Monday’s coverage of the Golden Globes is likely to be dominated by one thing: the decision to keep Ricky Gervais on as the awards’ host for a third year. The comedian’s controversial skewering of celebrities overshadowed last year’s show so much that aspects of his performance were deemed “totally unacceptable” by Philip Berk, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the awards’ organisers. Though even Gervais believed he would never be invited back, the discomfort he caused among Hollywood’s elite garnered so much exposure for the ceremony that the organisers were compelled to take another chance on the comic.
This year the Golden Globes are making an effort to regain their reputation with a canny set of nominations that champion creativity. In the past, the awards have been criticised for favouring blockbusters over craft and credibility (opting for Avataras best picture in the year that the Academy Awards chose The Hurt Locker, for example), but this year The Artist, a black-and-white French film without dialogue, has picked up six nominations compared with just three for Hugo, Martin Scorsese's 3D family film.
Irish hopes rest on Michael Fassbender, up for best actor in a drama for his portrayal of a sex addict in Steve McQueen's Shame, and Brendan Gleeson, nominated for best actor in a comedy or musical for his performance in John Michael McDonagh's The Guard. The film Albert Nobbs, a production of Irish company Parallel films, is also up for three awards.
