For more about these movies, click on the title below;
Ghost Town
This Side of the Truth
Men from the Pru (coming soon)
RICKY'S MOVIE BLOG - Read Ricky's thoughts on his upcoming movies; Ghost Town (released later this year), This Side of the Truth and Men from the Pru (in pre-production).

He is currently filming This Side of the Truth, which is Ricky's first movie as writer and director together with Matt Robinson. It's a comedy set in a world where no one has ever had the ability to lie. Until now.


Week twenty-one - July 2008

Spent the hottest day of the year in an editing suite.

We basically finished the fine cut of the film today. Now we wait for the FX, music and public screening comments. But it's turned out smashing.

The Man from the Pru script is ready to start casting. And Ghost Town has started its campaign for the Toronto premier.

I forgot to call Karl today and I haven't called Robin for nearly a week. That's how busy I am. I did call Rob, my bean headed brum-chum, to annoy him but I've got to sort things out. Maybe you could help me out. If you see Robin scream "ahhh Robin" and if you see Karl say "do some work you lazy manc chimp twat."

Talking of weird mates, here's a nice article about Louis

Talking of talking about weird mates, I wanted to put up a gallery of my freaky friends to illustrate my point. They are all a little bit deformed and I thought it would be funny to see a picture of them all together - Robin, Karl, Rob, Nigel... but Rob refused.

I said, "Why?"

He said, "because I don't want to be part of the freaks."

I told Karl what Rob said and I think he felt a little offended. Rob has GOT to start thinking about other peoples feelings.


Just a little bit of jet lag. Maybe I've been lulled into a false sense of security and I will sleep all day tomorrow.

I was invited to the Batman premier tonight but the fear of coming over all sleepy during the biggest film of the century worried me a bit.

Last week in New York, Christian Bale came over and shook my hand and was a very nice chap indeed. Batman likes me! I may go round starting fights with ruffians just so he can suddenly appear and show them what for.

He is not to be confused with Bateman, who I suspect would be no good at all in a fight.

Also while in New York I saw this shop. English people may find this funnier than Americans.





Week twenty - July 2008

Went to The Hamptons for a special screening of Ghost Town. It was in the biggest house I've ever seen. Guests filled a 100 seat screening room.

All the big wigs were there from Mr Spielberg to the editor of The New York Times. Had a chat with one of my acting heroes Alan Alda. He is a very nice man indeed.

The film looked great on a big screen and New York looked especially beautiful. I think it was filming Ghost Town that really made me fall in love with the city. This is the view from the chopper as we took off.




Flew back to London in time to see a blind man screaming "get me some butter!" as he'd got his knee stuck in some railings.

Yes, Big Brother.

It's great to be back.

It was a great trip. I've got about a month now to finish editing This Side of The Truth before the Ghost Town premier and The Emmys. Wish me luck.





Woke up to the news that The Office had 8 and Extras had 6 Emmy nominations. Interesting fact...

Did some press for the HBO Special recorded last night. It's probably going to air the second week of November.

Recorded my 9th Letterman appearance which was one of my favourites so far. I must feel at home there as I accused him of being on crack at one point.

Had to buy a jacket and tie as we had reservations at The 21 Club. Bought the jacket - it was very reasonable. Bought a shirt and tie to go with it. Didn't bother to check the price of either. The tie was more expensive than the jacket. Brilliant.

Tomorrow we go to The Hamptons for a special screening of Ghost Town. They're sending a helicopter. I'm like Airwolf.

I had chicken and mash by the way.


Did the 3rd night at Madison Square Garden tonight and luckily, as we were filming it, it was the best gig so far.

Heard some great news today about another Office remake. This time it's a big one - Russia! I can't wait for production to start on that one. I'll post a scene as soon as I get some footage.

Also I heard a rumour that Amy Poehler is involved in the American Office spin off. Could it be true. Or could it not? I'm not sure. Or am I? All I'm saying is It would be amazing if she were involved. Or would it? Yes it would.

Worked with my little shaved rodent chum Rob today on Wild Pig Babies. New York was really hot today and he was worried about burning his little eggy dome. He can't think if his yoke is over heating. We sat in the shade. He was fine. I checked - I said, "Are you OK Rob?" He said, "Yes I'm Fine."

Called Robin Ince today. I was with Matt and Ed, the promoters, and we were chatting about the next British tour 'Science'. We decided that Robin can be support but we have to put a new clause in the contract. As well as a sound check there will be a bed check. When we get to the hotel, we will all go to Robin's room and Robin will jump in bed and snuggle up for one minute saying "Ohh I'm a snoozy little pigglet!" then we can get on with the business of making people laugh. Robin was concerned but I explained that he would get bonuses. Normal.


As promised, a little pic of my super-freaky friend Rob. I don't want to upset my chum number one too much so I have picked the nicest of the pictures where his head does not resemble a pear in any way. It looks more like a little baked bean.




He likes me to sing him songs about his bean-shaped head.

I sing him this one sometimes... (sing it with an Italian accent for full effect)

Little Nobby Steen
Little Nobby Steen
Little Nobby Steen keeps his head real clean
He cleans it with a sponge and a squirt of Mr. Sheen
And when he gets a tan he looks a like a baked a bean.

We worked on Wild Pig Babies today

Here's a sneak preview





Did an interview for K Rock with my old pal Ian Camfield, which was great fun. They filmed it for their website so I'll link to it when it's up.

Did the first Madison Square Garden show.

The crowd were fantastic so a big thank you to everyone that came along.

Louis C.K. was the support and was so good I was actually worried they'd be laughed out by the time I got on stage. He's too funny. But also fat bald and ginger - so swings and roundabouts.

Talking of fat - a huge thank you to the Daily Mail and the News of the World for printing the picture of me in L.A. One of the biggest laughs of the night was me telling the crowd about the caption which read, "Is Ricky Pregnant?" Cheeky buggers.

After the show, me and Jane met up with my pear-headed chum Rob and his wife Jill for a drink.

At one point a group of English people (who had flown over specially for the gig) came over and said, "Is that Rob?"

They recognised his deformed bonce from the blog. Excellent. I will show you new pictures of my freaky friend tomorrow.

Good night


Week nineteen - July 2008

Did the second night at The Kodak Theatre. They were even livelier than last night. That happens on a Saturday night sometimes.

After the show we had a quick beer backstage. There was Jonah Hill, Jen Garner and Ben Affleck, Matt Groening, Vince Vaughan, James L. Brooks, Ryan Gossling, and, here's the weirdest bit, Ant and Dec! They are over here promoting a new show.

I said, "I bet you'll be tanned and super-thin in a month."

Ant thought this would be a bad idea with his head as he'd look like a lollypop. (For Americans reading this, Ant and Dec are like two very funny Ryan Seacrests and probably Britain's biggest presenters. They are very nice too.)

We fly to New York tomorrow to do three nights at Madison Square Garden and film it for an HBO special. I love New York but LA really grew on me this time. I will see my pear-headed chum Rob and work on our new project together. Can't tell you too much at the moment but it is called Wild Pig Babies and it's very weird and disturbing.

I am now going to watch the Rampage Jackson v. Forest Griffin fight in bed. Goodnight.


Sorry I haven't been blogging as regularly as usual but what with the time difference and being mental busy blah blah.

Did The Kodak Theatre last night and it is my new favourite venue. The crowd were amazing too. Had a chat with Matthew Perry who is a very nice chap indeed. I told him that he was one of the influences for Tim in The Office. He said he was flattered (but could probably sue me if he wanted to).

Had lunch with the guys at MRC (the company that financed This Side of the Truth). I had chicken and mash.

Hope you like the Ghost Town trailer.


Did a couple of warm up shows at The Brentwood Theatre.

They went very well indeed and I'm really looking foward to the real thing. The Who and the guys from The Simpsons and The Tudors came to the show tonight.

What's really weird is, sentences like that one don't seem weird to me anymore.

Did a big press launch for the HBO special today.

It was fun but I felt like Kofi Annan as 200 journalists asked me questions. Although he pobably doesn't say things like "I love telling jokes about Hitler and famine." Apart from that we are very similar.


Walked around the Getty Museum with a nice journalist chap from Time Magazine. I was being interviewed obviously; it wasn't some weird art date.

Me and Jane popped over to Kathy Griffin's house. It was about the same size as the Getty Museum but with dogs and assistants instead of curators.

Went to the new Gordon Ramsay restaurant at the London Hotel for dinner. I had chicken, but no chips. With in depth reviews like that maybe I should be an international food critic.

Spoke to Karl about the new series of audiobooks. I am persuading him to include a monkey news. Then I found this on YouTube. Maybe there could be a whole new feature with pure mammalian drivel.


Flew to LA.

Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers were on the plane.

They said hello. I said "If Sting doesn't turn up I can sing you know."

Stewart said "Can you play bass?"

I said "I don't know, I've never tried." He said "you'll be fine, Andy will show you everything you need to know."

I think I may be the new frontman for The Police. Excellent.

Had lunch at The Ivy (very different from the London one) with Joel Surnow the creator of 24. I told him not to tell me exactly how many torture scenes there were in the next series. I want it to be a surprise.

I had chicken and chips by the way.

Did the photo-shoot for the poster of Ghost Town then intoduced a special screening for the film. It went down very well indeed.

Went to an old-school Italian restaurant for dinner. I knew it was the real deal when I walked in and saw Al Pacino sitting there.

Al Pa-fucking-cino!

I had the spaghetti al pesto by the way.


Week eighteen - June 2008

Called into to Jonathan Ross show to offer a reward for a missing dog. It is a little 8 month old whippet called Manon. It was stolen from Hampstead this week. If you bought a fawn whippet puppy with tiger stripes and grey eyes take it to the vet and find out if it's him. He's computer chipped you see. Any info call the Mayhew Animal Centre. Thanks

Thank you too to Jason Bateman for the nice mention. He called me yesterday about coming along to one of The Kodak Theatre shows. I'm tempted to leave his tickets under "Teen Wolf II". I think he'd see the funny side although I did sneak that gag into about 19 conversations when we were filming. In my opinion it gets funnier.

I told Karl about the trailer for the new Brad Pitt movie about a man who is born old and ages backwards till he ends his life as a baby. He was gutted, as he thinks they've stolen his idea. What a fool. I wont tell him if you don't.

He also thinks that Donal Macintyre's program about selling apes on the black market was inspired by his xfm feature "Cheap as Chimps". Talking of chimps...


A big thank you to Hollywood gurus TVSQUAD.COM for this vote of confidence

"The "Japanese Office" from Steve Carell's episode featured a brief cameo from Ricky Gervais, which reminded me that he'd never been on SNL before that. Gervais' star is rapidly rising in the States, with NBC's incarnation of The Office and Extras both being smash hits, and he always seems to be promoting something, so why hasn't he hosted?"

A good point well made guys.

Actually, I have now been invited to host twice but wasn't available on either occasion. I love the show, it's an institution and I would absolutely love to host it soon.

Maybe next year.

Got a call from my old pal Ian Camfield. He now works on K Rock in New York and I'm going to pop in for an interview.

He takes his rock very seriously so I used to wind him up with fake bands and songs when we were on Xfm together. Things like "Have you heard the new single by Velvet Nazi 666, Earplugs are gay?"

He also loved The A Team. I remember asking him once how the FBI can't find them but an old woman having trouble with her landlord can. He answered "Because Hannibal will sometimes disguise himself as an elderly Chinaman."

Brilliant.

As we know from Karl, there are no elderly Chinamen.


Did a new cut of This Side of the Truth Today. I did a rough guide vocal for the narration. I can't wait for Patrick Stewart to do the real one as mine is rubbish. I tried to do a really deep ominous speech but I kept cracking like an adolescent boy as my vocal chords couldn't take it. Patrick has the best voice in the world. He even makes that Shakespeare stuff sound good.

I'm doing the photo shoot for the Ghost Town poster next week in LA. Luckily I've kept my hair the same. I've kept it the same for 15 years to be honest. Empire magazine have some exclusive pictures apparently

While I'm over in Cali I thought I'd do a couple of gigs.

Did a bit of scouting for The Men at The Pru. Filming won't start till next May or June but locations can really inspire. I've also been reading books about my home town of Reading. That's where the HQ of The Prudential Building Society was in the 70's.

Anyway to more important things. I can't wait to see Rebbeca's Buzz Lightyear-type face when Jennifer is evicted.


Did an interview for High Life Magazine today. That's the one you get on planes.

It was a light hearted piece loosely based around my travels, favourite countries, best hotels etc.

About halfway throught the interview the journalist asked me what the best meal I'd ever had was. I think she thought I was slightly mad when I immediately listed, in order, my favourite starters, main courses and puddings and went on to rate restaurants around the world on ambience and service.

So my favourite starter was probably the fried red mullet at Gordon Ramsay's in The London Hotel, New York (second place goes to Raymond Blanc's risotto at Le Manoir in Oxfordshire). My favourite main course... maybe I should just let you read the article for yourselves. I don't want to spoil the ending.

Spent the rest of the day editing then watched Celebrity Masterchef (nothing really competed with Ramsay or Blanc) and of course, Big Brother. The bit where they were moaning then had to dance to Welcome to The Jungle dressed as animals made me smile. No fights or nervous breakdowns though. Still, ages to go yet. Maybe we should have had a full on riot in The Extras Special. I think I missed a trick there. I suppose there was a bit of a break down though.


I've made the front window of an art Gallery.

It is a very proud day. Now I know how that slightly miserable bird that Leonardo painted must have felt. (If she actually was a bird. I've heard rumours.)




Time magazine have asked for another interview. I said yes immediately as I had such a good time with them last year.

Finished the third draft of The Man at The Pru, took another eight minutes out of This Side of the Truth and still had time to watch a cow-faced moron try to get extra screen time by showing of her fat bags of suet and cutting Mohamed's belt in half.

Yes, I watched fucking Big Brother again OK!


Started the fine cut of This Side of The Truth today. It's so much fun even though it can be heartbreaking losing huge gags that don't drive the plot and make the film too long.

We started laying on the music too which is one of my favourite parts of the process. (How can a chord-change make you want to cry?)

As if that wasn't fun enough, I had a filet o' fish and a chicken ceasar salad from MacDonald's for lunch. The fish and chicken were great. Obviously I didn't try the actual salad. No Point.

I was made an honorary member of the secular society. Thanks to those guys. And a huge thanks to Jay Z for the coolest name-check I've ever had, on the Jonathan Ross Show - part 1 and part 2

Ironically times like these could be called salad days.


Thank you to The Sun newspaper for spreading the word about spitgate.

It's a shame the photo of me they used makes me look like a dressed-up lesbian but that's life. (If Darnell were to put on glasses he'd look like Steve Merchant)

This is the new photo for series 4 of the The Ricky Gervais Show. (I look a bit more butch in this one)




We are planning to do another series of 6 that runs from October to December.

I know that's a long way away but in the meantime feel free to listen to the back catalogue on iTunes and let me know what you'd like me to ask Karl about.

Listen to the free NME show here (And if anyone from The Sun is reading this give the podcasts a plug too please.)


Week seventeen - June 2008

Extra! Extra!

I have persuaded Karl to do one final series of Audiobooks. We have already booked the studio time and will start recording in the autumn.

This will almost certainly be the last time as we think we've achieved everything we set out to do.

I started doing podcasts to cut out the middle man i.e. the broadcaster. I started charging for them partly because it hadn't been done before and I needed to see if it would work and partly to make Karl some money.

Well Karl made some money and the experiment worked. We have sold over two million Audiobooks worldwide and have had the free podcasts downloaded over 53 million times.

Many people have tried to charge since and can't understand why they haven't been as successful.

I will now reveal my secret; All you have to do is find an orange-headed, monkey-brained Manc twat who talks before he thinks and poke him with a stick. You'll conquer the world. Good luck.

I often take pictures of myself on my i phone when I'm bored. My aim is always to look as awful as possible without the aid of wigs, make-up, padding or props. This is one of the best ones I've ever done.





I'm working on the third draft of The Man from The Pru, preparing for The US live dates in a week or so, starting on the fine cut of This Side of the Truth and doing loads of long lead publicity for Ghost Town.

But I can't concentrate on any of it as I'm still fuming over that filthy little cunt, gobbing on Mohamed in Big Brother.

Why did I fucking watch it?

And all the other dick heads in that clique were so "brave" picking on him and Rex, who put a bit of water on that shitting little picture that a mother wouldn't even put on the fridge if it was the first time her backward child had done ANYTHING.

Fuck me she milked the tragedy.

They weren't so fucking brave when Darnell came in were they? Aghhhh!

So, now I'm hooked, I want Mohamed or Darnell to win. I like Mario too, but only because he reminds me of David Brent.


There is an awful fake poster for Ghost Town going around. It is fucking dreadful and nothing to do with me or anyone else concerned. It's a screen grab of me with a slogan that makes no sense. Please don't fall for it. Good. Let's move on.

Had a great day filming the scene with Steve Merchant and Shaun today. They were both so funny.

Also Karl dropped by to join in on the EPK (electronic press kit) as we didn't get to do his in Boston.

He was late. So the interview consisted of me asking him why he was late. I did this up to the point he shouted, on camera, "Oh fuck off!" Then I wound him up about swearing and biting the hand that feeds him.

So a great day.


Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday dear me,
Happy Birthday to me.


A very clear and simple message in that song.

So after opening my lovely presents I went to work on the new film with Steve.

It started off badly with us doing a complete overhaul on the script (we even changed the title to The Man from The Pru), but then it turned out to be one of those really exhilarating creative experiences that I'm still buzzing about.

It's 20 times better from a few fundamental changes. The writing is really where it's at for me. The filming's fun, the casting is great and the edit can be as creative as any part of the process. But nothing gives me a rush like the first time an idea comes together.

I sound like Hannibal from the A team don't I.

Maybe I should do a re-make. "BA" could be Michael Clarke Duncan or Rampage Jackson. Ooh racist... why does he have to be black? Because he does.

"Face" could be Brad Pitt or Matt Damon. "Murdock" - you've got your Jim Carrey and your Steve Carell (don't know if he does re-makes though).

And me as Hannibal. No, I know I'm not the best person for the job but it's my idea. And I wouldn't be in it much because gloves make my hands sweat and I can't drive. Oh forget it.


Had some great news today about the American version of The Office.

Steve Carell (now one of the most bankable film stars in the world) has just signed up for another three years with us. He is the hardest working man in Hollywood and the harder he works the better it is for me. I mean... well done Steve you are wonderful.

I had to wear a beard for one day on This Side of The Truth and I hated every minute of it. Steve had to do months of that in Evan Almighty and I heard he didn't complain once. He is a very nice man and deserves all his success. I am just as dedicated to my art without compromise but only between the hours of 9 and 3pm.

We are also working on a spinoff series of The American Office but I can't tell you anything about that yet.

I'm doing a photo shoot tomorrow for HBO for the stand up special. They said, "can we get you in your stage outfit?" I said, "yes" and put a clean black T shirt in a carrier bag ready to go.

Today I did an interview for American Esquire. It was great but I have to do the photo session in New York. Luckily I have another clean black T shirt.

NME radio officially launches on 25th June (my birthday. What a nice homage.) The show we did is now available as a free podcast on iTunes. Please download it now. Go on... for my birthday. Thank you

Get iTunes (here if you don't have it already) and get the special podcast here. It's only just gone up so if it's not listed yet just subscribe and you'll get it whatever.


Went to Amberley Castle for the weekend.

It may be the most wonderful place in the world. Jane bought a Victorian bird cage from a local antique shop. She only bought it because it looked nice, we haven't got a bird to put in it. Which is a good thing. I think it's a more beautiful objet d'art when it's not doubling up as an avian prison. I suggested we leave it in the garden with seed in it so wild birds could visit it but then still be free. It could be like their Amberley Castle.

I went for a run around the grounds and village on Saturday with my iPod and listened to the new Coldplay album twice. I think it's the best thing they've done (apart from being in Extras of course).

Here are some nice outtakes from Chris Martin's acting debut.


Week sixteen - June 2008

I did loads of phone interviews this week for Ghost Town.

US radio, press and internet - every person who had seen the film said it was their favourite movie of the year. I know it's only June but still.

Maybe they were just being polite.

Also I shouldn't say everyone loved it as that's like a challenge to all other journalists to to start the backlash. Oh well, I think I had a backlash last July for a couple of days but I'm not sure.

Watched a full rough cut of This Side of The Truth this week with Matt who flew in from LA.

It was so encouraging. We laughed all the way through but then we would wouldn't we? It's too long of course, but that's a good thing. The more you tighten, the better it gets.

I remember I was depressed the first time me and Steve had to keep losing jokes to get The Office to 29 minutes. (I watch some sitcoms and wish they'd have lost another 28 minutes or so.)

I don't want anyone to say "It was great but about 20 minutes too long."

It's a tough one cos you don't want to edit the guts out of it either. You just mustn't get attached to your favourite bits if they don't drive the narrative or develop the characters in any way; they're the first to go however funny they might be. Anyway we start working on it again next week.

Worked on some stand-up getting ready for the US dates. Wrote a great new bit about Hiltler's friends and family. I know - hilarious right? I don't know what I'd do without Hitler, Famine and aids.


Started putting the second draft of Men at The Pru together today.

We had our first little workshop with a couple of key characters which went really well. Then we got side-tracked and started coming up with ideas for a new sitcom. I say we... I started getting side-tracked and coming up with ideas for a new sitcom and Steve said "yeah all good stuff but should we not just finish this film first". What a square.

Went to see Coldplay do a gig in the BBC car park.

Very convenient for me as my car was parked actually in the venue. They were fantastic. Chris is so endearing both on and off stage. I got a text from him on the way saying "come down to the dressing room before the gig." So we went to see him. I was worried they'd all be trying to focus and I'd mess with their karma. But no. It was like they were just hanging out on a Sunday morning with not much to do. Not nervous. No big deal. At one point Chris stubbed his toe, and, in pain turned to me and said, "you'll have to go on instead." I laughed. He is a very funny man. But a part of me... It would've been a very different gig. As you all know by now, Chris recovered and wowed the crowd. I was that close. Oh well, I've still got this comedy lark to fall back on.


I hadn't thought this through. Ghost Town premiers the same week we start test screening This Side of The Truth and casting The Men From The Pru. I became a comedian to avoid work. If this blog stops for more than a week I've had a nervous break down.

Anyway, mustn't grumble. I'm not like Karl; I count my blessings not my money. Here is a funny clip from his first TV appearance a couple of years ago.

Look how startled and humble and round headed he is.

My favourite bit is when it's mentioned that the podcast has had ten million downloads and Karl says "yeah, I've made a few bob," like he thinks someone is going to mug him in the studio.

OK, so I may have, possibly, maybe, in a slight way, have persuaded Karl to do another (and final) series of the podcast. Don't quote me on that and please don't annoy him between now and September.

I thought it would be good to answer some of your questions. They can be anything from "What's the meaning of life" to "Karl, why are you such a citrus headed chimp"

I'll keep you posted.

Oh by the way there is a story going round that I'm "singing the theme tune to my new TV project called Toyboize". It is nothing to do with me. It's the brain child of Keith and Jamie from The Office. I just wrote a song for them because they asked me to. So that's that.


Week fifteen - June 2008

Steve did his fitting for his cameo.




I know he would secretly like to dress like this all the time.

I spent some time in my new office this week. Steve an I started on the second draft of our movie script (Men from the Pru). We have even started putting together an ensemble of the best actors we've discovered over the last few years.

Next week we are meeting up with the great Steve Spiers (the dullard from the Sam Jackson episode of Extras) and David Earl (the obsessed fan from the David Bowie episode).

Here's a deleted scene with Spiers in action.


Called Karl today.

He was fed up (shock fucking horror).

He had to change a tyre on his new car as a nail had caused a puncture. He said it was the third time that had happened.

"When I'm looking for a nail to do a bit of DIY I can't fucking find one," he moaned.

Karl used to employ professionals to maintain his house(s) but got fed up with them too. I remember once he was trying to get hold of a handyman but couldn't because no one wanted to work on Easter weekend.

Karl said, "It's a wonder Jesus ever got crucified."

Amazing.

(there's a couple of new Karl-related animations on YouTube here and here


Steve got back today from his trip to New York.

He left for the airport last Thursday after we recorded the NME radio show.

After missing his flight he came back home and flew to America on the Friday instead.

What is it with my friends? I've never missed a plane. I've never missed a bus for fuck's sake. He's missed four flights since I've known him. The first time was because his passport had expired and he didn't realize you had to renew them.

Here he is with me and Karl, unaware of the catastrophic journey ahead.




Had lunch today with Jonah Hill and Karl Pilkington.

Jonah is having a bit of a European break; Karl just wasn't busy. He wont need to work now for a few weeks after the money he got for doing the NME show. He wouldn't usually make that much, but of course he took mine and Steve's share too.

The show is still being played at odd times for a week or so, or you can listen to it here in bite size chunks with all the music taken out.

Steve gets back from New York tomorrow and will immediately have to have a fitting for his role in This Side of The Truth. Shaun had his yesterday. It went something like this...






The bag has nothing to do with it.

He was just looking after Karl's money.


Met with my live promoters Ed and Matt today.

We were planning the US tour dates but soon got talking about the UK tour we did last year.

The main subject of conversation was little Robin Ince. We listed all the times he was a good boy and bad boy.

He was a good boy when we had our photo taken at the sound check




But he was a bad boy, being all grumpy, when I made him dress up as a couch




He was a good boy when he let me make him look nice




But he was a bad boy for looking all depressed even though I let him be king for a while




Sometimes I don't know what more I can do for my friends.


Spoke to my baked bean-headed New York chum Rob today on the phone.

Apparently I left the area just in time. Manhattan is sweating. It's in the 90's with sauna-like humidity.

You lose about 30% of body heat from your head. With no hair as insulation he must look like a little novelty fountain.

He keeps cool by throwing drinks over himself.

Well he did last time I was there.

OK I may have been partly responsible. I wobbled the table, and no drinks spilled, but Rob grabbed hold of his glass and it went all over his trousers. I think he was trying to cool down his plums. They are probably a similar shape to his head but more insulated.


Read an article today about the Edinburgh Fringe that gives Louis a nice plug.

He's also playing the Soho Theatre in London.

He is a fantastic stand up. And a coward - here's the footage of Louis shouting strange things in fear as promised...





Week fourteen - June 2008

Just watched a great new animation featuring Karl's best job ever. Love the bit where he goes up and down the stairs.

Karl and Suzanne just came over for lunch and a walk on Hampstead Heath. We bumped into Lisa Tarbuck walking her dog Wilf.

Karl pointed at its bollocks with the tip of his shoe.

Everyone said "don't poke your foot at a dogs testicles."

He then saved a beetle from drowning in the pond by sticking the tip of his shoe in the water and letting it climb on.

Everyone said "well done."

He is like a bad super hero who can use the tip of his shoe for good or evil.


There is often a lot of waiting around on film sets.

That's probably why some people fall asleep.

Because Jake was such a good boy and stayed awake for a whole day, I sang him a song.





I am just about over the jet lag now. I will be fully recovered by the time I have to return to The States for my stand up shows.

I'll be doing a bit of publicity for Ghost Town including my 8th appearance on Letterman. Always good fun.

HBO are recording one of the Madison Square Garden shows for a TV special in the fall, (or autumn as I call it). It will then be released on DVD which I'm very excited about.

We recorded a special edition of The Ricky Gervais Show podcast today as part of a test transmission for the NME radio launch. Steve showed us the hat he bought to go to Vietnam thinking he would look distinguished. I thought he looked like Miss Marple. And Karl has strangely decided that monkeys get preferential treatment. I don't know what he means but maybe you will when you hear it.

I also got some camcorder footage of the never before seen podcast recording. There is one shot of Karl thinking that's at least 20 seconds of nothingness. Steve said it looks more like a still photo. The head by the way looked rounder than ever.

You can listen from Monday at midnight I think. Karl believes that even though you can listen for free, some people will still moan. I pointed out that no one in the world moans as much as him. I hope you like it.
More about how to listen here...


Spent the day with Steve Merchant in an editing suite. Nigel popped in so I got him in a headlock. It's great to be back. While I was wrestling the hamster faced little git, Steve was going through all the out-takes and deleted scenes from The Extras Finale for the DVD. We have some really great stuff. Also we are going to record a directors commentary. We've only ever done one other commentary and that was for The Office Finale. I think the DVD will be out in the autumn. (this fully-loaded DVD won't be out in the US I'm afraid, but I'm sure you can get it from Amazon)


Karl Pilkington's piece on the Culture Show following his visit to the set was broadcast last night. Watch it here. Plus there's en extra bit on the BBC website of me giving Karl some dialogue coaching here


Ahh, home at last.

The filming was fantastic. I really think things couldn't have gone better but nothing beats home.

We have one more day's filming (with Steve and Barry, I mean Shaun), but that is literally down the road from me in sunny Hampstead. I say sunny, it's fucking pissing it down, but the garden looks beautiful. It's good for the farmers too. (my mum used to say that).

Before I left The States I did a commentary with David Keopp (the director), for the DVD of Ghost Town. Yes I know the film isn't even out yet but I get booked up a long way in advance. I saw the first trailer (out soon) and I laughed; which is a good sign. Well it's a good sign if you laugh at the same things I do. Anyway I'd love the film to do well because it's a very funny and classy grown up comedy. David has done a great job. Please go and see it on September 19th.

I'm recording a show on Thursday for the launch of NME Radio with Steve and Karl. (it will be broadcast from 9th of June on NME Radio - www.nme.com/radio, Sky channel 0184 and Virgin Media channel 975)

I haven't even worked in my new office yet. Glyn moved in for me while I was away. It's on Hampstead High Street so me and Steve can walk to work. It's so great to be back. I can't wait to start on the second draft of The Men from the Pru, edit This Side of The Truth and squeeze Karl's fucking head. I love America. But I love England too.

I am a very lucky boy - just like Robin Ince when he is on tour with me.


Went to New York again for the weekend.

Gave Louis a ride on the old jet. We had dinner on the Upper East Side then Louis checked in to a hotel as he had forgotten his house keys.

He also left his phone behind.

Then he forgot he was having a sofa delivered.

Then he nearly missed the plane back.

Then when we got back to Lowell he realised that he'd left his Lowell keys in New York.

Fuck me. He's 40 years old.

Then he told me that he was immediately driving back to Upstate New York to be present at the cremation of his dog Loona.

She was killed yesterday by a truck and Louis wanted to see her one last time.

He was really broken up about it and the way he talked about her almost made me cry. She was a lovely dog apparently and Louis is a lovely man.

The plane journey by the way was pretty scary. We were warned as we boarded of "really bad turbulence". It was indeed really bad, but I was nowhere near as scared as I thought I would be when I saw how scared Louis was. I nearly burst at the mad things he was shouting out in fear. Luckily, I taped it and will stick it on this blog next week sometime.


I think we may have exhausted Jake.

Guy took a paparazzi style video of him sleeping at work. Look how he fights to keep his eyes open like a drunk puppy. He then moves his hand around as if to say "look I can't be asleep I'm doing stuff". I love the last bit with those rolling eyes like a dad being woken up at Christmas.

I may dip some nerf darts in wasabe. That should buck up his ideas.





Week thirteen - May/June 2008

A short while ago I told you about the bee that terrorized Jonah Hill.

Well it came back.

Here they both are in action. With me. Also watch out for a late appearance by Louis CK.





Had a great few days filming with the very funny John Hodgman.

I can't put into words why I find him so funny so here is a short behind the scenes clip.





Had a set visit today by Boyd Hilton from Heat Magazine.

He has been very nice to me over the past few years giving The Office Christmas Special Heat's only ever 6-star review.

It was because of that extra star that I decided not only to allow him access to the film but also to carry him everywhere.






My terribly bald friend Rob feels that I did not give a true picture of the events of last weekend in New York on a recent blog post. Like the ever-caring friend that I am, I am giving old pear-head the chance to put things straight.

These are his words:

Right to reply:

I would like to respond to some of Ricky's recent blog reports that appear to represent me as some sort of charity case on his version of "Jim'll Fix It."

He has predicted for me that I will only live another ten years. He has also predicted that I will lose an eye. He likes to remind me of these two things quite frequently.

Ricky says that he's going to make my remaining years "the best yet." This weekend I asked for many things from him and none of them were to "hold a puppy" (though that did actually happen).

These are some of the things I did ask:

Stop trying to wrestle me in the middle of Central Park

Stop rubbing the top of my head

Stop choking me

Stop taking photos of me while I'm eating

Stop pulling out my chest hair

Stop saying "You know what?" and then singing "...goes up, must come down" every time.

Stop washing your fingers in my glass of water

Don't sit on me

Don't tell waiters at restaurants "he loves a little Creme Brulee"

Try to behave like a normal human being


This is just an abbreviated list, it goes on and on. Obviously, I didn't get any of these things.

Apart from that we had a pretty good weekend.


Week twelve - May 2008

On Sunday we met up with my old bald friend and his wife for lunch.

We had Mexican in a place on the Upper West Side and then went for a walk around Central Park.

I kept my promise to Rob about making his last few years the best yet. I said he could do anything he wanted. He said he wanted to hold a puppy.

So be it.






The most satisfying week so far. Most stressful too in a way.

Not only is it nearly the end of filming but we also filmed the final moments of the movie. Throughout the filming I've been saying things like "great we've got it move on." The last couple of days it was more, "let me do just one more" about 3 or 4 times per scene.

Hence we did 5 days filming till 6 or 7 o'clock. I might as well work in a third world sweat shop.

Popped to New York again for the weekend. Spent most of Saturday looking at apartments to buy.

Unlike Karl we'll probably just buy the one.

Karl has finally recovered from being ill after his one day's work on the film. He was also being followed by BBC's The Culture Show. It broadcasts on June 3 and 10. It will be the first look anywhere in the world of the movie so I hope it makes us look good.

Talking of looking good....




Went to The Four Seasons restaurant Saturday night. Probably the finest eatery in Manhattan.

We had a wonderful time but then Rob got a bit fed up just because I pointed out that from the way he looks at the age of 45 (terribly bald, grey eyebrows, tufts of hair missing on the chest) he will probably only live another 10 years.

So like a good friend I vowed to make those years the best yet. I said he could have anything he wanted. He had some chocolate cake. The look on his little face was a joy. Jill and Jane had pudding too but I don't think they appreciated it as much.



News Extra...
A spy says some nice things


One week of filming, or principle photography as we say in the bizz, left. Then back to England for the edit.

The edit is my second favourite part, behind writing. There's a hundred films in there somewhere, and a couple of them are very good indeed.

I must say I've enjoyed this shoot more and more. I might even do this movie lark again one day.

Shot some great scenes in a beautiful church over the past two days and once again we defeated the weather. We have been very lucky so far and we only have two more days outside. One of those is back in London shooting a cameo with Steve Merchant and Barry off Eastenders.

Or Shaun as some people call him.


I am filming in the middle of nowhere tomorrow. It's worth it as it is a beautiful location.

I am in a hotel in the middle of nowhere tonight. I just watched American Idol and Hell's Kitchen on TV. I should be learning my lines but I needed to watch my fellow Brits, Simon and Gordon, shouting at poor unsuspecting US citizens like the power-crazed foreigners they are. Oh dear. I wont do so much shouting tomorrow.

I heard that the first trailers for Ghost Town will be out this month. I'll keep you posted.

Karl has been ill ever since he did his cameo in the cold. One day on a real job and he's knackered. Maybe he needs a little holiday.

Here is a picture of me in a low budget re make of iron man





Popped to New York again on the old jet.

I did an interview with the NY Post and helped out the Saturday Night Live team by introducing an Office spoof.
Here it is...

Went to dinner with my terribly bald friend Rob and his wife Jill.

This time we went to Gordon Ramsay's at The London. I took a suit especially.

Rob wore a suit too but didn't bother putting on a tie. This turned out to be a big mistake. Just before pudding I reached over and pulled out a clump of his chest hairs.

He couldn't believe it.

We guessed that this had never happened before in a Gordon Ramsay restaurant.

I wanted to check the incident book to make sure it was a first. We then agreed that is was unlikely that;
1. there would be an incident book for public reference and
2. that the entry "...one gentleman then extended his arm and pulled out a clump of chest hair from another gentleman dining at the same table..." would ever make it into such a book.

The meal was amazing by the way.

When we left the restaurant we saw an elderly tourist couple taking a picture of a building. The man, without asking, pulled the woman in front of him and rested the camera on her head to steady it.

We found this nearly as funny as depilating a friend's chest.


Week eleven - May 2008

Two weeks to go. Well, two weeks filming, then a few months post production.

Did a scene with Jonah and Louis today. It was outside so a bee came over to watch. Jonah was very uncomfortable with this. He doesn't like bees. He probably doesn't like the way they are willing to die just to sting him. He was convinced it was out to get him.

I said, "don't worry about it."

He continued to worry about it.

Louis made things worse by telling us that once, a bee was bothering him, and some friends advised him to just stand still. He did. The bee stung him on the neck.

So Jonah was nervous now.

The bee ruined a take as Jonah leapt from his sun lounger waving his arms. I laughed. Then Jonah leapt again a few moments later and shouted, "Fucking spider on my leg."

I leapt up too. A bee is one thing but a fucking spider....

"There it is! " Jonah said.

I jumped up and down on it like a mad man. Louis said calmly, "I think the fourth stamp broke its back."

I felt bad about squashing it but it was either him or me. And the spider is the only animal I am willing to squash.

In a way I wish the bee had killed it. That way we'd all be happy. The bee would be doing a good thing by saving me and Jonah from the spider. The bee would die a selfless death and not sting Jonah or Louis. And I would not have had to leap up terrified and commit murder.

But life isn't perfect. If it was I would have been one of the friends that told Louis to stand still. That would have been one of the funniest things ever. This isn't so much a film blog, as a hypothetical invertebrate situation blog. I hope Louis accidentally swallows a moth one day.


I did loads of interviews today. I was asked to describe my character many times.

I explained he is a loser and basically a nice guy. He is a very unsuccessful screenwriter in his forties with average looks, moderate intelligence and little hope for the future.

This picture sums it up perfectly. Meet Mark Bellison





Blog makes it to TV.

Blog on TV makes it to blog.

And so on.


Spent a couple of days filming in Quincy. (Not the nosey pathologist, the town ... Why was he allowed to get involved in police business? "OK Quincy, he died of stab wounds now fuck off back to the lab we're busy. Oh and stop trying to seduce that lady, it's embarrassing.")

The forecast was for heavy wind and rain which would have made shooting nearly impossible.

Luckily the forecast was wrong. So we didn't need to go to plan b. Which was lucky as there was no plan b.

It was some of the funniest stuff yet. Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, Louis CK, and Karl Pilkington all in the same scene. Amazing.

I was in it too but they were all much funnier.

There was a competition between Louis, Jonah and Karl. It was simple test of who could look the most stupid and vacant on camera.

It was so unfair. Louis and Jonah had no chance. Karl was never told of the competition by the way.

I wont give too much away but the scene took place around a dead wild boar...





As promised, here is the footage of me shooting Jason Bateman in the arse...




And here is me continuing to bother Jason while he's having his make-up done...




Week ten - May 2008

I did an interview with the Lowell Sun. Here it is. Can't wait to show Karl. They refer to him as Karl Plinkington.

On the Set of 'Truth:' Gervais Wants You to Laugh
By Rachel R. Briere, The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

LOWELL -- It's been all Hollywood hype until now. British comedian Ricky Gervais gave us the truth about his big-screen debut while on the set outside Cobblestones yesterday.

Anyone who has been following the actor since he landed in Lowell to shoot This Side of the Truth knows his affinity for "chicken and mash" and Nerf guns. But what does he think of the Mill City?
He finds it just "lovely."

How do the mashed potatoes at Cobblestones rate?
Wait, what did I have at Cobblestones? I had ... fish 'n' chips and they are brilliant. I saw fish 'n' chips on the menu and I just blurted it out to the waiter. They were really good. No mash there ... yet.

Why did you choose Lowell, of all places, to film?
Well, I wanted the East Coast, for start, and obviously Massachusetts is giving good tax rebates compared to New York, which saves some money. We looked around at eight different towns and it was definitely Lowell. It looks so good on film.

Is it because of the architecture?
It's because it is very different. There is no town like it. I think it is really important to make your own iconography. On the face of it, it looks like what you imagine a typical American town to be, but different. So it's just perfect. It's really got a lot of character. The architecture is great. Every building is different.

We shot in the (Lowell Five Cent Savings) bank, in the building that Kathy Griffin and Pat Benatar performed in (Lowell Memorial Auditorium), we turned that into a casino. That's a great old building. Cobblestones and La Boniche ... but it's got character. It's just something that already looks quaint and the streets look great. I love the way they put the lights in the trees. It's going to look really good. Lowell is going to look great in this film.

Other than for the film, do you personally enjoy Lowell's hot spots?
Well, we've got catering (laughs). So I get home, usually make myself spaghetti, and I am in bed in an hour and a half. I learn my lines, I eat, shower and go to bed. I need sleep. I got a lot of hats on in this film -- not literally, but with directing and acting, there's no spare time.

Talking about many hats, which do you prefer -- film, TV, stand-up or radio?
I like them all. Obviously, film. Film is generally regarded to be the zenith of entertainment. Making a Hollywood movie is pretty much as big as it gets. I always wanted to do that, but I resisted doing it for the sake of it. I always thought my first film probably would be one I wrote and would direct.

But I love radio. I started in radio and it's free and immediate. As soon as you state something, it's done. I love the podcast. My favorite thing I do is with Karl Plinkington -- the half-man, half-monkey. I love television 'cause it's fast. I like something that is part of the common conscience. I love how everyone watches TV.

This movie is shooting at a high rate of speed. Is that because of your TV background?
No, because I am very lazy and need 10 hours sleep. Probably, but the way I shoot happens to be fast.

I'm there anyway and I don't like sitting around. I know what I want, I know what I am looking for and I know when I got it, so I don't have to do it a thousand times. When it happens, I say that's the take.

Tell me about your character in this movie.
I play a loser. Typecasting, that's what I do. If you need a putz, call me. I'm a loser who is a screenwriter in a world where lies haven't been invented. There's no fiction, there's no dreams, there's no imagination as we know it, so films in this world are very literally. They're just people reading from a book. I write those and I'm stuck with the 13th century. No one really cares about that. When I discover I can lie, the big upshot is that I can make things up so I come up with the best stories ever told. They're all just fantasy, but I come up with some pretty amazing films that have ever been made because I can make things up.

How is working with Jennifer Garner as your leading lady?
Great. They're all brilliant, from Jennifer to Louis C.K. He is going to be a star, he is just so charismatic and sweet. Rob (Lowe) is great, even though I shot him in the eye. We got great new people we discovered. You know, there's 74 separate characters in this film. We cast starting from scratch just like we did with The Office and Extras. There are a lot of unknowns in this. They're brilliant and they're great. For every famous person, there's three unknown.

How about the extras?
I don't mix with them. They're kept in a cage (laughs).

What's with the Nerf sneak-attack videos on your blog?
In preproduction, we got Nerf guns and we filmed myself and Matt (Robinson) shooting our assistant. Warner Bros. saw this and sent us some Nerf guns. But these are the best Nerf guns you have ever seen. This is proper futuristic weaponry. So now whenever we get bored, we shoot Jake (his assistant) in the face.

When can we expect This Side of The Truth to debut in theaters?
Oh boy, between March and September next year. We'll find a week where we're not up against Indiana Jones. That's very important.

Can people expect to laugh a lot from this movie?
Yes, it's a comedy. Some say it's romantic comedy, others (say it's a) high-concept comedy. First and foremost, it's a comedy. It's an excuse for jokes and drama. I want people to go there thinking they're seeing the funniest film of the year. An hour and half of comedy that's exhausting. That's why there are plots, there is investment in characters. That's why you have got to care about them.

You can't laugh at someone if you don't care about them. I can't laugh at someone I don't like. Hitler could tell the best joke ever and I wouldn't find it funny (laughs).



I sent John Hodgman another e-mail requesting material for this blog.

Here it is with his replies...

R.G.  Your last blog entry was very popular. I would like to sign you up for a three blog deal with the option for more. Also there is an option for less.

Please fill out the following questionaire for entertainment purposes only.

1. You often wear a suit. Why?
J.H.  THAT IS A RECENT DEVELOPMENT in my life, one largely due to television. As you may know, before I appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on November 16, 2005, I was merely a stay-at-home scribbler, a professional freelance writer, and thus: a nudist. (That is not entirely true. I sometimes wore a gendarme's cape). But like the rest of my life, this all quickly changed. I don't know how it is in your country (Belgium?), but over here, television censors require that you wear clothing at all times, and no capes. So what you see when I appear on TV is not so much a wardrobe choice, but my approximation of human clothing. But now that I have discovered suits, I have to say I like wearing them. I find it very liberating. I feel much more in touch with my body now that it is encased in many concealing layers of Banana Republic, as nature intended. And, plus, I am asked to leave the supermarket far less frequently.

R.G.  2. When you wear this "suit" you often accessorize with facial eye glasses. Again the why?
J.H.  LIKE MOST PEOPLE, my eyes are located in my face, so I find that the facial eye glasses are really the only way to go. Here is a bit of trivia, did you know that my right eye is situated slightly higher in my head than my left. Optometrists call it a "right hyper," which coincidentally was my nickname in grade school.

R.G.  3. Language is your tool. Do you also own a hammer and a lathe? A screwdriver?
J.H.  I DON'T EVEN KNOW what those things are. Wait. I know a screwdriver is a kind of mixed drink of vodka and orange juice; the legend is that it was originally enjoyed by construction workers, who stirred them with their "screwdrivers" (I think you know what I mean). But what is a hammer and lathe? Vodka and woodshavings? If the answer is yes, I will try it.

R.G.  4. Have you ever kissed James Lipton. Elaborate. Not too much.
J.H.  I HAVE NEVER MET JAMES LIPTON, actually. And that is what made the kiss so very awkward. (It lasted a day).

R.G.  5. Would you rather have a beak or gills?
J.H.  I THINK I JOIN MOST AMERICANS in agreeing that I would rather be able to breathe underwater than to have a horrible physical deformity on my face. (No matter how much I love cracking seeds and nuts)l. But maybe it's different in Belgium? You tell me.
And also, I have this question: FLIGHT OR INVISIBILITY?

That is all.



Me and Jason Bateman.

I think we're both attractive in our own way










So the end to a great week.

Yesterday I spent the day pretending to confuse Jason Bateman with Michael J. Fox. The more he didn't laugh the funnier it was.

He got most annoyed when I thought he was 40 something. "I'm 39" he said in a high voice, and asked for more make-up.

At one point the sound-man said he could hear Jason's hair because there was so much product in it.

After lunch I went to his trailer to shoot him with my biggest nerf gun (that sounds like a gay euphemism but it isn't). I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" he said in a camp Teen Wolf Too type voice.

"Ricky" I said.

So for a joke he opened the door mooning me.

This was a bad Idea for two reasons.
1. I shot him in the arse.
2. We were filming it on the cam-corder.
Footage coming soon.

Make-up is for girls...






Shot a really funny and sweet scene set in an old folks home today.

It was peaceful. People just sitting around not doing much. But that's what film crew's are like (OK that's the last time I do that joke).

No but seriously, looking around at the old guys dotted about looking vacantly into space I thought of Karl Pilkington. So I called him. He's on holiday again! I spoke to him for about 30 seconds then had to shoot a scene. Later I got this e mail from him.

Alright

Sick of it here. Came away to try and get the book done but can't concentrate. The villa looked good in the brouchure but what it didn't tell you was the fact that I'd be stuck in between two familes with more kids than the Waltons.

It started with just the one Scottish family who has a couple of kids who are allowed to run riot. The mam keeps telling 'em to shush but they take no notice. The mam is very ginger and just sits in the shade while the dad does nothing but sit there burping, tanning his tattoos and singing the Scooby Doo theme tune to keep the youngest of the kids happy. The scottish accent is well hard sounding. When he sang Bob the builder theme tune it sounded well threatening when he got to the 'can he fix it' bit.

But now they seem pretty quiet compared to the new mob next door. I think it's two families and an aunty from Wales. There's about six kids. One of which I think there is something wrong with. He's a stocky little fella with no neck and big ears who gets upset pretty quickly if none of the grown ups watch him jump in the pool. He got upset yesterday and tried to drown his brother. He didn't really get told off for it, they just sent him inside to play pool. (they have a pool table and table tennis in their villa, we haven't even got a bleedin' radio) The back of the lad's ears are really red from the sun (at least he can't burn his non-existent neck though). As I type this he is dancing to that song by Mika. The older people are clapping him. They'll probably get him on that 'Britain's got Talent' programme.

Can't really escape them either as there's not much to see round here. The holiday rep asked if we were interested in going on a trip to the leather factory.

see ya.



Matt (my co-director) did his cameo.

He had to step forward from a crowd and say one line.

It is about 2.5 seconds of screen time but I thought it would be a great idea for him to spend hours in make up to look like a complete nerd.

He was very professional and a little nervous so during the first take as he delivered his line he was shot in the face with nerf guns.

We have this on film.

Here is Matt, about to go to make up






What a great few weeks.

Broke Karl Pilkington. Won a Bafta and a "looking surprised" competition. Oh and started filming my first Hollywood movie.

We had a set visit from the big-wigs at Warners and Universal today.

There weren't quite enough nerf guns to go round so I think they will get some more if they come down again. I think the company that make them should send us supplies for all the free advertising. I also love Rolex, Hugo Boss and Bollinger.

Simon and Garfunkel have let themselves go a bit...






update...
Rob got back to New York 3 hours late.

Here are the pictures from the looking surprised competition.

Ricky looking surprised...




Ricky looking very surprised...




Ricky looking the most surprised...







Stayed in Boston this weekend.

My egg-headed Brum-chum Rob and his wife Jill flew from New York for a visit.

I got a text from Rob late Friday night which read "Damn you and your private jet. The plane is delayed by two hours." I can even annoy people without being near them.

I met up with them on Saturday for lunch at my hotel. The restaurant was too noisy though (and by that I mean there were some other people in it) so we went and found a very nice quieter place called PAPA RAZZI'S.

There were photos of famous people all over the walls. I chose a table next to a very nice picture of the very funny Richard Lewis. He looked like something out out of The Velvet Underground in this particular snap shot. Actually he looks like that in real life too.

I had chicken and spaghetti (they didn't do mash).

After lunch we walked along Charles Street. I saw a little red cowboy hat and offered to buy it for Rob as long as he would wear it. He said that wasn't really a tempting offer.

It was raining so I shared Rob's umbrella. He was worried that if people recognised me they would think that he was my butler. I decided that he could have the umbrella and I would wear his baseball cap. This annoyed him for many reasons.
1. he had suggested before we left the hotel that I should take an umbrella.
2. "You can't just take someone's hat", (I've never heard this before).
3. his head was cold and I've got hair.
4. the hat was getting wet now.
and 5. I stretched it.

We went to L'Espalier for dinner. Rob had so much to eat I was worried he was going to be ill. (He is very sickly and is often poorly.) During the meal I threw a cork at his head which bounced back to me and I caught it. This really annoyed him as I was still armed.

Trying to avoid a repeat offence, Rob stretched his arm out to grab the cork. I grabbed one of his fingers and he was trapped. His arm was fully stretched across the table and he was thus unable to yank it free incase he knocked stuff over.

He quietly begged me to let him go. It must have looked very romantic. I eventually let him go. Later I threw the cork at his head again.

After dinner we went back to my hotel. Rob and I had a competition to see who could get a photo of themselves looking the most surprised. Rob said it wasn't really a competition as only I was taking part. I will post the photos in my next blog.

On Sunday we went for brunch. I accidentally got marmalade on Rob's jumper. I put a crumpet in my pocket and we went to feed the squirrels. They didn't like crumpet but the ducks loved it. A goose came over for some and scared me. This made Rob very happy.

That's what I do. I make my friends happy.



Week nine - April 2008

Woke up to the news that I won an LA Bafta - never heard of them before this week but it still counts. (Until they start handing them out to everyone.)

It was for the Daniel Radcliffe episode which I think is the same episode that won the Emmy. (Or maybe it was the Golden Globe)

Anyway I knew it would be a good episode when we came up with the newspaper headline "TV bully kicks dwarf in face".

Had one of the best few days filming so far.

We shot the biggest scene of the movie over three days with hundreds of extras. Possibly the best group of extras I've ever worked with.

We had our first set visit too. A lovely chap from the LA Times flew in to interview me and Matt and a few of the cast. He saw me directing, and acting, having a laugh with the crew and keeping the background artists amused.

When he left I shouted at people and had an orphanage closed down because I needed somewhere to keep my plane dry.

He saw none of this so the article should be very positive.



Feeling the pressure of keeping up an internationally acclaimed blog, I thought I'd call in some help from the people who owe me big.

I sent an e-mail to John Hodgman who is soon to star in this film. Here it is with his replies...

RG.   Write something funny for the film blog. I'm running out of things to say. Please complete this questionaire

1. Although you've never said it publicly, you consider Ricky Gervais to be not only a handsome man, but also a genius. Why? Why have you not said it publicly?
JH.   I consider Gervais a handsome man because he gives people rides in horse-drawn carriages. I consider him a genius because he does it FOR MONEY. Also, he has a brilliant comic mind. His eyepatch is hilarious, and not just for the usual reasons (lack of eye).

RG.  2. Like all intellectuals you both need and despise your fans. What do you hate about them most?
JH.  On the contrary, I love my "fans", and that is why I keep an ongoing conversation with them via my blog, areasofmyexpertise.blogspot.com and my twitter account, www.twitter.com/hodgman. The only thing I really despise is advertising.

RG.  3. Would you rather have giant frog feet or lobster claw hands? Why?
JH.  Frog feet, obviously. My carny days are over, and I like typing. I also hate it when people try to eat my hands with butter.

RG.  4. Who would you have play you in a biopic; Phillip Seymore Hoffman, or Gary Coleman? (Be careful. This is a trap to see if you are racist or not)
JH.  Philip Seymour Hoffman as "young hodgman--the carny years." Gary Coleman as "old hodgman." and Gary Oldman as "immortal hodgman in his castle, 1000 years from now."

RG.  5. Why are you a racist?
JH.  I am not a racist. I just think that the people with lobster claw hands now enjoy an institutional advantage over other Americans that isn't fair in a supposed society of equals.

I hope this helps you fill up your blog. See you soon. Thank you, and

That is all



Jake is still alive after the wasabe incident.

Today we dressed him up as a caveman.

This was actually useful as it was a make up test for a scene we're shooting next week. He looked really weird. His nose was big and his eyebrows made him look really mental.

He looked even worse in the caveman make up. (You must've seen that one coming.)

I read an article today in Variety magazine entitled "Who will be the next Ricky Gervais?" It was basically listing the hundreds of Brits trying to break America.

A very flattering title; it suggests that I am the zenith of international achievement. However, I don't think that I'm quite done being the first Ricky Gervais yet. I haven't started my US tour yet. Ghost Town, my first lead in a Hollywood film isn't even released until September. I'm halfway through my directorial debut.

If these are all flops no one will want to be the next Ricky fucking Gervais.

It's so funny when I read that so and so is going to be huge in America because their sitcom is being re-made. It's usually the last we hear of that little project. But since the success of The Office it's like The Goldrush. I think it's peoples' PR machines getting carried away. I was "Huge in America" about 3 years before any one really new my name.

Take everything you read with a pinch of salt. Or wasabe...

I'm up for an LA Bafta tonight apparently. I'm not sure what that is but I'll have one if they're handing them out. Winning that could make me the next me.



We fed Jake a spoonful of wasabe today.

I don't know why he ate it.

As he choked, went red, sweated a bit, then went to lie down in Matt's trailer before throwing up, he said, "I thought it would be funnier than this."

So did I, Jake. So did I.

It was funny when it happened to Karl Pilkington. I think that's because it was by mistake. We were in the Ivy in London and Karl had ordered an oriental mix starter. I suddenly turned to see him gasping for air and water.

"I ate that green stuff," he spluttered.

"Why did you eat it all at once?" I said.

He replied, "I thought it was a mushy pea."

Why would they put one mushy pea on a plate. Idiot.


Louis CK did some eating today too. He thought it would be a good idea to start the scene by eating a chocolate.

Of course for continuity he had to eat a chocolate at the beginning of every take. He felt sick by lunch time. I warned him but he didn't listen.

We did lots of ad libbing today and ruined most takes laughing.

On film, with two cameras running, that's a lot of money down the drain. We had fun though. I think we were the only ones having fun.

I pointed out to Louis that no one else found us funny. He didn't care. He was eating free chocolates.

I looked around the room at all the stoney faces. It felt like the set of Schindler's List.

Matt pointed out that crew are trained not to laugh when they are recording stuff.

Anyway, we've got so much more footage for the DVD gag reel. (They didn't even have one on the Schindler's List DVD and that sold millions)



We converted the place Pat Benatar played last week into a casino today. It looked great. The art and props department worked over the weekend and did and amazing job.

I'm always slightly humbled by the amount of effort people go to for a a few minutes of comedy.

Then I get over that and start shouting at people to hurry up because I'm hungry.

That's me explaining to the DP- "I want a pizza, this big"




I was filming scenes with Louis CK. He is so good in this.

I think people are going to love his character, Greg. He's so useless, and stupid and sort of sweet in a slobbish, irritating way.

And luckily his character is very similar. ( I don't give a fuck if you saw that one coming)

He seriously is great. (He is playing London by the way so you must get a ticket if you've never seen him live)

I noticed today that he looks like a giant Teddy Bear. This amused me so much more than him.






Popped to New York again for the weekend.

We got to the tiny airport near Lowell about 20 minutes early and the two pilots were waiting. One of them said, "Hi, ready?" And we were off. Amazing.

At first they couldn't shut the door properly. They said, "It's not a problem because I was told that an identical plane is standing by as back-up."

He tried the door again, then stopped, looked at me and Jane, and said, "You must be pretty important if they have a spare plane for you in case."

I laughed and stopped myself from saying "That's good. Last week they thought I was the fucking chef."

The door closed and we arrived in New York about an hour later. I got to The Four Seasons and immediately had a nap. (It must've been the champagne on the plane.)

We met our friends Rob and Jill at the the world famous 21 Club for dinner. It really is a magical place. We sat at Frank Sinatra's table. The food is amazing. I had chicken and mash.

As a lovely surprise they brought us free champagne and a special extra course compliments of the chef. Unfortunately it was four whole soft shell crabs. I felt really bad, but we had to send two of them back. Jill is a vegetarian and I can't eat things with that many legs.

It was a lovely gesture though.

Rob was a vegetarian until last year but he managed to eat pork, followed by steak followed by a whole crab. No wonder he couldn't finish his trifle. He loves trifle. And creme brulee.

On Sunday we did a bit of house hunting before returning to Lowell on the jet. I felt like Karl Pilkington. Oh I nearly forgot - Karl has agreed to do a special one-off show. I'll tell you more about that soon.

If I do get a place in New York it will need a big garage for this. John Travolta's got a much bigger one than me. (grow up)




Week eight - April 2008

There was the most amazing sunset over Lowell last night.

I like this town more and more. It looks beautiful on film too. It is the perfect setting for this movie.

On the one hand it's a classic American small town and on the other it's a town like no other town you've ever seen before.

I filmed the first scenes with Jennifer Garner today.

She is a perfectionist so we did two takes in the last scene which meant we didn't wrap till 4.45.

On a more positive note, we cast another big name in a cameo role.

I can't give away who that is but I have warned the hair and make-up department that he'll only need make-up.

Who knows who he is? The good people of Lowell think they know the answer




It was very hot today in Lowell.

We were inside an air-conditioned bank though.

As a brit I hate missing a lovely day. We always think it may be the last of the year.

As a brit I would have also complained about the heat and the sun in my eyes if we'd have been filming outside.

Luckily we finished at 4.30 and I went for a jog around the town. I ran past loads of trucks. It turned out to be Pat Benitar's road crew. She is playing the local venue.

We have to turn that into a casino next week so I hope she leaves it tidy.

I heard that Extras is up for another couple of awards. A Banff and an LA Bafta. I can't go the the ceremonies but I wish me luck.

I got to do a couple of scenes with my regular stand in Michael. He was playing a homeless man so it was nice that I looked better than him for a change. (he still looks better than me though, doesn't he?)




Two great days in a row. And by that I mean we finished at 4pm. (People warned me that the hours would be slightly longer on a film than TV).

People can't understand how we are doing such short hours.

The answer is simple; I am turning in some very shoddy work. This won't even go straight to dvd. This is going straight to radio.

No, but seriously,... I think the answer is, don't do shots you know you won't use. And rush the crew - they love that.

Here is Rob Lowe hiding behind a girl. Look at his little gun.




I went to New York again for the weekend to see my friend Rob.

The nice people at MRC (the financiers of this movie) have given me a private jet for the duration.

It's un-be-fucking-lievable. It's the closest thing to actually being able to fly yourself. It's a company called Marquis Jet and they know how to run an airline.

It's 48 minutes to New York. They take off when you get there and there's no fuss. It's so casual.

They ask for some ID when you get on. They show you where the exits are, where the refreshments are and you're in the air in about 3 minutes. Even the food is great.

Being the only person on a plane is weird but being the only person in an airport is weirder. I turned up in my usual attire - black T-shirt, sweat pants and trainers and the pilot told me that someone thought I was the chef.

A limo met me at the other end and I was at The Four Seasons in half an hour (the best hotel in the city). I went to my room, got changed and went to the gym. I worked out, then went to the front desk and asked for another key as I had locked the first one they gave me in my room.

I met up with my pear-headed pal Rob and we ate pasta and drank wine.

We came up with the idea for the next Flanimals book. Fladpoles - alien larvae that can turn into any adult Flanimal. Then I got Rob in a head-lock so he went home.

Oh, the filming is going well too.

Here, Gervais, Fey and Lowe turn on the photographer. Look at my face. How brilliant do I think this is? I'm 46 by the way.



Week seven - April 2008

Lowe wanted more punishment.

We are about the same age but as you can see Rob has let himself go a bit.

We were about to do a duel here until someone said we had to walk a whole 10 paces.

I got my assistant to drive me.




Did some really funny scenes today with Rob Lowe, Tina Fey and the great Jeffrey Tambor.

Lunch time I had chicken and mash and introduced Rob and Tina to the joys of Nerf guns.

Warner Brothers saw this blog and sent some of the most incredible Nerf weaponry in the world. One gun fires six darts at once and has a rocket launcher.

It soon got out of hand and in one particular stand off I shot West Wing star and Hollywood hunk Lowe in the eye.

He was fine but it made me think how embarrassing it would be to have to phone up Warner Brothers and explain that the film is delayed because the director blinded one of the stars while "having a laugh".

I made a rule that everyone had to wear sunglasses.

We continued and I sweated for the first few takes after lunch. It did not affect my performance. It didn't affect anything. I always look a bit sweaty.

At least my right eye wasn't bloodshot like that loser Lowe.


It was a lovely day for a bit of directing...




But I'm happy when the day is over too...



I just had two great days shooting scenes in a bar with Louis CK, the funniest stand up working America.

We ruined about half the takes laughing but at least we know we've got some good DVD Extras.

We shot our first outdoor scene today too and a huge crowd filled the streets to watch. Usually I would hate this and get stressed out, but because the people of Lowell were so quiet and polite it was actually quite pleasant.

It was like filming in front of a studio audience. They even laughed when I fucked up.

However, the Lowell sun misbehaved a bit. Not the newspaper, the gigantic ball of burning gas 93 million miles away which was meant to drop behind a building by 3.15.

It didn't.

In fact at one point I'm sure it actually went up a bit.

So in those scenes I will be squinting like a fat little mole type creature.

Before I do my next film I will learn how to control the elements. Then I will destroy mankind. (I meant to just think that last bit in my head.)
I went to bed last night at 8.45 pm. I set two alarm clocks.

I didn't need either of them.

I got up at 6 am and had an egg. It was like something from Rocky. I left out the run and all the punching meat and stuff and went to the set.

We were shooting a scene in a bar in the heart of Lowell. I had chicken and mash for lunch. The day went brilliantly and we finished two and a half hours early.

No point in working yourself to death. It's only a film.

Talking of films. I saw the finished cut of Ghost Town. It's really fantastic. It's a funny, sweet, grown-up comedy. I'm really proud of it and I think David Koepp has done a great job.

But then again we were there till 7pm some nights.
Week six - April 2008

I do my first scenes (as an actor) tomorrow. They are with Louis CK so should be a lot of fun.

We picked out his clothes yesterday. They are disgusting.

He shaved off his beard for us. He was a little concerned as he had been growing it for most of his career. When he had finished I said "I think it was better with the beard."

He did a double take and I immediately let him know I was joking. We then did a 10 minute rehearsal before Matt and I showed him how good we were with our Nerf guns.

He watched like a bored parent as we ran around shouting "look at me look at me". I feel like Tom Hanks in Big. Hollywood is my best toy. A big thank you to these guys for saying nice things


So the stuff we shot with Chris Guest in fantastic.

Why wouldn't it be? He's a comic genius.

I think I told him as much when I interviewed him. Here's few minutes of that interview.


My girlfriend Jane and I went to dinner with Christopher Guest last night.

We went to arguably the best restaurant in Boston, L'Espalier. It is very posh but luckily serves chicken (I don't like things that are still bleeding or have too many legs or live in shells).

It was great though. Chris flew back to LA ridiculously early and I'm so grateful to him for coming all that way for his amazing cameo.

He is certainly a living legend for a generation of comedy fans. He is also one of the nicest people in the world. Here he is in a classic scene from nearly 25 years ago.


Today we did final hair, make up and costume screen tests. Here are some pictures.

This is Gia, one of the cutest things I have ever seen. I worked with her on Ghost Town and simply had to hire her for this movie too. She also comes with a hair stylist called Sasha.




Me in a brown suit.




The clapper board.




Me trying to look cool. (It nearly works because I'm far away and I'm pretty sure the picture is distorted and makes me look thinner.)




+++++ STOP PRESS +++++

Mega nerd alert warp 9.

The magnificent Patrick Stewart has joined the cast of This Side of The Truth as the narrator.

His cameo in Extras was one of my favourite filming days of my career and I can't wait to hook up with him again.

Here he is with one of the finest comic performances of all time.

So with hours to go before we film the very first second of this movie, things are going well.

The crew are great.

The cast is ridiculous.

And the script, even though we say so ourselves is very funny.

But I think we can still screw up the film. Here's how; I will ruin most takes by trying to make the other actors laugh or by laughing myself. We could well go over budget or just run out of money and never finish the film at all. I would have had fun though. Just know that.

Here is a documentary in two parts (part 1 and part 2) showing my work.


Ricky is looking forward to the first day's filming with Christopher Guest.




Scouting for more locations;

Scouting at a graveyard. Nothing funny about that.




The Two Directors put on a puppet show using only their heads.



Week five - March/April 2008

I had a couple of days in New York ahead of getting deep into production.

I think it is my favourite place in the world.

I put a few posters up of Karl Pilkington around the city and played with my chum number one Rob Steen.

He lives on the upper Westside and has a bald head I can squeeze.

It is not round like a fucking orange but it is quite a weird shape. It is more like an upside down pear.

(Although, like Karl, he had never really noticed this until I pointed it out; Glad to be of service.)

Rob does the Flanimals books with me, but we are not doing one this year as I'm too busy.

Unlike Karl, Rob was up for continuing to work, as he is not a lazy Manc twat.

Talking of work I am looking forward to shooting this movie so much now. I think we may have assembled the best comedy cast in the world today.

I hope they are as professional as me. Here's a clip of my cool calm direction.

Today, Ricky has been scouting for set locations in Lowell near Boston, MA...




Hello movie nerds.

This interview from last summer sees me refer to the film as "The other side of the truth".

It only had this title for a few weeks.

"This side of the truth" is better yes?

Another one we kicked around for a while was "The truth about lying". Please tell me we made the right decision.

The problem with a blog is I want it to be interesting.

Now I had a great day but I'm not sure it would be interesting to anyone else in the world.

We did our final shot list, picked out a moustache for Christopher Guest, confirmed a cameo I can't tell you about and I foolishly had salad for lunch.

What was I thinking? I was starving all afternoon. (There are people actually starving in the world so to use that term flippantly is wrong)

Yeah, I was starving, so I had two dinners to make up for it. Roast chicken then pasta.

I'm worried about continuity. If I were to suddenly lose weight the film would be ruined.

See, not very interesting at all.

Oh we had our US release of Ghost Town confirmed today too. It's September 19th. I think I'm more excited about that than I was about The Office or Extras. It's such a classy movie.

Well, you'll be the judge of that. The first trailer will surface in May.

As you can see my influence in Lowell is already being felt.

I hope to have a sign like this on every building before I leave.

Blog Extra...

I have no news at all.

I just wanted to share this with the world.

I received this photo from Christopher Guest in an e-mail a few moments ago.

He wanted to show me how he was preparing for his role in the movie next week.

I get things like this from him on a regular basis. It tells me 2 things. One, everything is OK in the world. And two, there is no pressure on me to grow up, just because I am in my 40s.

Week four - March 2008
So according to imdb.com we are the 1375th most talked about film this week.

That's not good enough!

I want to be in the top 100.

I'll teach them to enter me into a popularity contest.

Go to imdb.com and click on This Side of the Truth about 800 times each. That should do it. We'll see who's more popular won't we. WON'T WE!

Live the dream.

I was never any good with a Rubik's cube.

At least, I doubt I would have been any good at it if I'd have actually tried. But that's not the point.

You know how if wanted to change one square you might have to do about 15 moves because of all the knock on effects? Well that's like fucking scheduling a fucking film.

One thing changes and you have to make thirty phone calls and spend an extra 50 fucking grand and stay at work for an extra two bastard hours (Not me obviously but I feel for the rest of the crew.)

I went into comedy to avoid work.

Even this blog is a headache.

When I was filming Ghost Town, which was my first lead in a Hollywood film (an opportunity most people would give their right arm for), I moaned.

I was interviewed by the BBC on set and I even moaned on camera.

Some rival New England news outlets are trying to stir up trouble between me and the good people at the Lowell Sun.

These miscreants, who shall remain nameless, suggested that I insulted the local Lowell tabloid and that the editor replied with a threat to have me whacked.

May I point out that we were BOTH JOKING.

And to the Lowell Sun, don't listen to them. I'll give you an exclusive before we move out of your lovely parish.

My thanks to the guys at fabfunk for putting us straight in at number 3 in the film news chart. I demand a re-count.

See? We're not just big in Lowell.

Louis CK, who is from this neck of the woods is also getting written about...

...
And now he's getting ready to try his hand at full-on acting in Ricky Gervais' upcoming This Side of the Truth (co-written with Matthew Robinson), which begins shooting next month. The film has a gigantic cast (Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Christopher Guest, to name a few) and Louis has a fairly central role. "I play the best friend. A big dummy," he said. "[In the role,] I'm sort of a big, stupid idiot."
...

Here's the full article from the Hartford Advocate.

And here's a nice clip of Louis in action. It's the effort I admire.

How do you like our logo? You hadn't noticed? Well look now. You don't really care either way? Good. That's what we were aiming for.

So, a final bit of casting news is that Stephen Merchant and Shaun Williamson will rekindle their on-screen partnership with a small cameo in the movie.

Barry, I mean Shaun, will play my father. Yes I know he's about my age but it's a flash back and he does look a bit like me. Stephen on the other hand looks like no one I've ever met.

Here they are in action...


Blog Extra...

Jason Bateman was furious with me for blogging the details of his botched sex-change operation and out of control drug abuse. He burst into my trailer fuming and shouting "I'm not high, I'm drunk. I'm fucking drunk OK? Drunk."

He then started to take of his trousers mumbling "I'll show you a fucking sex-change. They fucking butchered me and you think it's funny. I was teen wolf you mother-fucking limey"

"Well, teen wolf too" I said.

"How are you spelling the too bit?'' he snapped. "T double O" I replied. "Good," he said, a little calmer.

Then, tearful he thanked me for casting him and left. He may have left without his trousers but he left with his fucking dignity god damn it.

I captured the moment on my iPhone.

CASTING UPDATE....
...Jason Bateman is the latest addition to join the cast.

"I'm a huge fan of Jason" says Ricky. "I love his acting style and he's a lovely guy. When he kept calling me and begging to have a walk-on part in the film I said yes immediately. Well, I said, 'why are you so desperate?' first."

Apparently "Master Bateman" as he likes to be called, has spent his amassed wealth on crack and a botched sex change operation.

Now he has what he calls, "a mess down there", but he doesn't care as he is permanently "out of it".


Week Three supplementary entry...
Thanks to all the movie and news websites that said lovely things about the latest cast additions, especially buzzsugar.com who even put up similarly lovely pictures of all the actors.

My favourite pic was Louis CK's which I can only assume was his mug-shot from when he was arrested for armed robbery in Bolivia.

Matt made me feel bad about suggesting that Jake would let himself become our gimp. To put Matt's mind at rest, Jake has a long way to go before he degrades himself as much as my long-time editor and hamster-faced geek, Nigel Williams.

Proof, as if it were needed...

cheers

P.S. This Side of the Truth lawyers, Fungelstein Bodgit and Lim require me to point out that the esteemed Mr CK has never been arrested for any violent crime in any country anywhere in the world ever. Also, the photo makes him look less intelligent that he actually is.

Week three - March 2008
With the main cast complete we have been concentrating this week on the smaller supporting roles. We've been casting in Boston and New York as there are about 70 distinct speaking roles to fill.

We are trying to avoid the "Hollywood actor look". No botox, perma-tans, or unfeasibly white teeth. Normal people. And by normal people I mean people bordering on a freak show exhibit. (In case any of the successful applicants are reading this I don't mean you.).

We want fat, thin, young and old of every race and demographic. Preferably with faces like a catcher's mitt and teeth like a vandalised grave yard.

Makes me look better too. Perfect.



I should point out that in the first picture I am not employing the services of padding or make-up. I think I have let myself go a bit.

Thank you to all the film and comedy websites that have linked to this blog and of course all the film fans that have logged on. I thought I should do a quick FAQ to answer some queries.

Is the film financed with American or English money?
American. The film is funded by MRC and distributed by Warner Brothers in The US and Universal in the rest of the world. The film is completely American; finance, production, location, cast and crew. Except me. (I may wear a bowler hat and drink milky tea all day on set.)

Is it like Liar Liar in reverse?
Not really. It's a contemporary world rather like our own, but in which the human race has never evolved the ability to lie. I play a loser who discovers one day that he, and only he has the ability to lie. In a world where no one even understands the concept of lying, everyone totally believes, without question anything I tell them. I can say anything at all and they accept this as the gospel truth. I can get anything I want. Or can I?

Is Jake (Matt's and my assistant) destined to become our gimp.
Yes. I think this new-found fame has gone to his head. Whenever I want to torture him now I have to go through his agent.

CASTING UPDATE....
Latest cast additions just confirmed - John Hodgman, Tina Fey, Christopher Guest, Jeffrey Tambor join Louis CK, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, Jennifer Garner.
Oh and me, Ricky Gervais, obviously. Not a bad cast for a comedy.


Week two - March 2008
We've nearly finished casting. It's an amazing line up but I can't tell you all the cast just yet - not until the contracts are signed in blood. I should be able to spill the beans, as we say in England, in about a week or so.

I picked out all my costumes today. Some directors/lead actors would choose their wardrobe based on style, creation of original iconography and aesthetic enhancement of the fictional world. I chose mine based on comfort, how long they take to get in and out of and on what I would want to keep when the movie is complete.

I also had to choose a beard. I hate beards. They itch and the glue takes ages to get off. It's only for one shooting day but it's a pain.

(In the film I'm writing with Steve Merchant I'm playing a man with a bad back who sits in an arm chair all day. If I can hide a toilet in the armchair I will have created the perfect acting job for myself)

But anyway, back to This Side of the Truth.

Only a few weeks away from shooting now and I'm really looking forward to it. We're in good shape and we've even started planning the DVD extras. Matt, (co-writer/director) wants Karl Pilkington to do an alternative directors commentary. Can you imagine? Karl will probably be busy with his own film idea by then. It stars Clive Warren (?) and Rebecca De Mornay.
Listen...



Week one - March 2008
I just spent a week in Boston scouting locations for This Side of The Truth, a movie written and directed by me and Matt Robinson.

This is the first movie either of us have directed and only my second lead role in a Hollywood film, (my first being Ghost Town, released later this year).

So when we met the crew and production staff we had to make a pretty good impression to be taken seriously.

The first thing we did was send out our new assistant Jake to buy some nerf guns.

We shot each other for about 20 minutes but were interrupted by our producer saying it was time for a conference call about special effects.

During the call me and Matt passed each other off-putting notes and obscene pictures to make each other laugh. I lost, and at one point had to leave the room.

We finished the day by asking the designer why he had spent so much time on the testicles of the model boar he had made. Once again myself and Matt were the only ones laughing.


I hope we find the finished film as funny.
  




Sign up now and you'll have full access to the site and get the odd email from Ricky when he's got something to tell you.

sign up | forgotten your password?

Already signed up? Sign in here...

username:
password:




This Side of the Truth on IMDB

A rave review before the cameras have started rolling at CHUD.COM
This is based on a draft script - so things have changed, but we're not saying what.