but I've been an atheist since the age of eight. I deconstructed the Bible on my very first show, but I wasn't rallying, I'm not trying to change the world. My real motivation was that it was funny," he says.

"If I went out there without jokes and said, 'This is ridiculous, look at this,' the audience would start thinking I'd gone mad and start asking each other, 'Why is he trying to disprove the existence of God? Make us laugh, you idiot.' I am a comedian, not a philosopher, not a scientist, not a politician."

Not yet, anyway.

"Yeah, that's right, not yet," Gervais retorts, laughing maniacally.

Gervais toured Britain and America with Science over a year and says that only now has he honed his stand-up skills.

"It really clicked this year, through this tour, how much I really enjoy doing stand-up. It's taken me this long to be a good stand-up. I think this is the best I've ever been," he says.

Meanwhile, Gervais's phenomenally popular podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show, has had more than 260 million downloads. Gervais, with writing partner Stephen Merchant and long-time friend and radio producer Karl Pilkington, began podcasting in 2005; within a year the show had made it into Guinness World Records as the most downloaded podcast of all time.

"The podcast is the most fun I can have. We've just done a day in the life of Karl Pilkington, just him going through what he does every day," Gervais says.

Explaining Pilkington's daily ritual, such as how he doesn't kiss his girlfriend goodbye, but rather pats her on the head before leaving, causes Gervais to collapse into his trademark infectious laughter.

"It's just things like that, that's all it is - me and Steve just die laughing."

Creating something you're genuinely passionate about, Gervais says, leads to success.

"I think if you go all out to dominate, thinking what do people want, what do they need, you might be very successful but you probably won't do anything original," he says. "The Office, Extras, the podcast, they've all been passion projects."

Among the accolades, the records and the fame, though, Gervais counts his appearance earlier this year on Sesame Street as a career highlight.

"I was blown away with Elmo. I couldn't get enough of him," he says. "I didn't care that there was a middle-aged man lying down under the chair - I was just speaking to Elmo. He was great."

Such appearances are one of the few "celebrity" perks Gervais buys into.

"I fear playing celebrity and I despise it in a way, but the pros are that you get to meet your heroes - I've worked with Sesame Street, The Simpsons, I've worked with Bowie and De Niro and I've just done Curb Your Enthusiasm.

"I can't complain at the access it's given me," he says. "But I think they're all diversions . . . Even hosting the Golden Globes - that was fun and a privilege, and lovely, but it's not tangibly mine, if you know what I mean?"

Gervais's next few projects are decidedly his own. Next he's working on an animated version of his children's book Flanimals, in which he plays the lead — as the fattest animal. Brilliantly timed, as Gervais has recently lost a considerable amount of weight.

"It's funny, people think I've lost weight for Hollywood, but the next two roles I have are in animations," he says. "I still sound fat, though, luckily."

He and his girlfriend took up running earlier this year and Gervais has lost nine kilograms.

"It's so funny because people come up to me and say, 'Wow, you look great, you're so tiny,' and I'm thinking, well no, you just mean I was fat before and you didn't tell me, did you? That's what I needed. I needed waiters to come over and go to me, 'F--k off, you've had enough.' But they didn't."

So does this mean he'll lose jokes at the expense of fatties in future politically incorrect routines?

"I think so - when I was fat myself it was allowed. Now I'm not I don't want people to think I'm actually having a go. I've never had a go at fat people, I've only pointed out that you'll get fat if you eat too much," he says.

"I got fat because I ate too much and didn't exercise. As soon as I stopped eating too much and started doing exercise, I got thin. That's pure science."

Ricky Gervais, Science is out on DVD on Wednesday, November 24.

Gervais joins lung cancer campaign
October 31, 2010

(UKPA) - Comedian Ricky Gervais has joined a host of famous faces lending their support to a new campaign to raise awareness about lung cancer.

Ricky has been personally affected by the disease which is the UK's biggest killer cancer, claiming the lives of more than 35,000 people every year.

Images of Ricky will feature on buses and the London Underground during November - Lung Cancer Awareness Month - as part of the initiative developed by The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

His mother Eva died from lung cancer in 2001.

The funnyman said: "It's devastating when you see someone you love dying from lung cancer. It's a horrible, horrible disease.

"By the time most people are diagnosed, it is far too late for treatment and seven out of 10 people will die within a year of diagnosis.

"My mother's death was very sudden and you can't help wondering if things would have been different had it been spotted earlier.

"So even though it's winter and even if you're a smoker, if you've had a bad cough for two to three weeks and you can't get rid of it, make an appointment with your GP today."

Other names who have been photographed displaying X-rays of a healthy pair of lungs as part of the campaign include Hollyoaks actor Emmett Scanlan, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, footballers Bruce Grobbelaar and Graeme Sharp and British Olympic rowers Pete Reed and Katherine Grainger.

How rich is Ricky Gervais?
By Sally Hamilton
This is Money
October 21, 2010

Ricky Gervais told a CBS News interviewer recently that he was 'not proud of being rich' but admitted he likes the freedom it gives him.

The comedy actor, worth about 26m according to the US website celebritynetworth, obviously isn't referring to freedom from working.

The king of cringe humour, who hit the big time and won a cult following portraying loser boss David Brent in The Office and out of work actor Andy Millman in Extras, has barely sat still since the former series first aired in the UK in 2001.

As well as writing and appearing in his own creations, the 49 year-old late starter has also performed in sell-out stand-up tours, written best-selling children's books, published humourous books on subjects ranging from science to politics, launched the Ricky Gervais show in the US and embarked on a movie career both as actor and director.

The series, now in its seventh season (compared to just two for the home grown version) earns Gervais and his creative partner Stephen Merchant a reputed $50,000 an episode as executive producers.

The original series starring Gervais won him a Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations in the US and six Baftas in the UK.

It is broadcast in more than 80 countries, including indigenous versions produced for Germany, France and Chile among others and he recently announced that China wants him to develop a version over there.

In the US, where he owns a 3m New York apartment, Gervais has also appeared in an episode of the Simpsons and his widespread popularity there landed him the role, and fat fee to match, as host of the Golden Globes earlier this year, which he will repeat in 2011.

Back in the UK, where he spends most of his time, he recently completed An Idiot Abroad, a programme for Sky One where Merchant and Gervais' producer friend Karl Pilkington is filmed making reluctant visits to far flung countries.

Gervais, a prolific blogger, whose website rickygervais.com is said to be worth millions in its own right, has also made a series of popular podcasts where Merchant and he chat with Pilkington, the hapless butt of all their jokes. It is these that have been developed into cartoons to become the Ricky Gervais show in the US.

The comic more recently began to pick up serious sums from film contracts, starring in movies such as Ghost Town, Night at the Museum, and also as co-director of The Invention of Lying. In the UK he made Cemetery Junction in partnership with Merchant.

Gervais once told the Sun that he had turned down work worth an estimated 10m, including an invitation to front a British beer advertising campaign.

He told the newspaper: 'The money being offered was criminal, but I am not interested in money.....When people know you earn a thousand times more than a nurse it is f******* embarrassing.'

Nevertheless Gervais lives apparently without embarrassment in a 3.5m house in Hampstead (paid partly with a Coutts mortgage, he once quipped during a stand-up routine) with his partner of 28 years Jane Fallon, whom he met at University College London while he was studying philosophy.

There is one tiny fly in the Gervais magic ointment. Earlier this year he was threatened with legal action by writer and illustrator John Savage, who claims the comic's Flanimals illustrated children's book is based on his own work Captain Pottie's Wildlife Encyclopedia. Gervais refutes the claim.

Flanimals has been a best-seller, spawning three sequels and a pop-up version as well as a CD.

It is currently being turned into a multi-million pound 3D Hollywood film - all this for a book Gervais struggled to flog to agents for several years until he made his name with The Office.

With the movie project in full flow, this means there is yet more cash on its way to embarrass the star.

The (British) Office & PsychologyCross-examining the POWERFUL Mr. David Brent
By Ted Cascio - Psychology Today
Published on October 20, 2010

Whether or not people are willing to admit it, The British Office (The Broffice?) was the impetus that launched The American Office, not the other way around. Even though the show survived only two seasons - in all fairness, that's the norm in Europe - it was obviously brilliant, if not as well-rounded as its American counterpart. In contrast to the balanced gratifications of The American Office, the glitter and glow of The Broffice emanated almost exclusively from the antics of one character: David Brent. Fine if you disagree; just my opinion.

I hope we can all agree, though, that Ricky Gervais portrayed a very funny boss in David Brent. The Brentmeister General, self-styled "laid-back entertainer," even surpassed the incompetence of Michael Scott, boss on the American version. He was also more philosophical than Michael. At times, you had to wonder whether he was actually saying something cryptically profound. "Quitters never win, winners never quit. But those who never win and never quit are idiots." Hmmm, let me think about that one.

Still, even if he was a deep thinker, Brent was not exactly right for his position as the head of an office. Somehow, he got into a position of power for which he was very ill-suited. His attempt to carry a wheelchair-bound employee down the stairway in her wheelchair during a fire drill implies this. His decision to, upon becoming fatigued, leave her sitting in the stairwell, siren blaring in her ears, proves it beyond any doubt. Nevertheless, he did have a lot of power over people, which is one of those absurd elements of the show that made it so funny.

Psychologists have known for a while that powerful people are a distinctive lot. Certain types of people get into power. But, it has also been demonstrated that the experience of power, or even simply thinking about power, has interesting effects on people. In other words, power can in fact "corrupt" normal, everyday people.

David Brent grew very accustomed to the perks of being in power. In addition to actually being powerful, he probably felt powerful. We can ask, then, to what extent did he resemble others who are in positions of power in the real world. Was he corrupted by his power? Did he act like the prototypical powerful person? In order to answer those questions, let's review some of the symptoms of power, and see how close The Brentmeister comes.

The first characteristic of powerful people is that they are especially goal-oriented. They act purposively, and often ignore rules and objections. They tend to exhibit a single-minded determination to clear obstacles, probably because it's a job requirement. They not only have to be on the ball, they also have to be inventive problem-solvers, which means that they don't always have much left-over time or energy to worry about accommodating other agendas.

Where does that leave David? Well, I think you'll agree that he was not especially driven by tangible, concrete objectives. If, for very brief, fleeting moments he was so driven, then he would invariably get distracted by some trivial object or event. The evidence compels us to conclude that David was the antithesis of a powerful person in this respect.

Powerful people also take risks. Usually, people are risk-averse: they would prefer, for example, a guaranteed $50 over a 50-50 bet on winning either $100 or $0. But not powerful people; they'll take that risky bet because potential gains are more salient to them than potential losses (Keltner et al., 2003). Why is that? Because the powerful are generally more confident than the non-powerful. They are more certain about themselves, their choices, etc. Whether or not that confidence is justified is another matter, but the confidence is there, in any event.

I think Brent was a pretty risky guy. He wasn't all that risk-averse. He took risks with his attempts at comedy, had few reservations about challenging "head office," and generally behaved with reckless abandon. He pretty much always appeared to have more confidence than was objectively warranted. So, Brent hit the mark on this dimension; he behaved like a powerful person typically does.

A third characteristic of powerful people is that they are disinclined to feel empathy for others. They have some trouble with perspective-taking. This is at least partly because the powerful often have to make difficult decisions that are disadvantageous to potentially large numbers of people. If they "felt the pain" of all the people rubbed the wrong way by their decisions, they might lose it.

Brent was pretty clueless about the mental and emotional experiences of his employees, so in that sense he lacked the ability to empathize with them and take their perspectives. But not, I think, because he had become immune to that awareness through repeated difficult, grave decisions. He had the capacity for empathy, but he was too obtuse to realize what situations called for it. This is different from the sort of "tough love" that powerful people are obliged to dispense. We have to conclude here that David did not resemble the average person in power.

Finally, the powerful are more free than the non-powerful. Free in the sense that they have more freedom to express themselves, be their creative selves, etc. This is because their position affords them protection from persecution. They are less apt to be censured for proffering novel, nontraditional, and even unintuitive ideas and solutions. Hence, powerful people's trains of thought are less conformist, and often more original and creative than those of the non-powerful.

I think the evidence here is very much in favor of Brent. His ideas were nothing if not perversely contradictory to the norm. As a boss, he had notions that no one else has had, nor in all likelihood will ever have again. Terrible, horrific, notions, yes, but they were refreshingly original. Take, for example, his idea to include throwing off his jacket and dancing to the strains of Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" in his attempt to motivate work seminar attendees. Pretty creative stuff, you must admit.

Conclusion: Brent was a poor specimen of a powerful person. His riskiness and creativity superficially fit the powerful person profile. However, for him, these qualities somehow always manifested in dysfunctional ways, and sometimes they even took a dark, disturbing tone in the later episodes. In other respects, he simply failed to measure up: he was not goal-oriented nor capable of administering the sort of "tough love" that leadership requires.

This doesn't mean, though, that Brent was a bad person. There were indications during the Christmas episodes that he was doing much better post-power, at least romantically. Obviously, not everybody can adjust and act appropriately when they are conferred with power, and Brent was a classic illustration of that fact.

The Associated Press: Gervais may open branch of 'The Office' in China
August 16, 2010
By ANITA CHANG

(AP) BEIJING - "The Office" is up for a transfer to China.

"We are about to start work on developing a Chinese 'The Office.' How cool is that?" show co-creator Ricky Gervais wrote on his blog recently.

In addition to the original British "mockumentary," there are versions in the U.S., France, Germany, Chile, Israel and the Canadian province of Quebec.

The show that mines office politics and corporate ineptitude for its laughs might face new challenges in China, where government censors tightly control media content.

Gervais joked on his blog the show might not air if Beijing sees his latest project, "An Idiot Abroad," where he sends a culturally clueless friend on a trip around the world.

Gervais did not give any clues about the timing of the Chinese show but the project appeared to be in the early stages. A spokeswoman for BBC Worldwide, the broadcaster's commercial arm which licensed some international versions of the show, said there was "no deal in place, no broadcaster, and it's not in production."

She spoke on condition of anonymity in line with corporate policy.

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Gervais, Morrison, Vergara among Emmy presenters
August 16, 2010

(AP) LOS ANGELES - The first crop of Emmy presenters have been announced, and they represent some of the most popular and most nominated shows of the year.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences says stars from "Glee, "Mad Men," "Modern Family," "The Good Wife" and "The Office" will help hand out trophies at the 62nd annual Emmy Awards.

Nominees Matthew Morrison, January Jones, Sofia Vergara and Julianna Margulies, along with "The Office" creator Ricky Gervais and star John Krasinski, will appear at the Aug. 29 ceremony.

Jimmy Fallon is set to host the Primetime Emmy Awards, which will be presented at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and broadcast live on NBC.

The Office Co-Creator Stephen Merchant on Drama, Dwarves, and Steve Carell’s Rumored Replacements
Vulture
August 16, 2010

Cemetery Junction - a Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant co-directed/co-written coming-of-age drama set in a working-class town in seventies England — is being released in the U.S. tomorrow. So why haven't you seen a trailer yet? Because, despite its makers' celebrated track record and the fact that it is much, much better than Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Cemetery is going straight to DVD. Merchant spoke with Vulture last week on Cemetery, his upcoming BBC comedy starring famed little-person actor Warwick Davis, and the shake-up at the American Office.

It surprised me how funny Cemetery Junction is. As you were writing, did you have discussions about how much comedy you wanted in the movie?

It was basically not having a policy and writing every scene as it seemed the right way to write it. We wanted it to feel genuine: We didn't want any jokes to feel forced or sitcom-y. But the lot of the inspiration were movies like The Apartment or Billy Liar that are funny on occasion and also dramatic when they need to be. With movies [as opposed to TV], tonally, you can be a bit more, I wouldn't say inconsistent, but you can jump around. The film can be what it is. It doesn't have to be an all-out ball-breaking comedy, and it doesn't have to be a depressing drama.

Despite it being a drama, it's recognizable as a Merchant-Gervais production. Do you see it as a continuation of the work you've done in the past?

I think it's very similar. Thematically, we have a number of preoccupations: about escaping the expectations by family, or by status, or by class, and how life is a very clear mix between laughter and tears. The everyday, the things that are considered mundane: family, jobs, or work, simple little relationships between friends or between lovers, they can be very epic and are very epic. No one that's breaking up with their wife is thinking, “We're just sat here at a bar arguing. This is nothing like Titanic.” It's the most epic thing in the world. It's about trying to make the viewer engage with the normal things as the protagonist would.

One of the characters sports a naked female vampire chest tattoo. That's so specific I have to assume it's based on reality.

It was a real thing. I don't want to specify too much. The person still exists, and if I told you how I found out about it, various people would be incriminated. Suffice to say, there is someone that exists who I'm not friends with, but who does have a female vampire tattoo.

The reviews for Junction were positive in England. Were you surprised it didn't get a theatrical release in the U.S.?

It was never going to be Avatar, and it didn't knock it out of the park here financially, and I'm sure that had an implication. I'm also sure they thought it was very British in tone. It's not something that concerns me unduly because I can't do anything about it; it's out of my hands. My hope is that it will continue to find its audiences for years and years to come. I thought with The Office that it would be a small cult thing, but it would be some people's favorite thing. I've always thought that way. I've never thought, Let's try and do something that's going to be a blockbuster.

At the end of the day, am I satisfied with the film?

Yeah.

So, Steve Carell is leaving The Office at the end of next season. Are you involved at all with the search for his replacement?

I love the show. I'm very proud of it; I'm very proud that it's successful. I watch it as a fan. I'm not involved on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis on the creative decisions. Carell is brilliant, and the show wouldn't be what it'd be without him. There are a lot of good comics in the show already — Ed Helms, Rainn Wilson, everyone else involved — so it may be unnecessary to replace him. He's kind of irreplaceable, in a way. So far they've been very careful with it, maintaining the integrity of the [original] series pretty much intact. I trust them to make the right decision. You know, not to bring in an alien who crash-landed in Scranton or something to run the office.

Ricky Gervais has already debunked the possibility of having David Brent take over. Was Ricky officially offered the job?

As far as I'm aware he hasn't been offered it, and I would find it very unlikely that he would do it. I would find that almost impossible, if only for the hours are very long. And [Ricky doing] twenty-odd weeks of nonstop work?

Wouldn't happen.

The other names that were floated were Danny McBride and Rhys Darby.

I think they're both brilliant. I haven't heard their names; I don't know where that information is coming from. I could see them working well, but don't know where that information is coming from. No one's told me anything.

Your next project, Life's Too Short with Warwick Davis, was initially described as being in the style of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Is that still the case?

Well, we've only done the pilot so far. I'm sure the series will evolve further. It's Curb-like in the sense that Warwick plays himself, but we're not trying to emulate that show. We're trying to write something that's unique to Warwick in every sense. He came to us with the idea of doing a show about his position as, in his own words, a "showbiz dwarf." He's also a very accomplished physical performer, which we really tapped into. He does great pratfalls which, being how small he is, is doubly funny. This is just some muck-about comedy, but I think it's refreshing. I think it's charming, but it's still in its formative stages. There's much to change, I'm sure.

Is it like Curb where you don't have a script?

We wrote the pilot. Ricky had done an episode of Curb and he's very much enjoyed that style. We shall see, really. I don't know how much that will suit our style.

You and Ricky also play yourselves. What's the setup in the show for how Davis comes into your lives?

It's him going about his life seeking work and he's got himself an assistant, and he comes to us regularly to seek our advice. It's sort of him doing battle with life in a way. The idea is that he's got small-man complex in the literal and metaphorical sense. He's a bit ambitious, occasionally malevolent and selfish, but ultimately quite likable.

EXCLUSIVE: Stephen Merchant on The Office and Life's Too
Short - MovieWeb.com
August 13, 2010

Yesterday I had the chance to speak with Stephen Merchant about his new film that he co-wrote and co-directed with Ricky Gervais, Cemetery Junction, which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 17. Since he's an executive producer on the American version of The Office, I also had to get his take on all the talk surrounding Steve Carell's departure after the seventh season and who might replace him. Merchant is also undertaking a new TV venture with Gervais entitled Life's Too Short with actor Warwick Davis, which we reported on back in April. Take a look at what he had to say on both of these matters below, along with news of yet another brand new TV project he's working on with Karl Pilkington.

I also have to ask about The Office. There have been a bunch of names thrown about like Danny McBride and Rhys Darby. How close are you to that process of trying to find a replacement for Steve Carell and is there anything you can say about those names that have been mentioned so far?

Stephen Merchant: No one has talked to me about those people. No one has asked my opinion of them, except journalists. They're very much an autonomous unit. We're there if we're needed, but we're pretty much hands-off. We've trusted them this far and they've done well, so it would seem weird of us to intrude now. They are great names, great contenders and they have big shoes to fill. It would be a difficult job to replace Steve, if they even choose to replace him. They could just use the talent they already have there at The Office. I don't know. I don't know any more than you. In fact, I know less than you.

If it did come down to just you or Ricky, would there be a named, someone you would like to see replace Steve? Is there one person that stands out that could fill those really big shoes?

Stephen Merchant: Well, I don't know. Maybe they need to go in a completely different direction. Maybe they need to make it a woman or a puppet or an animated character or an alien, like ALF. That would be perfect, a puppet and an alien. Or like a huge animal, or like a Roger Rabbit, a zany animated character.

You could have Bob Hoskins show up in an overcoat or something.

Stephen Merchant: Right, exactly. Or, as a kid, like a hilarious mix-up, a 12-year-old is in charge (Laughs).

That's great. You're both also working with Warwick Davis on that new BBC series Life's Too Short. Is there anything you can say about the progress of that series? Is that anything that would be aimed at airing on BBC America or going stateside at all?

Stephen Merchant: I think it will get stateside. We're still discussing that, but we have the pilot, which we're really pleased with. Warwick is very funny, a very physical comedian which we really made use of, and he plays a version of himself, going about his business. I have to imagine it can be quite tricky when you're that small and that's one of the things that we exploit for the laughter. I say exploit, but I think exploiting in a way that we exploit my height or Ricky's looks. I don't think its exploitative since he helped create the idea and came to us with the story. He's very charismatic, very charming in it and I think it will evolve and change, so I don't want to nail down exactly what it's like. I was really pleased. He's a real comic star in waiting.

Is there a time frame in place for the series to premiere? Are you in production on the actual series now?

Stephen Merchant: We're negotiating all that and we're talking about ideas, so if it happens, it would be sometime next year.

Are there any other screenplays you're both working on at the moment?

Stephen Merchant: At the moment, the Warwick show is distracting us along with the fact that we've also been executive producers for our friend Karl Pilkington. He does podcasts with us and he's this rather eccentric guy and we've been having conversations with him over the years and just recently we made a show in which we sent him abroad, further out of his comfort zone. He's very much a typical Englander, very small-minded and never really traveled much. We've thrown him into the deep end. We've sent him to rough it in India, the jungles of Peru. It's very funny, very very funny. It's just following his experiences, but that's been distracting us from other projects.

EXCLUSIVE: Stephen Merchant Talks Cemetery Junction
MovieWeb.com August 13, 2010

The co-writer/co-director talks about his film with longtime writing partner Ricky Gervais, The Office, Life's Too Short and much more

Stephen Merchant isn't a household name on this side of the pond, but if you've been enjoying the antics of a Scranton paper company on Thursday nights for the past six years, then he's someone you really should be aware of. Merchant co-created the original British version of The Office back in 2001 with his writing/producing partner and comedian extraordinaire, Ricky Gervais. That, of course, lead into the American incarnation of The Office, which both are executive producers on and, while Merchant and Gervais continued to work together on TV ventures such as Extras and the animated series The Ricky Gervais Show, they had never worked on a film together until now. Merchant and Gervais co-wrote and co-directed the wonderful new film Cemetery Junction, which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 17. I was able to speak with Merchant over the phone about this coming-of-age film and here's what he had to say.

I read that Ricky mentioned that the film was a cross between The Office and Mad Men. Since Mad Men is set in the early 60s and this film is set in the mid-70s, is this your way of saying how behind the times Britain is?

Stephen Merchant: (Laughs) I think it's not about saying that they're behind the times, it's about saying that it hasn't changed a huge amount. There are a lot of the same pre-occupations, concerns, prejudices, some of which is still there. I think we ultimately wanted a nostalgic feel. Life was different in certain ways then, if only for the fact that travel was a lot more limited. You couldn't just hop on a plane and go somewhere exotic. It was also because we wanted to draw on our own images of growing up.

I believe that this area is near where Ricky actually grew up. I'm sure this is a totally fictional tale, but were there any things that you both drew off of, specifically, from your childhood that you threw in the film?

Stephen Merchant: I think the family is very much like Ricky's. The job of work itself, the insurance selling, was something that my father did for many years. I suppose it's all an amalgamation of the way we felt, the way we saw other people behaving, stories we heard about other people, people we went to school with. It's almost like a hazy memory of the past. We're not trying to be specific, nowhere in particular, a little bit vague, but a spirit of the past. We're not being rigorous about defining the place. Memories get smashed together as you look back on them, but the impulses of the characters were things that were very relatable to us, the feeling of being trapped, potentially, or the feeling that the expectations people had for you weren't terribly grand.

You're both obviously known for your comedy stylings. Was something like this, a more dramatic, coming-of-age film, was this something that you had both always wanted to do? Was this just the right time for a project like this?

Stephen Merchant: I don't think it felt as alien to us as perhaps people would've thought it do be. It didn't feel like a huge stretch to us. It's not heavy drama, by any means, I guess it's light drama, but we've always had that there. In The Office, we always used to talk about re-editing The Office into something more dark, just for our own amusement, re-editing it into an hour-and-a-half movie and I think those things would've been more pronounced. They were there, throughout two seasons, there were arguments, people making morbid statements to the camera. I think it's always been there, but in an hour-and-a-half, it's much more condensed.

I was really blown away by the cast, not by the more well-known actors like Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson and Matthew Goode, but these incredible younger actors in Christian Cooke, Tom Hughes, Jack Doolan and Felicity Jones. These are really breakthrough performances for all of them. Was it your initial intention to find lesser-known actors for these roles, or is that just the way it worked out?

Stephen Merchant: Well, we considered bigger names, but there really aren't very many big-name English actors who are in their 20s and also would fit the character types. There's a much bigger pool in the States, and even if we got one bigger star, it would've unbalanced the whole dynamic of the friendship. We were looking for people who were good-looking, that had charisma, people that had a swagger, the rock-star kind of swagger, a bit of Paul Newman in them. It was quite a long search, but we were quite pleased with the guys we found. We were really pleased.

Yeah. I was blown away by Tom Hughes, especially. He just leaps off the screen.

Stephen Merchant: Yeah, he's great.

I also have to say it was so much fun watching Anne Reid as the grandmother here. I was laughing every time she opened her mouth. Was it a lot of fun putting Ricky up against her?

Stephen Merchant: Oh, that was so exciting. She's so hilarious and we were so pleased she could do it. I believe it's on the DVD, there are all sorts of takes of them just improvising with each other. This family is just very brutal to each other, telling it like it is. Actually, we originally had her as his wife's mom and then it just seemed so much funnier if it was his own mom. There's one scene where she says to the wife, 'I don't know why you married him. You could've done so much better.'

(Laughs) That's awesome. This is the first film that you have both directed together and Ricky had directed another film before, The Invention of Lying. Can you talk about your process of directing a film together, as opposed to your work together on television? Were there things that Ricky picked up on The Invention of Lying that he brought to this film?

Stephen Merchant: To a degree, yeah. I think we worked together very much like we had worked together in the past. We obviously weren't being as scrupulous about it being documentary-style with the performances, but we wanted to make the voices feel real and feel genuine, appealing but also relatable in a universe where you can lose yourself. The hardest thing was to condense the thing into an hour and a half. I think, for some reason, it would be a lot easier than it actually is, but the speed in which you have to move, narratively, is much harder. It's much more direct, much more on the nose. That was a challenge.

I was also surprised that Columbia decided not to release the film theatrically here in America. Did they give you reasoning behind that?

Stephen Merchant: No, not really. They didn't really tell us. I think they probably thought it wasn't going to be a huge money spinner. It's very English, but, in the end, there's nothing I can do about that and I've never done anything with the intention of trying to make a blockbuster. I just wouldn't know how to do that. I don't know what the general audience wants. I just try to make something from the heart, feels personal and hope other people relate to it. Everyone who has come up to me in the street has said they enjoyed it and they have been really positive so, in the end, that's all I can really hope for.

I also have to ask about The Office. There have been a bunch of names thrown about like Danny McBride and Rhys Darby. How close are you to that process of trying to find a replacement for Steve Carell and is there anything you can say about those names that have been mentioned so far?

Stephen Merchant: No one has talked to me about those people. No one has asked my opinion of them, except journalists. They're very much an autonomous unit. We're there if we're needed, but we're pretty much hands-off. We've trusted them this far and they've done well, so it would seem weird of us to intrude now. They are great names, great contenders and they have big shoes to fill. It would be a difficult job to replace Steve, if they even choose to replace him. They could just use the talent they already have there at The Office. I don't know. I don't know any more than you. In fact, I know less than you.

If it did come down to just you or Ricky, would there be a named, someone you would like to see replace Steve? Is there one person that stands out that could fill those really big shoes?

Stephen Merchant: Well, I don't know. Maybe they need to go in a completely different direction. Maybe they need to make it a woman or a puppet or an animated character or an alien, like ALF. That would be perfect, a puppet and an alien. Or like a huge animal, or like a Roger Rabbit, a zany animated character.

You could have Bob Hoskins show up in an overcoat or something.

Stephen Merchant: Right, exactly. Or, as a kid, like a hilarious mix-up, a 12-year-old is in charge (Laughs).

That's great. You're both also working with Warwick Davis on that new BBC series Life's Too Short. Is there anything you can say about the progress of that series? Is that anything that would be aimed at airing on BBC America or going stateside at all?

Stephen Merchant: I think it will get stateside. We're still discussing that, but we have the pilot, which we're really pleased with. Warwick is very funny, a very physical comedian which we really made use of, and he plays a version of himself, going about his business. I have to imagine it can be quite tricky when you're that small and that's one of the things that we exploit for the laughter. I say exploit, but I think exploiting in a way that we exploit my height or Ricky's looks. I don't think its exploitative since he helped create the idea and came to us with the story. He's very charismatic, very charming in it and I think it will evolve and change, so I don't want to nail down exactly what it's like. I was really pleased. He's a real comic star in waiting.

Is there a time frame in place for the series to premiere? Are you in production on the actual series now?

Stephen Merchant: We're negotiating all that and we're talking about ideas, so if it happens, it would be sometime next year.

Are there any other screenplays you're both working on at the moment?

Stephen Merchant: At the moment, the Warwick show is distracting us along with the fact that we've also been executive producers for our friend Karl Pilkington. He does podcasts with us and he's this rather eccentric guy and we've been having conversations with him over the years and just recently we made a show in which we sent him abroad, further out of his comfort zone. He's very much a typical Englander, very small-minded and never really traveled much. We've thrown him into the deep end. We've sent him to rough it in India, the jungles of Peru. It's very funny, very very funny. It's just following his experiences, but that's been distracting us from other projects.

Just to wrap up, what would you like to say to your fans about why they should pick up the Cemetery Junction DVD next week?

Stephen Merchant: Well, I think if they're fans of what we do, it touches on our themes, it has humor in it, it's got some romance, drama. I think it's a genuine feel-good drama. It's a little bit different than what we've done before, but I think if you're fans of what we've done, I think you'll see our fingerprints all over it, so give it a try. What's the worst that can happen?

Excellent. Well, that's my time Stephen. Thank you so much for your time and best of luck with your new projects.

Stephen Merchant: Great. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

UK author sues Ricky Gervais over 'Flanimals' book
August 11, 2010

(AP) – LONDON - A little-known author is suing British comic Ricky Gervais for allegedly ripping off his ideas when he wrote his popular "Flanimals" book, according to court documents.

John Savage, 44, claims that his 1998 book "Captain Pottie's Wildlife Encyclopedia" was the basis for Flanimals, which features a medley of bizarre-looking cartoon beasts with names such as Underblenge, Plamglotis, and Grundit.

Both books "involve a whimsical take on the animal kingdom through the use of drawings and text, which in the case of the latter is a copy, in form and substance, of the former," according to documents lodged at London's High Court.

Gervais denies the allegation, saying through a spokeswoman Wednesday that the concept and artistry for Flanimals, published in 2004, predated Savage's work.

Flanimals's quirky charm has spawned a series of sequels and the concept is being adapted into a Hollywood movie, according to Gervais' website.

The comic is best known as the co-creator and star of the British version of "The Office," which later was successfully adapted as an NBC comedy. He also co-created and starred in "Extras," a comedy series that aired on HBO.

The Press Association: Gervais plays down US Office claims
August 5, 2010

(UKPA) – Ricky Gervais has thrown cold water over rumours that he is in talks to replace Steve Carell in the US version of The Office.

The British funnyman, who played the lead role and created the original series, was reportedly in the running to step into Steve's shoes as hapless manager Michael Scott when he leaves at the end of the seventh season.

But Ricky, who is already executive producer on the American show, told New York Magazine: "As David Brent would say, been there, done that, bought the T-shirt - as I would say, 'Why would I get up at 6am five days a week for seven years, when I can hire someone else to do that and still get my syndication money?'"

Paul Lieberstein, another executive producer of The Office, confirmed that Ricky's involvement had been discussed.

"We talked about it today for a while. It's not the leading idea... [but] it's not a dead idea," he said.

But he added: "I don't know how David Brent could take Michael Scott's place because it would be a little bit too much of a coincidence that a documentary crew was also following him. He was also fired for incompetence [in the UK Office], so we'd have to create some back story for what happened. There would be some things to deal with."

Paul still hopes Steve will change his mind about leaving.

"I don't want Steve to go, and if he decides he wants to stay, I will be very happy with that," he said.

'The Office': Ricky Gervais OK with Steve Carell leaving - From Inside the Box
Zap2it
July 1, 2010

Steve Carell has said multiple times now that he's leaving "The Office" when his contract runs out at the end of next season. And his boss is OK with that.

Ricky Gervais, who co-created and starred in the original version of "The Office" on the BBC and executive produces NBC's show, says Carell is doing the right thing.

"It was expected of me, as executive producer, to persuade him to stay on. With syndication in full swing the more successful the show remains, the more billions we all make," Gervais writes on his blog. "It was tempting, but the truth is, I believe he is doing the right thing. He's fulfilled his contract and more, and is a huge film star now. ... I'd be lying if I said he should do more. He shouldn't. He should move on, continue to do great work, and buy a new house every time 'The Office' is repeated somewhere."

Gervais knows whereof he speaks: The British "Office" ran for only two six-episode seasons and a Christmas special before Gervais called it quits; he did the same with his HBO/BBC series "Extras."

Carell has two movies coming out in the next month -- the animated "Despicable Me" and comedy "Dinner for Schmucks" -- and is attached to several other film projects. Gervais says that while Carell's departure from the show is sad, he wishes Carell "all the luck in the world."

"He is quite possibly the nicest, hardest-working man in America," Gervais writes, "and it has been a joy working with him over the last six years. (And taking the piss out of him at every award show.)"

Ricky Gervais will host the 68th annual Golden Globes on Jan. 16, 2011.

"I can't believe they invited me back after awful things I said.” “Let's see how far I can go this time."

"I suppose it is flattering, to be honest, and it was a surprise.” "I had so much fun last year.”

Gervais to appear on Curb? : News 2010 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide

Ricky Gervais is set to make an appearance in the next series of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Although creator Larry David has not yet confirmed that the acclaimed comedy will return for an eighth season, he has asked The Office creator to be in it.

David told American entertainment website E! online that an announcement on the future of the show would be made in a month or so, adding that he wanted Gervais to be in it.

‘I think Ricky Gervais is one of the funniest guys I've ever met,’ he said.

Through his publicist, Gervais told Chortle: ‘We have been trying to work together for a while. In fact I was offered a part in Curb a couple of years ago but could not do it, due to other filming commitments.

‘I would love to do anything with Larry. I am also going to offer him a part in the Flanimals movie because he is amazing.’

David and Gervais recently appeared together on Jerry Seinfeld’s new US show, The Marriage Ref.

And Curb Your Enthusiasm is shown on HBO in the States, the premium cable network that has just picked up a second series of The Ricky Gervais Show - the animated version of his podcast.

Larry: Gervais to guest on Curb
Belfasttelegraph.co.uk
March 26, 2010

Larry David wants Ricky Gervais to make a cameo in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The Seinfeld creator revealed to E! Online he has asked The Office star to appear on the next season of his HBO comedy and that he is "already working on some stuff" for the eighth series of Curb.

Asked if Ricky had taken him up on the offer Larry said: "I'll probably know something in a month or so."

He added: "I think Ricky Gervais is one of the funniest guys I've ever met."

Ricky and Larry were recently both guests, alongside Madonna, on the same episode of Seinfeld's new show The Marriage Ref.

The comedians entertained the audience, although were both a little bemused about the format of the show, in which the panel of celebrity "experts" help analyse real-life disputes between married couples.

At one point Larry said "This is easily the most uncomfortable hour I've ever spent in my life."

Israeli version of hit TV sitcom The Office in the works
Haaretz - Israel News - By Haaretz Service
February 21, 2010

An Israeli version of hit TV show The Office is in the works and will feature both Arab and Ethiopian characters, according to reports in the British media.

The show, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, will be named Super Office and will be set in central Israel, near Tel Aviv. Actor Avi Meshulam will be stepping into the shoes of character David Brent, originally portrayed by Gervais.

The Office has been remade in France, Russia and the United States, where it has turned into a hit, starring Steve Carell.

According to reports, in the Israeli version Gareth becomes Yariv, and Tim and Dawn become Yossi and Dana.

The show also includes a character named Abed, described as "an intellectual Arab with a gentle soul," and Abba, who is Ethiopian.

"I am thrilled and amazed that Israel is making The Office with local writers, directors and actors," Gervais was quoted as saying. "I mean, who ever heard of Jewish entertainers?"

The Press Association: The Office is reborn on Israeli TV
February 21, 2010

The Israeli version of David Brent has been unveiled, as the character swaps Slough for Tel Aviv.

Ricky Gervais's character of the hapless boss is reborn - with less hair - as Avi Meshulam, played by actor Dvir Benedek, as BBC sitcom The Office relocates for TV audiences in Israel.

The show, created by Gervais and Stephen Merchant, will be named Super Office.

Gareth becomes Yariv, Dawn is Dana and her love interest Tim becomes Yossi.

The show will also feature some new characters.

They include Abed, described as "an intellectual Arab with a gentle soul", and Abba, a softly-spoken accountant of Ethiopian origin.

Another new office worker is Karol, an older and very cynical accountant.

Leah, a highly Orthodox Jewish woman who is "constantly pregnant", is another new addition.

The Israeli office, which also supplies office equipment, is based in Yahud, near Tel Aviv.

Gervais said: "I am thrilled and amazed that Israel are making The Office with local writers, directors and actors."

Married Single Other: Lucy Davis
By Ian Wylie – Manchester Evening News
February 18, 2010

ACTING can be a dangerous business. Just ask The Office star Lucy Davis.

Filming a pilot for a possible American TV drama series in Los Angeles, she was one of two passengers in a classic convertible car.

“All the driver had to do was drive maybe 15 feet and then stop just past the camera. After that came a downhill driveway which was very steep and windy, with a cliff edge on the right,” recalls Lucy.

“But his foot got caught on top of the pedal, so the accelerator was being pushed down and he couldn’t get his foot off.

“Somehow he managed to steer this car going downhill, getting faster and faster. I can’t tell you how narrow it was, with this cliff. And he managed to stop just before a wall at the end.

“The three of us were numb. When we came back up to where all the crew were, they were like, ‘Hey, why did you drive downhill?’ It was because we were almost dying!”

Adds Lucy: “I had a weird experience like that in England doing Murder In Mind years ago.

"Pauline Quirke’s character had to stab me to death. I thought they would use a retractable knife or a rubber one. But, no, it was a real, proper, knife, so I had to wear a stab vest.”

Later filming one of the alternative shots, taking a wider view of the scene, Lucy was told to take the vest off as it looked too bulky on screen.

“I remember thinking, ‘Well, Pauline must know. Someone must have told her.’

"The camera was turning over and Pauline had her arm up, and it was only in that second, thank God, that I actually thought to say, ‘You do know I’m not wearing my knife vest?’ And she didn’t.

“Pauline was lovely – and furious on my behalf. You feel with filming that there’s always magic surrounding it, that nothing can ever go wrong. But it can.”

Hollywood-based Lucy, 37, returns to British TV as Lillie in romantic comedy drama Married Single Other (ITV1, Monday, 9pm), thankfully filmed without any unscripted drama.

Former advertising executive Peter Souter gave up his job in 2008 to create the six-part series.

He had previously written TV ads for the best part of 25 years, including the Gary Lineker Walkers Crisps and Jamie Oliver Sainsbury’s campaigns.

“It’s weird to do the other bit of the telly, inbetween the adverts. I don’t understand what that’s for,” he jokes.

As with Cold Feet, it features three couples, co-starring Shaun Dooley as Lillie’s partner Eddie plus Ralf Little (Clint), Miranda Raison (Abbey), Amanda Abbington (Babs) and ex-Shameless favourite Dean Lennox Kelly (Dickie).

Even though Married Single Other is very much its own series, there will be inevitable comparisons with the classic Manchester comedy drama.

“I was a huge fan of Cold Feet and was devastated when it finished. So if this does anywhere near as well, we’ll be very lucky,” says Lucy.

The opening episode begins with Eddie proposing to Lillie on her birthday. But we soon discover this isn’t the first time he’s tried to make her his wife.

“She is possibly the most like me of any character that I’ve played. I love her attitude on life which is – just get on with it. There’s no point in wallowing or romanticising about life. She’s a realist who is feisty and sticks up for the underdog.”

The daughter of comedian and Golden Balls host Jasper Carrott, Lucy is married to Owain Yeoman, 31, Welsh-born star of US TV series The Mentalist.

“That’s partly why I’m currently based in Los Angeles. But I never intended to live there. I used to go out for three months for pilot season and then come back for the rest of the year.

"Then, gradually, it went on more and I thought, ‘Oh, I do live here.’ It took me quite a long time to like that fact but now I really do love it.”

Lucy, who played receptionist Dawn in The Office, was able to catch up with her former co-star Martin Freeman while back in Britain. Martin, who was Dawn’s sales rep love Tim, is the off screen partner of Amanda Abbington.

Like her character, Lucy never had any desire to wed. So what changed?

“I couldn’t see it happening for me at all and I was really happy with that. So I was never looking. I like my own company and often have to be dragged out.

"Then I just met someone I wanted to marry,” she smiles.

Ricky Gervais has confirmed that David Brent will make an appearance in the US version of The Office
By Dan French – Digital Spy
February 1, 2010

The 48-year-old comedian told The Sun that his character will clash with Steve Carell's Michael Scott when he pops up in the show.

"I think it would be funny for David Brent to walk into the US Office and hear them go 'Oh my God, there's two of them!'," he said. "We don't need to know about Brent's back story - the English office exists in a cocoon.

"Michael Scott could just bump into Brent who is a bloke from England."

Gervais added that Brent is likely to be the only character from the UK version making his way over to America.

"I don't think we'll take any of the other UK characters over - we'll probably leave it with just me as it's just too complicated."

Banff honors Ricky Gervais
Comedian to get Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award
By Stuart Levine
Entertainment News, Banff World Television Festival, Media – Variety
February 9, 2010

The Banff World TV Festival has tapped Ricky Gervais as this year's recipient of the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award.

Gervais, coming off his recent stint as host of the Golden Globes, is getting the toon treatment in HBO's "The Ricky Gervais Show." Series, which premieres Feb. 19, uses material from the podcasts Gervais does with writing partner Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington and gives them an animated spin.

Annual Banff fest convenes June 13-16 in the Canadian Rockies. Confab gathers TV execs and budding producers from around the continent to discuss the current state of the small-screen biz.

Last year's Ustinov winner was Mark McKinney of Canuck sketch comedy troupe Kids in the Hall. Other former recipients include Martin Short, Kelsey Grammer and John Cleese.

Ricky Gervais to take Peter Ustinov Comedy prize
Monsters and Critics
February 9, 2010

Ricky Gervais will receive the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award in what he tags the pinnacle of his comedian's career.

Gervais – who recently spoke about his lack of appeal to some people, due to his success – said he was 'honoured' to take the prize which will be handed to him at the Banff World Television Festival this June.

Gervais said: 'This is probably the greatest honour of my career. Only the Nobel Peace Prize can top this, but I will only accept that in person if the ceremony is held somewhere as beautiful as Banff. I think they Fedex, luckily.'

Peter Vamos, Banff executive director, said: 'We could think of no one funny man so deserving of this prestigious award this year than Ricky Gervais. The Office is the most critically acclaimed sitcom of all time and Gervais's worldwide influence in the comedy industry is unparalleled.'

Gervais, 48, recently said success has not changed him, while he is proud of it. He told a UK magazine: 'I don’t have any expensive habits except for property. We’ve got the biggest, nicest house we can afford in the nicest neighbourhood. We’ve got a new place in New York and we’ve kept on our old flat for visitors. Wouldn’t want them to stay with us! I don’t do big boys’ toys and as you can see, I don’t do clothes and I don’t do bling. I buy things I love – like cheese.'

Brit funnyman Ricky Gervais to receive Banff fest's comedy award in June
The Canadian Press
February 9, 2010

TORONTO — British comic Ricky Gervais is being recognized with this year's Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award at the Banff World Television Festival.

The creator of the hit U.K. TV show "The Office" will be feted at the festival in June, when he's also set to discuss his career and success.

Gervais says the award is "probably the greatest honour" of his career, adding that "only the Nobel Peace Prize can top this."

The award acknowledges outstanding comedic performances. Previous recipients include John Cleese, Bob Newhart, Martin Short and Tracey Ullman.

Gervais shot to fame after starring and creating "The Office," considered one of the most successful British TV comedies ever. It spawned the U.S. remake starring Steve Carell.

The Banff World Television Festival draws some of the biggest names in broadcasting, television production, distribution and digital media. It runs June 13 to 16.

Ricky Gervais Never Says No To Fans Who Ask For His Autograph
Musicrooms.net
February 5, 2010

The comedian insists he always stops what he is doing when admirers ask for his signature because it takes “courage” to approach a star

He even claims he would speak to a fan if he was running late to catch a train or flight.

“I think it takes courage to ask for an autograph, so I never turn down anyone who asks me,” the 48-year-old star said. “I could be running for a train and if someone tries to stop me, I’d have to miss the train. I couldn’t bear for someone to be able to say, ‘I asked that Ricky Gervais when I was 14 for an autograph and he said no because he was too busy trying to catch a train!’ ”

Ricky is proud of his success, but believes it hasn’t changed him. He earns millions of pounds every year, but refuses to blow any of his fortune on drugs, designer clothes or five-star holidays.

“I don’t have any expensive habits except for property,” Ricky told British magazine Star. “We’ve got the biggest, nicest house we can afford in the nicest neighbourhood. We’ve got a new place in New York and we’ve kept on our old flat for visitors. Wouldn’t want them to stay with us! I don’t do big boys’ toys and as you can see, I don’t do clothes and I don’t do bling. I buy things I love – like cheese!”

Ricky Gervais Teams With Simpsons Writer for 3D Animated Movie
By Anna Swindle
Movies: News: Paste
February 5, 2010

For Ricky Gervais, 2010 may as well be dubbed “The Year of Animation.” In addition to his new animated HBO series, The Ricky Gervais Show, which is set to debut on Feb. 19, he’s working on turning a series of hit children’s books into a 3D animated film.

Gervais, who’s joining forces with Simpsons writer Matt Selman for the project, is preparing his popular book series, Flanimals, for the silver screen. The star? A crew of 50 species of creatures that are ugly-yet-endearing. The premise? Gervais’ character, a particularly purple, perspiring, blobby being, sets off on a mission to change the world. For the literary versions, Gervais penned the organism’s adventures, and illustrator Rob Steen provided the visuals. In the upcoming film, Selman serves as writer.

Along with Gervais, rumored vocal contributors include Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Danny McBride, Will Arnett and Kristen Wiig. Flanimals, released by Illumination Entertainment, is set for a 2011 premiere.

Interview: Ricky Gervais
By Kate Whiting
JournalLive
September 25, 2009

He describes himself as a cottage industry. Ricky Gervais tells Kate Whiting about lying, laughing and his approach to work.

In new film The Invention Of Lying, which he wrote, directed and stars in, Ricky Gervais plays loser Mark Bellison who, though unlucky in love and work, is also the only person who can lie in an alternate reality where everyone tells the whole truth.

So when Mark goes to meet a beautiful blind date and asks her how she is, she takes one look at him and states matter-of-factly: “Depressed and pessimistic about our date.“

Surely even Gervais, known for playing socially awkward characters like David Brent in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras, can reach saturation point, when the insults start to hurt?

“No,” he laughs. “I love it and I don’t know if that’s because I’ve got no ego at all or such a big ego that nothing can hurt me. Someone insulting me makes me laugh,” he adds, suppressing a squeaky giggle.

The film boasts a talented cast, including rising star Jonah Hill as Mark’s suicidal neighbour, the “genetically-perfect“ Rob Lowe as his work and love rival, and cameos from Jason Bateman and his comedy writing partner, Stephen Merchant.

For all his success, Reading-born Gervais still finds it amazing that he’s become one of Hollywood’s golden boys.

“I can’t believe these people want to work with me. Truth is, I’m a bit of a chancer,” he adds, flashing that famously cheeky grin.

“I’m very lucky to be in this position and no one’s found me out yet!”

He describes himself as a cottage industry. Ricky Gervais tells Kate Whiting about lying, laughing and his approach to work.

While the film marks his directorial debut, the 48-year-old has long been writing his own material. He broke into Hollywood after Extras and the US version of The Office became hits across the pond.

Since starring in last year’s Ghost Town, he’s lost some of the David Brent paunch through hitting the gym in the States, but he insists he won’t change in other ways and will not be sucked into the LA movie machine.

“I don’t think I play the Hollywood game as such – I’m not really an actor for hire. I’ve done the odd bits, but they’re either returning the favour or just for a laugh.

“I sort of create my own work really so I don’t feel that I’m quite part of that mill yet and I don’t know if I ever will be or want to be.

“I still see myself as a bit of a cottage industry, being in a room, creating this stuff and seeing if anyone wants it as opposed to going to work for someone.

“And it felt like that for us on this film, that we were doing something that was ours and then we’ll see if anyone wants to show it.”

Gervais teamed up with American newcomer Matthew Robinson, 31, to write and direct the film. “The most important thing about collaboration is the more you see eye-to-eye fundamentally, the fewer clashes and compromises there are. There’s none of this tit-for-tat ’I’ll put that joke in if you put this joke in’ – we were fans of the same thing.”

His character works for a film company, but in the alternate world where lying, and therefore fiction, is inconceivable, the films are simply people reading out lists of facts.

“It’s things like Napoleon, The Invention Of The Fork and Mathematics. Mark is lumbered with the 14th Century and no one wants to see that, it’s depressing,” Gervais explains.

“It’s just the Black Plague. Then he gets fired. But when he discovers he can lie, he can tell the greatest stories ever told.”

A world without lies is also a world without advertising slogans, where casinos reveal the true odds of a win and Mark’s favourite bar is simply called Cheap Place To Drink.

When Mark realises his incredible power, he uses it to become wealthy and successful, but deep down he’s a nice guy.

“He’s only trying to do good – he’s telling white lies,” says Gervais.

“I think it makes you think about how often you lie and if you’re a decent person who tells white lies every day to save people’s feelings.

“I’ve always used comedy as a Trojan horse to deliver bigger ideas,” he continues.

“We thought of everything that may or may not happen and the spark was the lovely lie I tell my mother when she’s dying, to make her feel better about where she’s going. She doesn’t want to enter a world of nothingness.”

Serious ideas aside, Gervais found it hard to keep a straight face on set and admits he interrupted takes time and time again when he got the giggles.

“No one else ruins the takes – I do. If someone says something funny I laugh, even if it’s the 15th time they’ve said it. I think, ’That was funny’ and I laugh and I ruin the take,” he says, barely able to stifle his cackling laugh even now.

Ricky Gervais Directs ‘The Invention of Lying’
By John Jurgensen
WSJ.com
September 25, 2009

Comedian Ricky Gervais had a happy childhood in small-town England. He lives with the same woman—novelist Jane Fallon—he started dating in college 27 years ago. The television series he co-created, "The Office," redefined the TV sitcom, made him rich and catapulted him into the company of comedy moguls like Matt Groening of "The Simpsons" and Larry David of "Seinfeld."

So why can't he stop abusing himself on screen?

During scriptwriting sessions for his new movie "The Invention of Lying," Mr. Gervais worked himself into red-faced rants as he invented insults to hurl at his character's fat stomach, pug nose and sexual failings. "Kind of like a frog," as another character describes him.

"A comedian must get beaten up for your viewing pleasure," Mr. Gervais explains in an interview. "Now you're rooting for the underdog."

Mr. Gervais had been a little-known radio host when "The Office," a faux documentary in which he played a socially tone-deaf middle manager, began its run eight years ago. The show has aired in 80 countries, spawned seven remakes (including versions in the U.S., Israel and Russia) and inspired imitators with its awkward realism and attacks on commonplace fools. "People say I created the comedy of embarrassment," says Mr. Gervais. "There's a reason for that. I'm a white, middle-class, middle-aged man. What happens to me? Nothing, but a bit of rudeness. What am I afraid of? Embarrassing myself socially."

Now, the 48-year-old comic is moving away from the painful, ironic satire of "The Office" as he tries to launch the next phase of his career with three coming movies and a new TV show. Opening next Friday, "The Invention of Lying" is the first movie written and directed by Mr. Gervais (with co-writer and co-director Matthew Robinson). It's set in an alternate reality where people only tell the truth and Mr. Gervais's character is the first to learn how to fib.

Early next year, HBO will unveil an animated series adapted from "The Ricky Gervais Show," a hit podcast in which the comedian and two friends bantered about monkeys, naughty puns and other pet topics. Mr. Gervais is adapting his series of children's books, "Flanimals," into an animated feature film. In April, he'll release "Cemetery Junction," written, produced and directed with Stephen Merchant, co-creator of "The Office." A coming-of-age story set in 1970s England, "Cemetery Junction" draws on Mr. Gervais's personal experiences and marks a departure in tone. Instead of underdogs and losers, the movie focuses on a trio of suave young men in their prime. The film also stars Oscar nominees Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson.

Mr. Merchant said via email that they've tried to inject "Cemetery Junction" with "pathos, drama, romance, intrigue and humor…and at least one trademark awkward moment."

Mr. Gervais attributes the crossover appeal of his humor to his affinity with American comedians, especially Jewish acts such as Groucho Marx and Woody Allen. He says, "I feel that I do Jewish comedy, in a way. That self-deprecation. Being a pseudo-intellectual in a room full of idiots but it does you no good. I'm selling back to America what I stole, but with a big lump of what they didn't have. That is, the sheer pessimism of being British."

When he's not on location or doing a stand-up tour, Mr. Gervais is a homebody with a small orbit. In New York, where he has an apartment on the Upper East Side, he regularly walks one block to his favorite restaurant, Park Avenue Autumn. (The restaurant's name, along with its menu and décor, change with the seasons.) Recently, a manager unlocked the door before opening hours so Mr. Gervais could have coffee and do an interview. Leaving, the comedian confirmed he'd be back for dinner that evening.

Wearing his usual black V-neck T-shirt, his hair slicked back and a reddish stubble on his cheeks, Mr. Gervais was more reflective than madcap as he talked about religion or the influence of Laurel and Hardy. But some topics, such as how he'd botch Shakespeare or his odd-looking friends—"squeezing their little round baldy heads is just an excuse to show them affection"—elicit some recognizable laughs: a girlish titter, a guffaw that strangles in his throat, a flat-out cackle.

By choice, Messrs. Gervais and Merchant made only two seasons (plus a Christmas special) of "The Office" for BBC. They own the format, according to Matthew Harvey, Mr. Gervais's manager, allowing them to license it for remakes in other territories. The U.S. version premiered on NBC in 2005. Set in Scranton, Pa., the series recently hit 100 episodes. Not counting what they earn from the original "Office" and remakes in other territories, Messrs. Gervais and Merchant are paid about $50,000 combined for each episode of the U.S. version, according to a person familiar with the matter. They also receive about 10% of that show's "back end," which includes syndication fees and revenue from DVD sales, after some expenses.

In the comedy world, the impact of "The Office" was seismic. It adapted the "mockumentary" device (used in such movies as Rob Reiner's "This Is Spinal Tap") to a sitcom framework, confronted issues like race and class, and introduced an outrageous yet utterly familiar character in office manager David Brent (Mr. Gervais). Louis C.K., a standup-comedian, screenwriter and actor who plays Mr. Gervais's sidekick in "Lying," says watching the original series on DVD "was like being a gold miner who finds out about someone else who struck gold. It wasn't jealousy, I just wanted to be a part of it."

"The Office" led to an HBO comedy series called "Extras," starring Mr. Gervais as an obscure actor desperate for fame. In Hollywood, there have been small parts in movies such as the "Night at the Museum" films, but until now only one leading role, in last year's romantic comedy "Ghost Town."

Still, Mr. Gervais's involvement (and a proposed production budget of less than $20 million) helped make it relatively easy for "The Invention of Lying" to find backers. The movie was financed by independent producers and sold for U.S. distribution to Warner Bros., but Mr. Gervais says he maintained a 50% stake in the film. That gave him control over the final cut of the movie, as well as other key creative decisions.

For instance, in her first scene in the film, the love interest played by Jennifer Garner (from the TV series "Alias") begins a blind date with Mr. Gervais's character by flatly informing him she'd been masturbating. The line could have threatened the movie's PG-13 rating, says Mr. Robinson, the co-director, but he and Mr. Gervais were adamant about its inclusion from the start. "Ricky was the 600-pound gorilla that I could hide behind," says Mr. Robinson.

On set, Mr. Gervais was a confident director, Mr. C.K. says, but prone to distractions, such as forcing cast and crew members to choose between two preposterous (and R-rated) superpowers to have. "The amount of time we spent talking about that stuff was just crazy," Mr. C.K. says.

Mr. Robinson had Mr. Gervais in mind when he first wrote the part of Mark Bellison, a sad-sack screenwriter who (because there's no such thing as fiction in a world without lying) creates dull historical films. After the comedian signed on to the project, he spent about a year rewriting the script with Mr. Robinson, dialing down the cynicism and expanding the odd-couple romance. Mr. Robinson says, "His main goal was to make a classic Billy Wilder love story," in part to make the movie more accessible.

In the movie, Mark's fabrications spin out of control when he makes up a story about a "man in the sky." As crowds clamor for details, he delivers an ersatz Ten Commandments that he has scribbled on two pizza boxes. One of his prophecies: Good people are given mansions to live in after they die.

An atheist, Mr. Gervais studied philosophy at University College London. "The Invention of Lying" isn't "atheist propaganda," he says. "I like being a Good Samaritan—I just don't think I'm going to be rewarded for it in heaven."

The comedian grew up in a working-class family in Reading, 50 miles west of London. He was the youngest of four children, separated by 11 years from his next-oldest sibling. He drew on happy memories of that time for "Cemetery Junction." One goal was to upend the image of a dreary England as it's typically portrayed in films set in the 1960s and '70s. Mr. Gervais, whose father was a laborer and mother was a housewife, also wanted to convey the innocence of growing up in a small town. At age 17 he planned a trip to France. "My mum said to me, what do you want to go there for? There are parts of Reading you haven't seen," he recalls.

In the coming film, Mr. Gervais appears only briefly as a hen-pecked husband and father. But he has set aside a plum role for himself in "Flanimals," the planned animated film about imaginary creatures. He says, "I play Puddy, a fat sweaty blob. Amazing."

Sam Schechner contributed to this article.

Emmy Awards 2009: Ricky Gervais steals the show
Ricky Gervais got the biggest laughs at the 2009 Emmy Awards by poking fun at the star-studded audience.
By Anita Singh - Telegraph.co.uk
September 21, 2009

Taking the stage to present one of the categories, Gervais deadpanned: "This is the greatest awards ceremony in the world, there's no doubt about that. Definitely, definitely no doubt about that.

"The thing about the Oscars and the Golden Globes is they've got film stars there, with their jawlines and chiselled looks, making me feel bad. But in this room - I'm not being funny - I'm probably above average."

Referring to two stars of the US version of The Office, Gervais went on: "Here, Steve Carell is considered handsome. But Rainn Wilson, we've got to be honest... he's weird, even in this company."

The British comedian told the audience: "I can have a go at The Office because I'm executive producer, whatever that means. I tell you what it means: it means I created the show so I sit at home and wait for the cheques to come through. Syndication, come on."

After a brief pause, he quipped: "That joke is for the 5,000 people in this room. Not for the 5,000 people watching at home."

He finished by briefly turning the air blue, saying: "I've ------ off two networks in one minute. That is good going."

The last joke was a dig at the viewing figures for the Emmys ceremony. Last year, ratings fell to an all-time low of 12.2 million.

Gervais was there to present the outstanding variety, musical or comedy series, which went to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The star of The Office and Extras also provided the comedy highlight of last year's ceremony, when he jumped into the audience and grabbed an Emmy statuette from Steve Carell.

Ricky Gervais is a comedian first, actor second
By Bob Thompson, Canwest News Service
September 15, 2009

TORONTO - The truth is Ricky Gervais cannot fib when it comes to assessing his thespian prowess.

He often jokes that he's not an actor, he just plays one in film and TV.

"I still think of myself as a comedian acting," Gervais, 48, said Monday morning at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York Hotel Monday morning. "I remind people of that by falling over for their entertainment."

Still, the full-bodied funny man doesn't stumble as a version of Ricky Gervais in The Invention of Lying, which has a special presentation Monday night at the Toronto International Film Festival and opens in theatres Oct. 2.

Written and directed by Gervais and Matthew Robinson, the comedy fantasy has an all-starcast of strong supporting players including Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Christopher Guest, Jason Bateman, and Jeffrey Tambor.

In the movie tall tale, The Office and Extras TV creator plays a soon-to-be fired movie writer and the only person in a strange but seemingly modern world who is capable of falsifying facts.

That leads to all kinds of witty foul ups and celebrations one might expect from Gervais, the clown prince of uncomfortable comedy. He even takes on Christian beliefs in the fantasy, lampooning The Ten Commandments.

But Gervais insisted that the skewering is all for a laugh. "I don't see why we would get hate mail," he said.

There's no denying that that aspect of the film might be fodder for protests, but rabble rousing wasn't the intention, although he confessed he's an atheist.

After that revelation, he's told jokingly that even agnostics might find fault with the religious spoofing. "Yeah, but they're going to start writing, then say . . . 'ahhh, forget it,' " he said smiling.

He wasn't quite as cavalier with his first movie directing assignment, but he maintained that Garner, who plays a main role as a manipulated girlfriend, and Rob Lowe, defining the handsome rival, made his multiple chores a great deal easier.

Gervais even attracted some Oscar-honoured actors to do some hilarious cameos. Edward Norton plays a buzzed-out cop and Philip Seymour Hoffman shows up as an agreeable bartender.

Lowe said it's simple to explain why dramatic actors like to come play with Gervais. "It's like a vacation," said the Brothers & Sisters series regular.

Anyway, it seems Gervais can't stay away from this film festival. He was here last year with Ghost Town, another jokey fantasy that had a Gervais playing a dentist who could see and hear dead people with unresolved issues. Although, The Invention of Lying has him inhabiting his cheeky self with more authority or lack thereof, depending on the circumstance or situation.

Certainly, The Invention of Lying exists within Gervais' comedy realm so richly defined by his BBC classic The Office and HBO's Extras which both survive in rerun format in the U.S. and Canada. But Gervais said there were some rules in the world of his new movie, fable or not. Most importantly, he said, "my character doesn't lie to get the girl."

And, indeed, Gervais knows his comedy strengths and ignores his weaknesses. Not that he's shy about being in other people's movies.

There was last fall's Ghost Town. Last spring, he co-starred in the second Night at The Museum (he had a cameo in the first one) opposite Ben Stiller. And he had a funny bit in Stardust as a Gervais-like smart-aleck fence a few years before.

Gervais insists he mostly considers himself a comedian, writer and director and sometimes producer who can persuade himself to star in his projects at an affordable price.

To that end, he said he's re-teaming with his Office co-creator and Extras co-star Steve Merchant for his next movie. It's called Cemetery Junction, formerly The Man from the Pru. He just finished filming with Merchant, and it may be a little more serious than his usual escapades. He described it as a cross between The Office and Mad Men trying to be "a coming-of-age yarn" about life in 1970s London.

He also confirmed that his 13-episode animated podcasts called The Ricky Gervais Show will appear on HBO starting in January.

All things considered, he has a full and generally successful list of things he's done and things he has to do. His formula, he admitted, is obvious to him.

"I surround myself," said Gervais, "with people who are better than I am."

Gervais says it's easy to tell when someone is lying
Sheri Block, CTV.ca
September 14, 2009

Ricky Gervais loves to make people laugh and the press conference for his new film "The Invention of Lying" was no exception.

Arriving promptly at 10 a.m., the British funny man who is making his co-directorial debut with the film at TIFF, tells the roomful of journalists how rude it is to be late.

"Everyone look at your watch when they come in," he instructs reporters, in reference to how the rest of the cast, in particular Jennifer Garner, were stragglers.

He says he always arrives early and being late is one of his biggest annoyances.

"I can't believe anyone wouldn't rush to see me," says Gervais, to a roar of laughter.

Gervais, who created the much acclaimed BBC series "The Office" and HBO's "Extras," is certainly hoping people will rush to see his new film -- and find it funny.

Set in a world where lying doesn't exist and everyone says what's on their mind, one average Joe named Mark Bellison (Gervais) discovers he has the ability to tell a lie and uses it to gain fame, fortune and hopefully love.

Opening with a hilarious look at what would happen on a first date if you had to tell the honest truth ("He seems nice, a bit fat. No, I won't be sleeping with him tonight," says Garner's character Anna to her mom on a cell phone during the date), the movie also delves into deeper issues such as morality and religion.

"At no point did we say there definitely isn't a God in this world, we just say that we haven't thought about it or discovered it yet," says Gervais, who produced the film, and co-directed and co-wrote it with newcomer Matthew Robinson.

"Also, isn't it great if it does start a conversation?" says Garner. "Conversation can be controversial or not but religion is something work examining and faith is something worth questioning and talking about."

But Robinson says they had to draw the line somewhere.

"We had stuff on politics, we had stuff on race, we had things like that earlier but it asked more questions than it answered."

"We didn't want to bog people down with the details," adds Gervais.

The truth test:

Gervais says the film addresses how a world without the ability to lie actually isn't as good as one where you can lie as the latter allows people to make moral decisions based on how the truth will be received. Gervais says he actually lies all the time -- but to protect people's feelings.

"'Can you come to my baby's christening?' I go, 'I can't I'm busy.' I don't say, 'Well that doesn't sound like a great day out,'" says Gervais.

"That's what makes you a nice member of the human race, that you can choose when to make a good lie."

Gervais says it's often easy to tell when someone is lying.

"I think you know deep inside when someone's being kind and when someone's being cruel or when someone's just being honest and that's why you surround yourself with people you trust. By definition you don't know whether you're gullible or not, you learn by your mistakes. I think you trust everyone once."

Gervais says he enjoyed directing his first movie alongside Robinson and was thrilled to be able to work with such a talented cast, which also features Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Edward Norton and a cameo by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

It's not uncommon for Gervais to "break" (or ruin) a take because he's laughing so hard and he says this was definitely the case on this film.

"When someone says something funny, I laugh. Just because I heard the line 15 times before, or I even wrote it, it doesn't matter," says Gervais.

It caused a bit of frustration for the actors though, in particular for Garner, who says a lot of her good takes were ruined this way.

"He's encouraging you to improvise, you toss something out there and on top of your line in an unusable way he ruins the take with a cackle that is completely of another world," says Garner, who adds she couldn't stay mad for long as making Gervais laugh is like a badge of honour in itself.

Flanimals on film : News 2009
Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide
Hollywood confirms movie version
April 29, 2009

Ricky Gervais’s Flanimals children’s books are to be made into an animated Hollywood movie.

The comic will voice the lead character, the Puddloflaj, a spherical purple creature on a mission to change the world. He said: ‘It will be great to play a short, fat, sweaty loser for a change. A real stretch.’

The script will be written by Matt Selman, who has previously worked on The Simpsons, and be produced by Chris Meledandri, who also produced The Simpsons Movie and Ice Age.

The movie has been a long time coming. Gervais first announced he was poised to make an $80million film of his creations in 2004, and it took until early last year for publishers Faber & Faber to confirm that the rights had been sold.

Meanwhile, Gervais will also lend his voice to SpongeBob SquarePants.

Writing on his blog, he said: ‘It's just a little cameo in a ten year anniversary special. I record it this week and do a few little bits and pieces for the documentary, too.’

Gervais' 'Flanimals' heads to bigscreen
By Michael Fleming – Variety
April 28, 2009

Universal-based Illumination Entertainment will create a 3-D animated feature based on "Flanimals," a children's book series by Ricky Gervais.

Gervais will voice the lead character, and the script will be written by Matt Selman ("The Simpsons").

The four-volume series, illustrated by Rob Steen, encompasses a world inhabited by 50 species of creatures so ugly and misshapen they become cute and endearing. Gervais' character, a pudgy, perspiring purple creature, goes on a mission to change the world. "It will be great to play a short, fat, sweaty loser for a change," Gervais said. "A real stretch."

Illumination founder Chris Meledandri will produce with Courtney Pledger. Gervais will exec produce.

Illumination, formed to give Universal a presence in family and animated fare, is in production on "Despicable Me," a film that Universal will release July 9, 2010. The pic's lead voices are delivered by Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Danny McBride, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig and Julie Andrews.

Endeavor reps Gervais with U.K.-based United Agents.

Ricky Gervais gets laughs on both sides of the Atlantic
By Kevin Pang
Chicago Tribune
April 2, 2009

If you were to view Ricky Gervais' entire oeuvre, you could start in the morning and be done by dinner. There is not much: two television series, a cameo appearance in films here and there, one starring role in the movie "Ghost Town."

But what little we have on document is clear: Gervais may be one of his generation's greatest comic minds.

Exhibit A: "The Office" (the BBC version, of course) — 12 episodes and a Christmas special of pitch-perfect character studies, set in the most mundane of settings. And what makes it so brilliant isn't the cringe-inducing and oft-uproarious dialogue, it's that it's a love story at heart. And this is what Gervais tells us is his approach to comedy: empathy. Only when we feel for the characters can we laugh at them.

With a DVD of his HBO special "Ricky Gervais: Out of England" released this week, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning writer, actor and director spoke to us from his London home.

Q: Besides specific cultural references, do you find any differences in the humor sensibilities of Americans and the British?

A: There aren't. The differences between Americans and the English don't exist per se. The bigger difference, really, is circumstance and environment.

There are some things Americans champion. There's a more straight-down-the-line honesty with Americans. British do things more camp and sarcastic than Americans do. Americans aim for and celebrate success more. We (British) celebrate the underdog more. Americans are told they can be the next president of the United States, and you know what? They can. We're told it won't happen to you. And you know what? It doesn't.

Q: So would you say the British sense of humor is rooted in cynicism?

A: Yes. We talk about the rain because it rains. We talk about things not working out well, because, hey, sometimes they don't. But there's this optimism that Americans have that the English don't have. It's glass half full and half empty. And Americans see the good in everything.

Q: People seem to recognize the notion of funny when they see or hear it. But it's hard to articulate what makes something funny.

A: I think in general the most important thing in comedy is empathy. We're human. The very first joke was a caveman stubbing his toe and everyone laughed. And they laughed because they knew he didn't mean to do that. Something happened they didn't expect.

Comedy shouldn't just be a reflex. There are comedians out there who do one-liners, and they can throw in a fake punch line and you'd still laugh, because you're laughing at their rhythm. I couldn't laugh at someone I don't like. There are comedians out there who are just unlikable. And I think there's no room for machismo. I don't want a comedian who comes out and tells me how he outwitted the world or how much better he is than me. I want someone (to go) out there and tell me, "I've had a bad day, too."

Q: Is this why your podcasts have been so successful? Because people empathize with your co-star/punching bag Karl Pilkington?

A: There I play the villain. I play the bloke who purposefully sets himself up for a fall. I'm playing the rich, educated man who's frustrated with his stupidity.

But he always wins. Because he's bulletproof, he's untouchable, and he doesn't laugh. I laugh at him. He wins.

Q: Your podcasts had set a Guinness record for most downloads. It seems as if you're enjoying these audio shows.

A: That's probably my favorite thing I do at the moment. From a fun point of view, there's nothing more fun than chatting to Karl for two hours. Poking him, goading him, ridiculing him and then laughing at the things that he says. It's honestly a joy. I don't know if you have this phrase in America, "Money for old rope." It means that when you almost feel guilty, because it hasn't cost you anything. As a business plan, it's too good to be true.

Q: It seems your shows and films aren't just funny for the sake of being funny. They have story, conflicts and resolutions, dramatic tension, narrative arcs built in, but with the thread of humor.

A: Comedy, when decapitated, doesn't resonate. We cut jokes out of "The Office" because we thought it would interfere with the love story, or the realism. In the long run we knew the payback would be bigger in keeping people caring. ... Sometimes there are bigger emotions than a knee-jerk laugh.

Q: Have you watched every episode of the American remake of "The Office?"

A: I've probably watched every episode of Series 1 and 2, but now I probably watch one in three. I watched two on the plane this time of the last series.

Q: Your version only ran 12 episodes. This season finale of the U.S. "Office" will make it 100 episodes total. Does having an open-ended series hurt the storytelling?

A: It makes it more difficult. When you've got a finite arc, it's by definition more conclusive. You get out on top. The love story alone is hard to keep going. Will they, won't they? Yes, they have. That's the end of that.

But they haven't been a slave to the realism or the fake documentary either, which you can't be, because you're thinking, "Why are they still filming there? Why is there a film camera following him on the bus?" That was the single most important thing for us, because it told us why the characters were acting like that. And ours was much more about characters thrown together. And this is more a traditional sitcom than ours ever was.

Q: What's the last thing that made you laugh?

A: You can ask me that every day, and the answer will always be Karl Pilkington. Or Elmo. I've watched that clip with Elmo (being interviewed with Gervais) about 20 times. Elmo is my new best friend. And working with "Sesame Street" is the highlight of my career now. There's no more ambiguity. Is it the Globes? Is it De Niro? Is it David Bowie? Is it "The Simpsons"? No. It's Elmo.

An Israeli version of The Office set for production
By Mark Jefferies
mirror.co.uk
March 31, 2009

Hit comedy The Office is being remade in Israel - the sixth foreign version of the show.

BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, has licensed Ricky Gervais's show to July August Productions, which will make a 15-part series.

It will be shown by satellite station Yes from April next year under a deal announced yesterday.

Ricky said: "I am thrilled and amazed that Israel are making The Office with local writers, directors and actors. I mean, who ever heard of Jewish entertainers?"

Giyora Yahalom, head of production at Yes, said: "We're sure the universal experience of office life will speak to Israeli viewers. There's no doubt our viewers will enjoy the same jokes."

Versions of The Office have also been made in America, Chile, Canada, France and Russia. In the US the critically acclaimed NBC show starring Steve Carell in Gervais's role as deluded boss David Brent is currently nearing the end of its fifth series.

Other BBC Worldwide shows that have aired in Israel include The Weakest Link, Dancing with the Stars and Mastermind.

Sony joins Gervais' 'Pru'
By Ali Jaafar
Variety
March 26, 2009

LONDON -- Sony has boarded Ricky Gervais' "The Men at the Pru."

Pic will be the second U.K. production to come out of the Sony Intl. Motion Picture Production Group, run by Deborah Schindler.

Project is a coming-of-age tale about a group of men working at an insurance company in the 1970s.

Gervais is co-writing, directing and producing with longtime creative partner Stephen Merchant.

The two previously worked together on TV skeins "The Office" and "Extras," as well as a radio show in the U.K.

Gervais will also have a supporting role in the pic, which is set to go into production later this summer.

Charlie Hanson and Sue Baden Powell, who also exec produced Gervais' feature directorial debut, "This Side of the Truth," which Warner Bros. is releasing domestically Sept. 25, will also be involved in a producer capacity.

Schindler's first Brit feature, "The Damned United," will be released in the U.K. today.

Sony was the first of the studios to set up a stand-alone, local-language production unit operating throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America in April 2007.

The Office: Sad News for Ricky Gervais Fans
E! Online
By Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna
March 17, 2009

Oh, those wacky U.K. press peeps. Fact-check, much? That little staple of journalism 101 doesn’t seem to be of high importance across the pond.

Case in point: The U.K.’s Daily Record reported on Friday that Ricky Gervais is heading to the U.S. to make a cameo on the last episode of The Office as David Brent, the boss of the BBC version of our favorite comedy.

Well, we got the real deal from executive producer Paul Lieberstein (Toby!). Here’s what he has to say...

"We love Ricky, but have not had any discussions about an appearance on the U.S. show,” says Paul. "And we haven't given any thought to the final show because it is probably a zillion episodes away.”

So, there you have it. Straight from the boss' mouth. (And a zillion more eps sound pretty good, right?)

The only guests scheduled for now are the previously announced Idris Elba (The Wire, Rocknrolla), who comes back this week, and Amy Ryan (The Wire, Gone Baby Gone), who will return as H.R. goddess Holly Flax by the final episode of the season.

What happens when Ricky Gervais pairs up with Elmo on Sesame Street?
BBC - Newsbeat - Entertainment
March 13, 2009

He said he was appearing a couple of weeks back, but now we've heard some of what went on in the studio.

The comedian pairs up with the Muppet for an interview that fast turns into an unscripted comedy routine, with Gervais asking some awkward questions.

"Why do you wear pyjamas when you're going to bed but you're naked the rest of the time? It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, we're just acting", replies Elmo. "It's called acting Mr. Gervais, acting!"

Both man and puppet crack up several times during the sketch, with the scene straying off track due to Gervais' banter.

He also gives the director a bit of stick, telling her: "You call yourself a professional, you can't even control a Muppet and a fat man."

During one out-take, not to be included in the final programme, the Extras star gives Elmo some David Brent-like interview advice.

"These are the no-go areas: drugs, child abuse, The Holocaust."

The multi-talented comedian, who used to sing in a band, also performs a song with Elmo during the episode.

The final edit of Gervais' guest appearance will be aired on PBS in the US in November as part of the show's 40th anniversary season.

Gervais to sing with Elmo on 'Sesame St'
By Alex Fletcher – Entertainment Reporter - Digital Spy
January 30, 2009

Ricky Gervais has revealed that he will be singing with Elmo on an upcoming episode of Sesame Street.

The British comic will shoot a sketch with the popular red furry character in New York next month.

"They've let me write a song. I can't give too much away but I'm singing to Elmo," said Gervais. "Can't believe my luck. Being paid to go to New York to sing to a furry little thing. As I've said before, all my little friends are freaks."

Gervais admitted in November that he was going to star in the long-running children's show, commenting: "There are some things you don't turn down."

Previous guest stars on the show include David Beckham, James Blunt, REM, Robert De Niro and Jamie Foxx.

Cast of "Characters" Left to Right:
Gareth, David, Tim, Dawn