Hollywood is bracing itself for the Golden Globe Awards later today - and what comedian Ricky Gervais might say as host of the event.
The Golden Globes, which reach an audience in the hundreds of millions on NBC in the United States and various TV networks around the world, is among Hollywood's top film and TV awards shows.
This year, Gervais has been hired to host, bringing his off-the-cuff and often controversial humour to Sunday's show.
The awards, set to air live starting at 8pm EST (1am Irish time), are given out by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and are closely watched for their impact on Hollywood's race for Oscars.
But they also are billed as one of Hollywood's biggest parties because as the champagne flows while awards are handed out, the stars loosen up and often strange things happen. In 1999, Jack Nicholson mooned the crowd, and this year speculation has soared over what Gervais might say.
After being named host, he told Reuters: "Everyone is sitting around drinking. I'm going to be drunk, and I'm not going to rehearse. So, it's the perfect gig for me."
Among nominees for best film drama, Iraq war film The Hurt Locker, which on Friday was named best film by US broadcast critics, will compete against director James Cameron's box office smash, action-adventure Avatar.
Joining them in the best film drama race are George Clooney's corporate downsizing movie Up In the Air, dark tale of abuse Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire and Quentin Tarantino's World War Two fantasy Inglourious Basterds.
Meryl Streep (It's Complicated and Julie & Julia) and Sandra Bullock (The Proposal) will square off for best actress in a comedy, and Bullock has a second chance to win in the category for best actress in a drama with football film The Blind Side.
Awards will be given in roughly 25 categories and director Martin Scorsese will receive a lifetime achievement trophy.
Reuters