Golden Globes 2012: Which celebrities will Ricky Gervais skewer? - Toronto Star

If revenge is a dish best served cold, you can only imagine what might be on Mel Gibson's menu at the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday night.

Ricky Gervais, the mock-master whose barbs targeted Gibson and other stars at last year's telecast, is back at the host's podium for a third time. And Gibson is slated to be an awards presenter, destined to be introduced by his tormentor.

A year ago, it seemed certain that Gervais, the caustic British comic, would not be invited back to host the film and television awards show — seen as the annual, more rowdy precursor to the Oscars — after many concluded he had pushed the insult envelope too far.

Robert Downey Jr., who was also a butt of Gervais's biting swipe, described the atmosphere at last year's ceremony as "hugely mean-spirited, with mildly sinister undertones." He also returns Sunday as a presenter. As does Cher, another target of a Gervais jibe last year.

Angelina Jolie was dissed for The Tourist last year; this time she's a nominee for her directing debut, In The Land of Blood and Honey, up for Best Foreign Language Film. Will she be the one to finally award Gervais the shin kick he deserves?

It doesn't seem to matter to the British comic, actor and co-creator of the original The Office, who was on a non-apology tour last week.

"I don't know what I did wrong, really," Gervais told Matt Lauer on the Today show. "What did I say that was untrue? I made a joke suggesting that Charlie Sheen might like a night out. I said that Robert Downey Jr. spent some time in clinics. And he did. I'm not judging him by that; it's a joke."

In fact, Gervais told Ellen DeGeneres when he appeared on her talk show he was "shocked at the reaction" to his quips.

"I knew what I was doing — it was standup. I know where the gasps are going to come. I know when the laughs are going to come," he told DeGeneres.

While Hollywood may have cringed, TV execs cheered. Almost 17 million people watched on NBC, up slightly from when Gervais first hosted in 2010. In Canada, it was the most-watched telecast since 2004, with 3.2 million viewers on CTV.

The red carpet pre-show airs live at 7 p.m. on CTV Two on Sunday with the awards telecast following at 8 p.m. on CTV.

The stars are also defiantly telling Gervais to bring it.

"I'll probably get the piss taken out of me, but it's fine with me," Elton John, nominated for his song from Gnomeo & Juliet, told the Associated Press. "I'm British. I can take it."

So if Gervais is unapologetic and Hollywood will be out in full force and ready to take it on the chin, we see plenty of punchline potential. Here are some prime targets:

Kim Kardashian

Why she's a target: The reality star married basketball player Kris Humphries in a widely publicized, grotesquely lavish ceremony and filed for divorce 72 days later. Also: she's a Kardashian.

Possible gag: Something riffing on nominated movie Carnage? Or perhaps My Week With Marilyn — My Two Months With Kim.

Ashton Kutcher

Why: His recent split from Demi Moore.

Gag: Last year, Gervais introduced Moore's ex, Bruce Willis, as "Ashton Kutcher's dad." There's got to be a follow-up. Like father, like son?

Mel Gibson

Why: It's a long list.

Gag: Whatever it is, it will be nasty.

David Duchovny

Why: Duchovny checked himself into rehab for sex addiction in 2008.

Gag: Use your imagination. Remember, the title of Duchovny's nominated series is Californication.

Michael Fassbender

Why: Fassbender was in just about every movie last year. He spends a great deal of time completely, impressively naked in Shame, the movie he is nominated for about a tormented sex addict in New York City.

Gag: Possible Duchovny gag here or something relating to Fassbender's "assets."

George Clooney

Why: Nominated for his not-so-glamorous turn in The Descendants, in which he is shown running, panting and sweating in Bermuda shorts and flip-flops.

Gag: People magazine demands he return his two Sexiest Man Alive trophies.

Meryl Streep

Why: An American actress starring as a British icon in The Iron Lady. Streep is herself an iron lady of Best Actress prizes.

Gag: Something distasteful involving aging celebrities and senile heads of state.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Why: The HFPA is behind the Golden Globes, but that didn't stop Gervais last year from alluding to a bribery lawsuit involving the organization's apparent freebee seekers. He chalked up the group's nomination of turkey Burlesque to a free trip to Las Vegas and tickets to see Cher. Then Gervais made an old-man-on-the-potty joke about HFPA president Philip Berk. Berk will escape a repeat Sunday. He has been replaced by Aida Takla-O'Reilly.

Gag: Takla-O'Reilly is believed to be 80 years old. Oh dear.