‘I’d like to thank ...’
Me, myself and I: Accepting his Writers Guild of America Award for the NBC comedy “The Office,” Steve Carell read off a list of writers, producers and agents. He crumpled up the paper, tossed it away and then deadpanned that he wasn’t actually thanking them because they “had nothing to do with the writing of this episode. I wrote it. None of them helped. Tonight I am here in celebration of me.”
Demander in chief: Charlie Sheen took brotherly love to a new level of hokum when introducing the clip of sibling Emilio Estevez’s overly hyped “Bobby” on the Golden Globes. Sheen gushed that the box-office bomb had been put “together with love and genius by the writer and director, my big brother, Emilio Estevez.” Sheen then insisted his brother stand up, which a rightfully embarrassed Estevez did ever so briefly.
Road ruse: “Little Miss Sunshine” star Greg Kinnear reverted to his acerbic “Talk Soup” shtick during his acceptance speech for the Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble in a motion picture. After thanking the directors, writer, producers and studio, he got in a dig about the film’s bright yellow VW bus: “I’d like to thank the engineers at Volkswagen for making a beautiful vehicle back in 1969 that is so comfortable, so safe.”
Den mother: She may have won the Golden Globe for playing an icy magazine diva in “The Devil Wears Prada,” but Meryl Streep was warm, witty and wise during her acceptance speech in which she urged moviegoers to ask their local theater managers why they weren’t screening such acclaimed indie films such as “Little Children” or “Volver” -- “ ‘cause it’s amazing how much you can get if you quietly, clearly and authoritatively demand it.”
Out and about: Though not quite a Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction, Directors Guild of America award presenter Leelee Sobieski’s shifting low-cut dress exposed a bit too much of her left breast. The plunging neckline provided some acerbic ad-libs from fellow presenters including Steve Martin, who quipped: “Sorry, I was a little late. I was backstage trying to convince Leelee Sobieski that the best way to remove double-sided tape is saliva.”
The naked truth: Sacha Baron Cohen’s ribald, envelope-pushing Golden Globe acceptance speech for his performance in “Borat” wouldn’t have been as memorable without reaction shots of his costar, Kenneth Davitian. Recalling their nude wrestling scene in the box-office hit, Baron Cohen told the audience: “I saw some dark parts of America and some ugly parts of America. Some parts of America that have rarely seen the light of day. “ He then pointed out that those included Davitian’s nether regions. Without missing a beat, Davitian grabbed his table’s wine bottle and imbibed.
-- Susan King
