Golden Globe audience up, Gervais' hosting panned

LOS ANGELES: Host Ricky Gervais may have turned off the audience members and critics at Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards, but viewers seemed turned on, watching the show in larger numbers than one year ago.

The Golden Globes, an annual film and TV awards show in Hollywood, drew just under 17 million total viewers to network NBC, which was up slightly from 2010 when British comedian Gervais, who is known for his acerbic sense of humor, hosted for the first time, according to audience figures released on Monday.

Last year's ceremony was up 14 percent from 2009's roughly 15 million viewers, and the upward trend shows the telecast is recovering somewhat from the 2008 Hollywood writers strike which reduced the Globes to a news conference.

Still, this year's viewership of 16.99 million show is down from 2007, when some 20 million viewers tuned in to watch Hollywood's A-list stars parade up the red carpet in their finest gowns and tuxedos and, for the lucky few, accept awards for movies, TV shows, performances and music.

Gervais' hosting duties on Sunday night brought some often harsh criticism from reviewers. During the show, the comedian took shots at Charlie Sheen's drinking and partying, Robert Downey, Jr.'s years-ago issues with drugs and alcohol, the critically panned movie "The Tourist" that was nominated for best comedy, and even the organizers of the show.

His sense of humor on the ceremony's center stage was so caustic that Downey, Jr., remarked on stage that Sunday's ceremony was "unusually mean-spirited."

Many critics seemed to agree. Los Angeles Times TV critic Mary McNamara wrote on Monday that "it quickly became clear that his material wasn't just falling flat, it was making many audience members and presenters uncomfortable and even angry."

Washington Post reviewer Hank Stuever wrote, "Somehow Gervais has lost some of his ability to be funny about being true."

Bold, elegant gowns top fashion on red carpet

BEVERLY HILLS: Hollywood's A-list stars made bold, elegant fashion statements on the red carpet at the Golden Globe Awards Sunday with gowns that featured sequins, beading, and asymmetrical structures.

"I think at one point, actors may have thought it (a bold choice) was too much pageantry, but this year was definitely about making a statement," fashion designer and red carpet expert Nick Verreos said.

He singled out "Glee" star Lea Michele's Oscar de la Renta gown that looked like it was "built into her body" and movie actress Olivia Wilde's Marchesa ball gown as examples of stars saying, "I'm not going to blend in!"

For her part, Wilde said her sequined gown was "dramatic and elegant ... I liked that it was on chocolate brown and I knew it would reflect the sun."

Melissa Leo, best supporting actress nominee for "The Fighter," also went with sequins, choosing a black Mark Bouwer dress that had a train.

"It had a weight to it and I like that in a dress," Leo said. "And if you have enough room, and people aren't trotting on it, wearing a train is one of the most delightful things a girl can wear.

The Golden Globes annually are one of Hollywood's most-watched awards shows and come only weeks ahead of the Oscars. As a result, many A-list stars show up for the program, and fashion designers around the world seek to have the actresses where their gowns on the red carpet.

Style expert and TV personality Sam Saboura called the Golden Globes: "the night of the black swans and the swan queens" alluding to best drama movie nominee "Black Swan" and the number of polar opposite colors on the red carpet.

There were many black gowns -- Halle Berry, Piper Perabo, Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Stiles and Eva Longoria -- and plenty light creams, taupes, peaches and pinks as seen on Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Williams, Scarlet Johanssen, Megan Fox, Emma Stone and the pregnant Natalie Portman.

"It was one of the only ones I tried on," said Portman of her light Viktor and Rolf gown that had a red flower emblazoned on it. "It was so beautiful, we realized nothing else would compare."

Many stars didn't shy away from color. There were vibrant reds, vivid pinks, and one color that is sure to be a spring trend -- green.

"There were more emerald green and forest greens than ever before," said David Gomez Pearlberg, fashion executive for Junko Yoshioka New York, citing Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Mila Kunis.

Regardless of style or color, "it was sparkle and shine done in a new way, with plenty of three-dimensional embellishment," Saboura said.

The bold statements made by the actresses were a stark contrast to last year's subdued red carpet that came on the heels of a devastating earthquake in Haiti.

"It was a more elegant Hollywood than we've ever seen before. There were so many more hits than misses," Pearlberg said.

Preparations for 68th Golden Globe Award in full swing

LOS ANGELES: The countdown to Sunday's 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards is on, and the British comedian Rickey Gervais is set to front the ceremony -- which takes place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California on Sunday -- for the second time and jokingly claimed he doesn't want to mock anyone during the show who will want retribution.

He said: "I only go for the weak and the feeble. I'm not going to have a go at Russell Crowe or Mickey Rourke. Mickey Rooney maybe. Betty White, I'm not scared of her. You've gotta to choose your targets wisely."

Ricky, 49, also admitted he plans to poke fun at Charlie Sheen -- who has recently hit the headlines for wild partying with porn stars -- and Mel Gibson, whose angry rants were exposed in a series of leaked voicemail messages to former lover Oksana Grigorieva last year.

The 68th annual Golden Globe Awards is set for Sunday in Beverly Hills.

Globes face lawsuit on eve of Hollywood show

LOS ANGELES: A former publicist for the Golden Globes show is suing its organizers for breach of contract and allegedly taking bribes, a lawyer said, on the eve of the annual Hollywood awards gala.

Michael Russell, who worked for the Globes' organizers for 17 years, wants at least two million dollars in damages and lost wages from them and accusing them of running a "payola" scheme, according to the lawsuit, obtained by a French news agency.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) dismissed the action as a case of "a disgruntled former consulting firm" trying to cash in.

The lawsuit was filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, three days ahead of Sunday's glitzy Golden Globes show, seen as a pointer to success in the far more prestigious Academy Awards next month.

"Michael Russell has brought this lawsuit in the hope that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will take these problems seriously and change their practices," said Russell's lawyer Tim McGonigle on Friday.

The heart of the complaint was that HFPA members could receive compensation from film companies in return for lobbying for certain movies to be nominated for the awards.

"Journalists are supposed to be independent, and representing films to the members, that's a conflict of interest," he said.

The 36-page legal document includes the allegations that "HFPA members abuse their positions and engage in unethical and potentially unlawful deals and arrangements which amount to a 'payola' scheme."

It says the Golden Globes lost its network television contract in 1982 following a scandal involving alleged kickbacks, but after Russell started to work for them in 1993 they secured a deal with NBC in 1995.

The 10-year deal -- which runs out this year -- was initially worth a reported 12 million dollars a year to the Globes, but that increased to 26 million a year, it says.

The HFPA dismissed the lawsuit, calling the allegations "completely without merit.

"This is no more than the case of a disgruntled former consulting firm, whose contract was not renewed, attempting to take advantage once again of the Globe's international stage for their own gain," it said in a statement.

Sunday's show kicks off Tinsel Town's annual awards season, leading up to the Oscars on February 27.

British historical drama "The King's Speech" starring Colin Firth and Helen Bonham-Carter leads with seven nominations for the Globes, followed by six for Facebook movie "The Social Network."

Industry insiders point to the HFPA's relatively tiny voting body of 81 members, against the Academy Awards' more than 5,700, alleging that the Globes are too open to undue influence by movie companies.

One film's inclusion in the shortlist this year triggered smirks around Hollywood.

"The Tourist," starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, was critically panned but nominated surprisingly in the comedy or musical category, in what gossips suggested was a blatant bid to gets its A list stars to attend Sunday.