The road of awards season is a long one to travel – one full of shameless politicking and indulgent self-congratulations – and today marks the first big stop on this arduous journey: the announcement of the nominations for the Golden Globes. Every year the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announces its nominees, every year film fans all over the world complain about how all of their favorites got left out, and every year even those in charge of the voting process still scratch their heads as to why all of their awards are still split along the lines of comedy and drama. Who knows? It’s tradition! Below are the nominations for feature films. Now is your chance to pore over them and begin to ask all of the important questions like: If ParaNorman was the best animated movie of the year, why does it seem like it’s the only one that didn’t get nominated? How can The Silver Linings Playbook get so much representation in the comedy section of the awards, while David O. Russell gets locked out of the Best Director category? And, perhaps most importantly, who in the heck suddenly decided that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was a good movie? If you wish to contact the HFPA with these questions directly, or perhaps see who they chose to nominate in their television categories, head on over to their official site and get it done. For everyone else, enjoy the comfort of being able to stay right here on FSR.

After nearly a year of verbal back-and-forth, during which two-time Golden Globe host Ricky Gervais claimed that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association wanted him back to host for a third time, and the HFPA claimed that they didn’t want the foul-mouthed comedian back at all, reports started surfacing earlier in the month that Gervais was having lunch meetings with HFPA representatives about coming back again. This surprised no one. The “what will he say next” effect of giving Ricky Gervais a live mic has been a ratings winner for The Globes over the past two years, and money talks much louder than hurt feelings. It should also come as no surprise that Ricky and the HFPA’s mutual appreciation of dollar signs has now made it official that the comedian will be back, once again, to take pot shots at the nominees and the governing body of the awards. The official Golden Globes website confirmed the hiring saying, “After weeks of rumors it’s finally official—Ricky Gervais will be back to host the Golden Globes for a third year.” Not one to let a controversial moment go by without comment, Gervais took to his Twitter account after the announcement was made and said (with accompanying picture), “Just told Billy Crystal he’d better not use any of my holocaust or pedophile material at The Oscars. He agreed (true).”

I know that, in this age of the Internet and the 24/7 news cycle, it’s sometimes hard to remember things that happened even a few days ago. But try to think back all the way to last year’s Golden Globes Awards. They were hosted by comedian Ricky Gervais, and a lot of people thought that he was too mean in the digs that he took at the celebrities in attendance. Then, after the ceremony, the Internet stirred up a bit of a controversy when quote from HFPA President Philip Berk got out that succinctly said, “He definitely crossed the line.” Before you knew it, false Internet drama led to a war of words between Gervais and Berk, or at least a public negotiation. Gervais claimed that, despite Berk’s comments, he had already been invited back for next year but, “I don’t think I should. I don’t know what I could do better. I certainly couldn’t get more press for them, that’s for sure. You know me. Two seasons is enough.” Berk then countered Gervais’s counter by saying that he had not invited Gervais back, or more specifically, “There is no truth to this rumor. We have not asked him to come back. Nice try, Ricky.” But now reports are coming out that Gervais has been breaking bread in Paris with Senior VP of Specials at NBC Douglas Vaughn and current HFPA President Aida Takla-O’Reilly about coming back and hosting again for this year. The Hollywood Reporter is saying that these

Didn’t get a chance to see the Golden Globes Telecast on the TV Guide network? We did. And trust us, you didn’t miss much…

NBC has announced that the telecast of the Golden Globe Awards has been cancelled. They will replace the show with an hour-long Press Conference.

NBC pays $5 million a year in license fees for the right to air the Golden Globes, so even without actors they are still going to air the show.