The Invention of Lying premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last night, and its three biggest stars showed up to walk the red carpet – Ricky Gervais (who not only stars, he’s co-writer and co-director), Jennifer Garner and… Rob Lowe. I’m not a huge Rob Lowe person, so I tend to think Rob showed up to promote his smaller, supporting part in the film just because he really didn’t have anything else to do. The film is about a guy (Gervais) who lives in a world where no one ever lies, so the guy invents lying for his own gain. The film also stars Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Jonah Hill and a slew of other comedians and character actors. It actually looks really good.

Jennifer Garner walked the red carpet for the premiere in a rather stunning, strapless, tiered, green cocktail dress. I can’t find who designed this dress to save my life – to my eye, it looks like Prada, or maybe Oscar de la Renta. Jennifer accessorized with beige and gold platform heels that kind of wash out her legs. But I love her hair when she actually puts some effort into it. She looks really cute – even stunning – when she tries.

My favorite from the red carpet was Ricky Gervais though. I love this man. I love the silly faces he’s making on the red carpet. I like that his version of dressing up is a nice pair of pants, a nice sweater and no tie or jacket. He still looks awesome though!

At the press conference before the premiere, and on the red carpet, Jennifer and Ricky were acting out, of course. Jennifer told reporters that her favorite lie about herself (told by the tabloids) was “There was a lie, just recently, that I have had my lips done, I felt like, have you seen my mum, or my sisters?” Jennifer also gave the lie she’d like to spread around: “I saved a family of twelve by myself as they were burning in a car. I pulled them out and saved them all.”

Rob, Ricky and Jennifer also discussed the Kanye incident, with Jennifer saying, “that’s not honesty, that’s just bad manners. You can choose at any time whether to be civil or not civil — what is the point of thinking it’s cool to wear your honesty on your sleeve at the expense of everyone else?” Ricky praised Jennifer as inherently good, noting “Jen doesn’t even swear. She says things like ‘darn’ and ‘dang’. I asked her what her favourite swear word was, and she said ‘rats’.”

Ricky Gervais talked about the high-concept foundation for the film, saying “A world without lies actually wouldn’t be a very good world…because it would be artless. There would be no white lies, no flattery — I mean, losers don’t need to be told they’re losers every day.” In case you didn’t figure it out, Ricky identifies with “losers” – which makes me wonder why he cast Jennifer Garner as his love interest…

Here’s the trailer for ‘The Invention of Lying’ as well as the cast at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere last night. Images thanks to WENN.com .

Ralph Fiennes, one of the greatest actors working today, has decided to join forces with one of the greatest comedians working today – Ricky Gervais. Ricky and Ralph, Ricky and Ralph! I’m so happy I just squealed.

Ralph signed on to The Men at the Pru, a film that Gervais co-wrote with Stephen Merchant, with Ricky attached as director. This comes just days after it was announced that Ralph would be re-teaming with his old friend Liam Neeson for a remake of Clash of the Titans. Ralph rarely does comedy, but he’s not really the stale, humorless “Actor” that he’s often portrayed as. In interviews, I usually find him funny and charming, and I can see him doing well with a Ricky Gervais script.

Ralph Fiennes is a busy boy these days. First, the news the Oscar-nominated actor is set to join the cast of Clash of the Titans as Hades, lord of the Underworld. It’s also emerged that he’s set to join the cast of The Men At The Pru, the new comedy from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

It’s not yet known who Fiennes will be playing in the 70s-set comedy, which will mark the first time that The Office and Extras creators have written and directed a movie together. But it’s always good to see Fiennes, with a reputation for being ultra-serious, exercising his funnybone. Didn’t do him any harm in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, did it?

The Men At The Pru will start shooting later this year, giving Fiennes time to sort out a scheduling… well, let’s say clash of the titans between that, Clash Of The Titans (of course), his role as Voldemort in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part II, and a cameo in the sequel to Nanny McPhee.

Oh, and after that little lot, he’s going to make his directorial debut on a movie version of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. As ever, we wish him well.

[From Empire Online]

So what exactly will The Men at the Pru be about? UK’s The Independent has a pretty good write up about the film-to-be, and it does sound interesting. Ricky and Ralph will be playing two friends who grew up in Reading, England, which Ricky described as “a seaside town [where] the sexual revolution never hit … I’d be a 45-year-old in 1970, so I’d be one of those people who thought the permissive society was disgusting. That’s why we’re losing our empire.” The characters work for the Prudential, some sort of bank/financial services place that was huge in the 1970s. The film is also described as “a cross between The Office and Mad Men”. Two of my favorites! Excellent.

It is not the usual stuff of celluloid blockbusters – a quirky “dramedy” about two twenty-somethings in the 1970s who work as building society clerks in the dull suburban surrounds of Reading. Then again, nobody thought that about a comedy set in an office in Slough either.

But now Ricky Gervais has just finished writing the script for The Men at the Pru – a major feature film he describes as a cross between The Office and Mad Men.

The story is a “coming-of-age” tale about two friends who work for the Prudential, then a building society, amid the concrete “glamour” of the town where Gervais grew up. The idea first started as a television series, but has now morphed into a feature film which is due to begin filming next year. Gervais and his creative partner, Stephen Merchant, visited the Pru’s London headquarters in February.

They tried to reassure the financial services company that it would provide a backdrop for the drama and not become subject to the same lampooning of white-collar workers as shown in The Office. Jon Bunn, the PR director at the Prudential who met the comedians during their research, said: “They came in to look through our old archived stuff and Merchant then came in separately and went though the archives in more detail. They wanted to find out what the Prudential was like in years gone by.

“They looked at recruitment material, advertising, staff magazines and various other literature. There was also a recruitment advertisement that was shown in the local cinema in Reading which featured actual members of staff. It was an induction video for the Prudential, about it being a good place to work, which they said in a 1970s kind of way,” he said.

Gervais is not speaking about the film, but wrote on his blog: “Did a bit of scouting for The Men at the Pru. Filming won’t start ’til next May or June but locations can really inspire. I’ve also been reading books about my home town of Reading. That’s where the HQ of the Prudential Building Society was in the ’70s.” Gervais has said it would be set “in the 1970s in a seaside town the sexual revolution never hit … I’d be a 45-year-old in 1970, so I’d be one of those people who thought the permissive society was disgusting. That’s why we’re losing our empire.”

[From The Independent ]

Woohoo! Ricky and Ralph forever! At the end of The Independent article, they’ve put some of Ricky’s best quotes, and I found two new favorites: “Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.” And: “If at first you don’t succeed, remove all evidence you ever tried.”

A few days ago, some British newspaper announced that Ricky Gervais was going to make a special guest appearance on the last episode of America’s “The Office”. Not only that, but Ricky was allegedly going to play David Brent, the character from the UK’s “The Office”. Well, the reports were wrong, and now the American producers are setting the record straight.

Producer Paul Lieberstein (who plays Toby on the American version) says that Gervais will not appear on the “final episode” because the final episode is a “zillion episodes away”. Meaning, I suppose, that America’s “The Office” will be milked until Jim and Pam have grand-kids. But Paul/Toby drops a good hint about this season’s finale – Holly (Amy Ryan) will return! AHN has more:

The original “The Office” star and creator Ricky Gervais will not be guest starring in the U.S. version of the comedy mockumentary, contrary to reports.

U.K.’s The Daily Record reported last week that the British comedian will make a cameo on the last episode of the American sitcom as David Brent, his character in the BBC version of the show.

However, executive Paul Lieberstein said Gervais’ appearance is not happening anytime soon because the final episode is still a “zillion episodes away.”

Lieberstein, who also stars in the show as Toby Flenderson, told eonline.com, “We love Ricky, but have not had any discussions about an appearance on the U.S. show. And we haven’t given any thought to the final show because it is probably a zillion episodes away.”

As for the final episode of the season, a guest star would still appear in the person of “Gone Baby Gone” star Amy Ryan, who will return as Holly Flax.

From AHN

I have really high hopes that Amy Ryan will come back for an extended visit. Holly and Michael are adorable together, and Amy Ryan the actress could do a lot worse than “series regular” on a hit show. She’s an Oscar-nominated actress (for Gone Baby Gone), but until “The Office” she was known only as a dramatic actress. The kicker is that she’s really funny, and doing exclusive film work isn’t all that great. Bring back Holly! And sign up Gervais, for the love of God. Just thinking about seeing Steve Carrell and Ricky Gervais in the same room already has me in stitches.

Ricky Gervais thinks he’s fat. And he thinks it’s all his own fault. Ricky says, in his own no-nonsense way, that he’s “fat” because he eats too much and he’d rather not give it up. I find both the premise and the explanation debatable. Ricky’s not fat, he’s just got more to love! And scientists are finding out more and more that body weight has a lot to do with genetics.

Ricky Gervais has accepted that he’ll never have a toned body. The comedian enjoys stuffing himself.

‘I’m fat because I eat too much and I’d rather not give up food,’ he says. ‘It’s not glandular, it’s greed.’

Ricky, 47, has had a gym installed at his New York apartment and he reckons it’s helped stop him from growing any bigger.

‘If I didn’t work out I’d still eat as much but instead of being probably 20 pounds overweight, I would be 40 pounds overweight,’ he tells The Observer Food Monthly.

‘I don’t think a comedian should be worried about their weight.’

From Now Magazine

First, I love that Ricky Gervais gave an interview to a food magazine. That alone is something to be appreciated. Second, Ricky’s right: comedians shouldn’t be worried about their weight. There is a grand tradition of overweight comedians, from John Belushi to Chris Farley to Jackie Gleason (who wasn’t really a comedian, he always wanted to be a dramatic actor). Ricky is fine the way he is, and if some manorexic Hollywood producer tells him to lose weight, that guy will have to answer to me.

Furthermore, lots of women love a man who’s a little bit bigger – I’m one of them. I like to eat, and I appreciate that quality in men. Too many guys think that the key to getting women is washboard abs, when it’s so not the case.

Ricky Gervais is shown on 2/17/09 leaving Capital Radio studios in Leicester Square. Credit: WENN.com

Ricky Gervais hates us. All of us, sitting here, talking about him. Ricky thinks we’re “deficient”. He thinks we’re the equivalent of bathroom-stall pseudo-poets. And he wants to let us all know that he isn’t listening. Even if we think you’re brilliant, Ricky? Apparently, because Ricky says that even the flattering stuff “isn’t healthy”.

I can’t find where Ricky originally made these comments, but Contact Music has some pretty good quotes. Ricky probably doesn’t really hate us, he’s just trying to ignore us for the sake of his art. He basically claims that no one liked his stuff until he actually did it, and it’s better for him to tune out the bad and the good comments on his work.

Ricky Gervais refuses to read fans’ opinions about his comedy shows because he’s convinced he knows best. “The Office” creator recently described people who criticise celebrities in online forums as “deficient in some way”, insisting it’s equal to responding to inane graffiti on toilet walls.

But he has now qualified his comments, fearing he has offended fans.

He says, “It was not aimed at anyone in particular, no particular forum or fansite as I never read those things. I read a couple a few years ago and, as sweet and flattering as it was, it isn’t healthy.

“With everyone in the world having strong and completely different opinions on the minutiae of your work, it might start influencing your decisions… I appreciate that fans have views on my work – I just don’t want to hear them. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I mean I don’t take notes.”

“It’s not that I think I know better than everyone else in the world; it’s just that I feel the best work is never done by committee or by pandering to the most popular suggestions. I think I have the best fans in the world. The stuff I’ve produced over the past few years could never have been the success it was without the initial dedication of the hard core few. However I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a lift with them.”

From Contact Music

It’s a tough call, blasting your critics as well as your fans. I completely understand what Ricky’s saying, but it might be taken as biting the hand that feeds him. I hope people get where he’s coming from.

Since we know that Ricky’s not reading, what is the worst we could say about him? Hey, Ricky, you’re so…I don’t know… pasty? That’s as bad as I can get for Ricky. I love him, but I know he doesn’t care.

Ricky Gervais is shown at the Golden Globes with his partner Jane Fallon on 1/11/09. Credit: WENN

Ricky Gervais is a crazy, hilarious genius. He plots and plots away in his lair, which I think is probably a nice rental in Los Angeles. What is he plotting, dare you ask? He’s plotting a way to get rid of both Victoria “Posh” Beckham and Paris Hilton.

Ricky was really upset that not only is Paris Hilton filming her horrid BBF show in London, she actually dared to buy a house in London, not far from Ricky’s house. Ricky feels that this insult to his country is some sort of cosmic payback for America accepting Posh into our hearts and our country.

Attempting to rectify the situation, Ricky wrote an open letter to President Obama on his blog, This Side of Truth, with a proposal for sending both of the paparazzi targets back to their home countries. Here’s the letter, in it’s entirety.

Dear Mr President,

Firstly, congratulations on your historic win. I have never been so behind a candidate for what must be considered the boss of the world.

You seem to be a man of grace and integrity, who would never shirk responsibility in any way.

I’ll get to the point.

As I’m sure you are aware, one of your flock has strayed. A Miss Paris Hilton, who is, I believe, a resident of Beverley Hills, is in England doing a reality game show for ITV2 called Paris Hilton’s British Best Friend. Fine. I have no problem with that. I don’t have to watch. But now it has come to my attention that she has bought a house in North London a few miles from me, and is out and about ingratiating herself with the Great British public.

Mr President. We are not stupid. This is clearly a retaliatory strike for Posh Spice moving to LA. I know it, and you know it, so let’s cut the “it’s a free country” nonsense and come to some agreement.

I propose an exchange.

This is how it would work. We call them both and tell them that we’ve found a giant “paparazzi nest”, in New York say. (half way home for both of them already)

At first they may be confused that they’d never heard of such a thing before, but the thought of that many photographers in one place will be irresistible.

Once we get them there, while they are having their photos taken (we will have hire a few guys with cameras to make it look good) we will swap their limos around. It’s fool proof.

This is a covert operation of which Mr Gordon Brown knows nothing. (I’ve got him working on finding a synthetic fur for The Queen’s guards’ bearskin hats.)

Have your people call my people. They may have to call a few times as my people are useless to be honest.

Thank you,
Ricky Gervais

From Ricky Gervais’s This Side of Truth blog

I had a great time reading Ricky’s blog – he does weekly posts and of course, all of the material is the kind of profane genius that loses something in translation. There’s another kind of covert operation not mentioned by Ricky – to get Gervais to host the 2010 Oscars. Brilliant.

Ricky Gervais is shown on 1/11/09 at the Golden Globes and on 1/7/09 with his partner Jane Fallon outside The Late Show. Credit: WENN

At the Golden Globes on Sunday, Ricky Gervais was one of the high points. His short presenting duties included as aside to friend Kate Winslet, who had, just minutes earlier, won the Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for The Reader. Gervais said to Winslet, “Well done Winslet. I told you, do a Holocaust movie and the awards come, didn’t I? Trouble is with Holocaust films is there’s never any gag reel on the DVDs.” After mostly laughter and a few groans, Garvais did a bit as if he had an angel and devil on his shoulders trying to persuade him to either not do the bit, or to do the bit. Gervais got a lot of laughs, and even better press. Well, the American press loves him. The British press, not so much. Apparently, after the Globes, several British tabloids claimed that Ricky’s bit didn’t go down well. Ricky, in turn, is lashing out the British press on his official website.

Comedian Ricky Gervais has unleashed a bitter tirade against the British media – accusing U.K. journalists of putting a negative spin on his recent Golden Globe Awards antics because they are “jealous” of his successful career.

The Office star provoked a storm of controversy at Sunday’s (11Jan09) prizegiving ceremony in Los Angeles by telling a risque joke about the Holocaust while presenting fellow Brit, Kate Winslet, with an award for her performance in World War II movie The Reader.

Gervais told the crowd, “Well done Winslet. I told you, do a Holocaust movie and the awards come, didn’t I? Trouble is with Holocaust films is there’s never any gag reel on the DVDs.”

The funnyman’s comments sparked outrage amongst the U.K. press, but Gervais has criticised the negative commentary about his gaff.

He writes on his official website, “The joke about Kate Winslet may have got the biggest laugh of the night. Everyone who spoke to me said so anyway. All the U.S. press said it was funny including Jewish magazine Heeb. TV Guide made it one of their top moments. New York Daily News said it was ‘Hilarious.’ The Boston Globe said “British comic Ricky Gervais proved once again to be the highlight of an awards show.”

“So why did a couple of English papers say it went down badly? Because they’re jealous lying c***s who’s (sic) lives haven’t turned out like they planned and want everyone to be as unhappy as they are.”

From contactmusic.com

Well done, Gervais. Put the tabloids in their place. From what I can see, the British papers seem to have a love-hate relationship with Gervais – and many other celebrities. I’m not sure calling them “jealous lying c–ts” is the best media strategy, but sure, throw it against the wall and see if it sticks. It’s always seemed that the American press is a lot nicer to the British talents who try to make it in our country as opposed to the British press who, I can only guess, feel abandoned? Is that it? Do the British tabloids have abandonment issues? Is their treatment of Ricky Gervais the equivalent of pulling his hair and running away to let him know they have a crush on him?

Note by Celebitchy: When Gervais reminded Kate Winslet that he told her to do a Halocaust movie, he was making a reference to an appearance she made as herself on his show, “Extras.” Gervais gave Winslet the advice in an episode of the show, so it’s not like he pulled that reference out of thin air.

Ricky Gervais and his girlfriend, producer Jane Fallon, are shown at the Golden Globes on 1/11/09. Credit: WENN

English funnyman Ricky Gervais is promoting the DVD release of Ghost Town, and sat down for a phone interview with CNN to talk class, English humor, and misanthropy. Gervais riffs on the differences between Americans and Brits, and makes a few sweeping generalizations about his countrymen.

“Ghost Town” earned generally good reviews and a decent box office upon its late-summer release, with the Boston Globe’s Ty Burr comparing Gervais to a Hollywood legend. “Someone once said about W.C. Fields that he had the rare ability to despise amusingly. I can imagine no greater compliment than to say that Ricky Gervais seems, at his best, like a young Fields,” Burr wrote.

That kind of misanthrope is the furthest thing from the Gervais of the phone interview, an engaging man who answers questions with patience and thoughtfulness. Asked why British actors play socially unpleasant roles so well, he ponders the question, makes asides to how often British actors play villains and “bumbling fops” and soon offers a disquisition on the differences between British and American culture.

“I think we play the loser well because England’s full of them,” he says. “We celebrate our losers, we celebrate our underdogs, we celebrate those people — [and then] we build them up and then we don’t like them anymore. Whereas Americans celebrate success. Americans are brought up to believe they can be the next president of the United States. British people are told it won’t happen to you. It sounds like a generalization, but it’s true.”

[From CNN]

There might be some truth to what Gervais is saying – judging solely from the British tabloids and newspapers, I do tend to think the British are meaner, and take more glee in tearing someone down. And there does seem to be a national characteristic of celebrating the underdog in England.

Continuing with his class-obsession, Gervais announces that he and his “The Office” co-creator Steven Merchant have just co-written a film about 1970s England. I think I might be the only person in the world to have never seen the original UK version of “The Office”, but I’ve seen Gervais give Steve Carell respect for where Carell has taken the American version. In this interview, Gervais goes even further, chatting about how much he’d like to work with Carell.

He adds that he just finished writing a film with Steven Merchant called “The Man from the Pru,” set in early-’70s England. “It’s about class, and it’s about can you escape being born living, growing up and dying in the same street,” he says. “I know that’s the same the world over … but it’s because Britain is so small and so diverse. You really couldn’t get out of your class before celebrity came along. The American class system always seemed a bit fairer to me, because it was built on achievement as opposed to blood.”

Since Gervais likes to write his own material, he’s careful about the roles he takes, even with Hollywood beckoning. “Ghost Town” was a good fit, he says, because he and [director] Koepp hit it off so well. “The whole thing was really collaborative,” he says. “I’m not usually an actor for hire, but this was great.”

Indeed, it’s the collaboration that made it, he says. He welcomes that kind of bouncing ideas back and forth, and says he’d love to do something with Steve Carell, who plays the American version of Brent, Michael Scott, on the U.S. version of “Office.” The two had a memorably hilarious exchange at this year’s often unfunny Emmy show.

“I would love to host anything with Steve Carell,” he says. “I would do a cat show with Steve Carell. I would do Computer Nerds’ Mr. Universe with Steve Carell. So if anyone asks me if I will host a show with Steve Carell, the answer’s yes.”

Perhaps that could happen soon: Gervais’ name is often bandied about in rumors about awards show hosting duties. However, he adds, he remains in the dark about it all.

[From CNN]

If any of you saw the Emmy telecast this year, you know that the Steve Carell/Ricky Gervais bit was the funniest thing ever – certainly the funniest thing in what was maybe the worst Emmy show *ever*. And I would pay big money to see The Cat Show starring Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell. It would be the biggest movie of the year! But knowing those two, there might be some dead cats at the end of filming, so the ASPCA would have to get involved. So let me put my two cents in – make Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais co-hosts of next year’s Emmys. That would be brilliant stunt-hosting!

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Ricky Gervais doing some last minute Christmas shopping in London on December 22nd. Images thanks to WENN.