Solo, I could easily counter that if you book a comedian like Gervais you should know what you are getting too.
Say what you will, but Gervais IS a talented writer and comedian. They would not have chosen some talentless hack. Now, is his acting of the caliber of a Hanks, or Denzel? Nope, but he can pen a tale.
That's not really the point, though. I mean, I'm not disagreeing with you, but I'm saying that the reason why the stars and press people are pissy with him is as I described (I think), and from that perspective, it makes sense to me, even if I don't hold the same opinion.
I think the real tension is the issue about what the show is supposed to be "about." What's the point of it? Is it an industry event where the industry gets nothing but pats on the back and maybe the occasional good-natured mild ribbing? Well that's gonna be pretty boring to us "little people" at home. Which is why most of these shows end up being ignored.
Or is the point to provide something entertaining to bring in the viewers and score ratings, sell ad time, and boost star profiles? Well, if that's the case, Gervais did a great job, probably.
I think the real problem is that there's a disconnect between the goals of the program and the goals of the attendees. Now, there are ways to still be entertaining without being really rude, and that when you hire a guy like Gervais to come do an event like this, you've got to expect a lot of what they got, but that doesn't change the fact that the people who show up to these things can end up irritated by it.
They'll probably tap someone bland and inoffensive for next year, and the ratings will suffer after the first commercial break. So it goes, I guess. I don't bother with these shows anyway. They're a giant waste of time when all I want to know are the results, and usually I deride those anyway.
