Ricky Gervais to host Globes

 From NBC, excellent news for the Golden Globes. Ricky Gervais, star of "The Invention of Lying," will host the 67th annual Golden Globes on Jan. 17.  Nominations will be announced the morning of Dec. 15.

 Here's the official release from NBC: 

 UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIF. October 26, 2009 -- Multi-talented Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Ricky Gervais ("The Invention of Lying," "The Office") will host "The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards" on Sunday, January 17, 2010 on NBC. This year's show will be broadcast live coast-to-coast from 5-8 p.m. (PT) and 8-11 p.m. (ET) from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. This marks the first time the telecast has had a host since 1995.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, dick clark productions and NBC made the announcement today.

 "Not only is this the biggest Hollywood celebration of the industry which includes both film and TV, but also an environment where I feel I can get free reign as a host. I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don't turn down," said Gervais.

 "Ricky is certainly one of the funniest people on the planet and has provided some of the most hilarious and memorable awards show moments in recent memory," said Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios. "His unique comedic style will enhance the only awards show that brings together television and film stars to celebrate entertainment's biggest night of the year."

 "We are delighted to have Ricky Gervais as the host on our show," said Philip Berk, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. "He'll bring his unique brand of humor and charm to what will continue to be a fast paced award show."

Gervais is probably best known for his role as David Brent on the BBC version of "The Office." Gervais produced, wrote (with Stephen Merchant), directed and acted on the mock documentary series from 2001-2003. Gervais and Merchant teamed up again in 2005 to create the award-winning series "Extras" in which he played an aspiring actor.

Following his success from "The Office," Gervais embarked on his first live standup show "Animals," based on his fascination with the animal kingdom. He spent much of 2004 on tour around the U.K. with his follow-up standup act the, highly acclaimed "Politics." Both shows became best selling DVDs. In 2007, Gervais' stand-up show "Fame" became the fastest-selling British comedy tour of all time. In 2008, Gervais took to the stage again and received an Emmy nomination for his special "Ricky Gervais: Out of England- The Stand-Up."

 This year Gervais wrote, directed and starred in the feature film "The Invention of Lying" alongside Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe and Tina Fey (NBC's "30 Rock").

 "Cemetery Junction" Gervais' second film as writer and director and his first film co-written and directed with Stephen Merchant, is slated to be released in April 2010. He is currently in development with HBO for "The Ricky Gervais Show" - an animation of his record-breaking audio books, scheduled to air on the network early 2010. Gervais is also in development with Illumination ("The Simpsons Movie") for "Flanimals," movie - based on his award-winning children's book.