FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Dan of Orange on October 10, 2011, 03:42:12 PM
-
Hey there everybody.
Ricky Gervais is on Twitter now: @rickygervais if you're a fan?
-
Hey there everybody.
Ricky Gervais is on Twitter now: @rickygervais if you're a fan?
What is it if you're not a fan?
-
Now how could that be? ;)
-
Is the Office UK on twitter? Because that I would follow.
-
@davidbrent is.
-
Now how could that be? ;)
Just happened that way.
-
Wait, there are people who aren't fans of this?
(http://inkandvoice.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/ricky-gervais.jpg)
-
(http://urlybits.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Ricky-Gervais-New-Humanist-Cover.jpg)
-
His new show will probably be controversial, it's starring little person Warwick Davis.
Tweet That! - Life's Too Short (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2TtqePh3xw#ws)
-
I hold out hope that despite an increasingly spotty track record his new show will turn out to be great. But I've become irritated with his public persona more and more over the years, precisely because he has turned into what he once mocked. Clearly the ego-tripping of his characters in The Office and Extras came from some well of real insecurity. I think he was using those shows partly to explore his own desperate desire to be a star, and that's what made them powerful. He seemed disturbed by that side of himself. He then continued to deal with this obsession by impersonating a pompous celebrity, but at some point the impersonation becomes indistinguishable from the man and you end up with things like that magazine cover.
-
I agree with you too some extent, maybe he has more juice left in the tank for another great series or two, if he can get over this awkward phase? Time will tell.
-
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ricky-gervais-twitter-christian-fundamentalist-276131 (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ricky-gervais-twitter-christian-fundamentalist-276131)
One particular Twitter user, @GodsWordIsLaw, has been verbally sparring with Gervais since last week. According to @GodsWordIsLaw's Twitter page, his name is Keith and he represents Minnesota's Christians for a Moral World. A sampling of their Twitter posts are below:
@GodsWordIsLaw: "That picture of @RickyGervais on a fake cross hanging like Jesus with the words "Atheist" on his body...MOST OFFENSIVE THING IVE EVER SEEN"
@GodsWordIsLaw: "I forgive you @RickyGervais but will God? Quit with your bigotry and @CFAMW will leave you alone."
@GodsWordIsLaw: "Just wasted 5 minutes of my life watching the disgusting Atheist PIG @RickyGervais on youtube. He is not even funny!!! #GodWillNotBeMocked."
@RickyGervais: "I am not anti christian. I am anti bigot @GodsWordIsLaw I don't believe in ANY god. I treat all religions equally. And all good people."
@RickyGervais: "@GodsWordIsLaw @MargieJPhelps 'My religion is Kindness' Dalai Lama. You should try it. Not supernatural or random but its fu--ing magical."
@RickyGervais: I think we can save Keith. He's not as hateful as he thinks. He's obviously been hurt and sold a lie. Kindness will cure him. Thoughts?
-
Ricky Gervais, in full-on Dalai Lama mode, practicing the religion of Kindness:
(http://moviesblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/warwick-pilkington.jpg)
-
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/magazine/ricky-gervais-would-like-to-non-apologize.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/magazine/ricky-gervais-would-like-to-non-apologize.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all)
Dressed in a black T-shirt and bluejeans, Gervais, now 50, has slimmed down noticeably from his days on “The Office.” ... Gervais spoke at greatest length about his comedy, occasionally adopting the whispery, professorial tone of someone who is certain he is saying very profound things. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said of the Golden Globes.
-
The Office UK is one of my favorite shows of all-time but doesn't hold up as well as one would think. It's high points are absolutely amazing but there are a bunch of scenes in there which lead nowhere and are condescending. (David selling janitorial supplies, for one.) Extras bored me to tears.
The Office US trumps the original. They framed the plot better. The thing that always bothered me was how David got his job when it showed him as having no talents whatsoever. He was a buffoon, whereas Michael Scott had some savant like powers in sales and, despite his glaring social flaws, was an effective manager.
-
He's fifty fucking year old?!
-
Weird, since he has such an amazing body.
-
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/magazine/ricky-gervais-would-like-to-non-apologize.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/magazine/ricky-gervais-would-like-to-non-apologize.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all)
Dressed in a black T-shirt and bluejeans, Gervais, now 50, has slimmed down noticeably from his days on “The Office.” ... Gervais spoke at greatest length about his comedy, occasionally adopting the whispery, professorial tone of someone who is certain he is saying very profound things. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said of the Golden Globes.
Hmm...
Well, I'm still interested in watching "The Golden Globes", something I would have never said before he hosted...
-
Derek | 12th April | Channel 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1TGQjJW2lk&feature=player_embedded#ws)
What the hell?
-
Derek | 12th April | Channel 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1TGQjJW2lk&feature=player_embedded#ws)
What the hell?
He's teamed up with the Farrelly brothers???
-
He's fifty fucking year old?!
Watch it
-
Ricky Gervais and Louis C.K. go to New York....and back (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCv84GhgWGw#ws)
I don't know what to make of this.
-
I sent a link to Tom about Ricky's new show 'Derek', hope he got it. Even if you were the hippest hep cat in all the comedy world you might have a problem with it and i certainly do.
-
Derek | 12th April | Channel 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1TGQjJW2lk&feature=player_embedded#ws)
What the hell?
He's just gross now, or has he always been? Was he even acting in "The Office"?
-
So I wanted to hate it but Derek is actually quite good. Not offensive in the slightest. In fact, you'll probably shed a tear.
-
It seems like if he did all the same work but wasn't so self-righteous in interviews, people wouldn't hate his stuff so much. There are plenty of other comics who get lots of love for much spottier ouevres. Maybe I'm just stating the obvious.
-
If nothing else those YouTube promos seem to reveal that Karl Pilkington was a character. I actually have a much greater admiration for the Ricky Gervais podcast if that's true.
-
Karl's not a character, he had the same off kilter view of the world when they first started having him on XFM radio in about 2001. He changed a lot though.
-
I don't' think it's totally an act, but Pilkington is pretty self-aware and there has been a certain amount of thought put into his persona. In those early radio shows (circa 2001 when Ricky and Stephen were just barely known in England) he laughs quite a bit and, despite spouting all the same odd ideas, comes off as pretty normal. He gradually develops the blank and dopey affect over the course of a year or two.
-
I have to admit I don't understand why one's feelings about Gervais are so impacted by whether Karl P. is a constructed persona or not. Is it because Tom has referred to Gervais' mocking a mentally ill person on those podcasts? I'm not sure how literally Tom meant it, but I had never heard that claimed about Karl Pilkington, so I assumed Tom was either hyperbolizing or just hadn't listened that closely.
Myself, I don't hate Gervais as much as some here, but I haven't had the slightest interest in any of his projects since The Office and the podcast. I'm not gonna watch Derek, but the thought of it making me "shed a tear" sets off my Jerry Lewis-dar a bit.
-
It's not really about my feelings about Gervais the person so much as the Gervais podcast. I thought it was pretty funny but not worth paying for. But if Pilkington's really a dope, it's not nearly as interesting to me than if he's invented this character (which I'd suspected and hoped all along). Not so much for the moral reasons Tom cites, but because I enjoy and admire when a comedian or broadcaster puts the time and craft into creating a funny/unusual radio persona. It's one of the things I love about Comedy Bang Bang or Superego -- when, say, somebody like Nick Kroll creates a funny and original character, I like it more than just listening to some weirdo. If it's just someone putting a mic in front of a buffoon, like Howard Stern with the wack pack, I enjoy that too on occasion, but not nearly as much. I think of it as more disposable and I certainly don't find it as funny.
Put another way, I enjoy documentary or "reality-based" radio like WTF or The Dusty Show, but I approach it in a very different way than I do something featuring an improv character, and I rarely laugh at it (Maron's monologues aside, which are funny, but I'm really listening to WTF for the emotional honesty).
-
Remember when he received unanimous praise from everyone on the Internet?
-
It looks like Stephen Merchant's on WTF this week, so maybe Gervais will make an appearance soon?
Either way, I hope there's little to no Cemetery Junction talk. Good lord did that movie stink.
-
Wow, I totally forgot about that movie. I doubt it will get a mention.
-
I sent a link to Tom about Ricky's new show 'Derek', hope he got it. Even if you were the hippest hep cat in all the comedy world you might have a problem with it and i certainly do.
Ha - I just clicked thru to YouTube to see what else was up for this show, and the "like" most comment on this clip (at least for now) is:
"Playing it safe. Never go full retard."
-
It was hard to think much of Gervais after seeing Garry Shandling's own first impressions, but I've since warmed back up a bit.
Ricky Gervais Meets... Garry Shandling - The Highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LljWm8umGIE#)
-
(http://www.rickygervais.com/images/tsott_020512_1.jpg)
Notice how none of the quotes on the DVD box cover are attributed? They're all from Ricky.
-
I actually quite enjoy the Ricky Gervais Show, but Ricky is my least favorite part of it.
-
First it doesn't post. Then it does.
Sorry I've started a new thread.
-
(http://dailyatheistquote.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/rickygervaisquote.jpg)
He's still here, Christians. DEAL WITH IT.
-
I wonder if Gervais genuinely believes episodes of Derek are among his best work or if he's just promoting himself. The downhill plummet of his career, artistically speaking, is oddly fascinating to me. Kevin Smith has at least been generally consistent in his mediocrity.
-
Wow, that Gervais & Shandling video is pretty crazy, is that real, like, not a bit? It seems like Shandling is giving Gervais a pretty hard time for no reason. The scene with the coffee is pretty awesome.
-
Shandling was attempting a social experiment of sorts, much to the bewilderment of Gervais. Shandling explained the circumstances in an article Paydirt! posted a while back, see his post (http://www.friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php?topic=7689.msg169800#msg169800):
As much of a definitive answer as we're ever likely to get (and an excellent read besides):
http://www.gq.com/entertainment/humor/201008/comedy-issue/comedy-issue-garry-shandling (http://www.gq.com/entertainment/humor/201008/comedy-issue/comedy-issue-garry-shandling)
While completing the DVD extras for Sanders, Shandling had been struck by the idea that Gervais would be a great addition. Though he'd never appeared on the show, Gervais had spoken openly about how Sanders inspired him. So Garry called Gervais and asked if he'd do it. The answer was yes, but Gervais also had a request. While he was in Garry's home, could they also shoot his Channel 4 show? Shandling agreed, and all was well until the day of the dueling interviews, when wires got crossed. Garry says he assumed they would shoot the "visit" for the DVD extra first, because "that laid-back, not-on tone is good preparation for saying, 'Let's turn it on'" later, for Gervais's special.
But when Shandling walked into his kitchen, he realized instantly that Gervais thought the Channel 4 special was being shot first. Gervais was on—extremely so—and so were several cameras. Garry could have said something but wanted to see what would happen if he played it out. What if he stayed in the same low-affect head space he was in to do his DVD extras? Could he reach Gervais without explicitly identifying the problem? Could he bring Gervais's energy level down?
"It's fascinating, really," Garry tells me. "We both became locked into the shows we were each doing, and it became a bit of a boxing match. Because he's trying to get me to do the show that he needs, and I'm trying to get him to do nothing. I was trying to pull Ricky into the moment."