In yet another hilarious promo for Life’s Too Short, Ricky Gervais manages to get Warwick Davis to dress up as a Muppet.  This was after he and Johnny Depp had him in a toilet [see].  No word yet on the premier date, according to his blog Ricky is in the editing room now and recently finished episode 2.  With this coming later this year, An Idiot Abroad 2 and The Ricky Gervais Show season 3 you can look forward to a few months of CityofRicky.com amirite?

Watch the clip below and check out all our Life’s Too Short news here:

Life’s Too Short created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and is described by Gervais as being about “the life of a showbiz dwarf”, with Warwick Davis playing a fictionalised version of himself. How can it get better than that?

Life’s Too Short – GQ Exclusive Promo with BONUS video of Ricky fighting Warwick (do you think it was real?)

Ricky Gervais has said that The Simpsons is the best TV show of all time, a sediment I’d have to agree with.  It didn’t take long for Matt Groening to extend an invitation to Gervais after many of the creators and writers found they shared a love for The Office – saying: “Everybody on The Simpsons is a fan of The Office – it’s one of the best shows on TV in the last decade.”

Ricky Gervais went on to write and star in The Simpsons episode “Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife” voicing the character Charles Heathbar [see video below].  He guest starred as himself in the Season 22 episode “Angry Dad – The Movie“.  A 2008 article [here], Entertainment Weekly named Gervais one of the sixteen best Simpsons guest stars.

Before the episode air, Gervais did an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where he picks his favorite episodes! The man knows his stuff:

“It might be a cartoon, but The Simpsons is the best television comedy ever. It’s unfair because it’s almost too good. The characters are beautiful. The writing is out of this world. I sometimes sit back in amazement and wonder how they didn’t miss a trick. There are episodes when I’ve nearly been in tears, they’re so beautiful and ambitious. Favorite episodes? The thing is, I was never a nerd. I’ve never been that sort of geek or had that sort of male autism where you know things off by heart. I never quoted Monty Python. But I do it with The Simpsons. I get with a like-minded person and I’m crying with laughter, telling them bits I remember.

I met Matt Groening and I was even doing it to him. Although he just wanted to talk about The Office! It was a mutual back-slapping fest. I was going, ‘Oh, The Simpsons is the greatest TV show on earth: and he was saying the same about The Office. He [Groening] said I could do a voice in an episode. I’m not well known enough to have a cameo. Just a character is fine. I’ll probably end up being in a bar brawl.”

1. HOMER’S ENEMY [SEASON 8] – New nuclear-plant employee Frank Grimes drives himself to an early grave by plotting against Homer. ”The most complete episode. Grimes finds out Homer’s the safety inspector and can’t believe people around him don’t mind, and that this buffoon who nearly drinks acid by mistake has got a loving family. But he’s not seeing the whole picture. You sit back and watch this man’s demise with glee. The funeral is beautiful. Homer’s asleep, snoring, and goes, ‘Change the channel, Marge,’ and they all laugh as the coffin is going down. If someone comes into this world, they leave it the same as it was before. It’s just perfect.”

2. AND MAGGIE MAKES THREE [SEASON 6] – When Lisa asks why there are no pictures of Maggie in the photo album, a flashback recalls Homer and Marge’s leaner times. ”Homer has to go groveling back to Mr. Burns, and Mr. Burns gives him this terrible plaque above his desk that says, ‘Don’t forget: You’re here forever.’ It’s about how sometimes things don’t go the way you planned, which is pretty amazing in a cartoon. Homer then puts up all the pictures of Maggie he’s ever taken to strategically cover this horrible thing so it now reads, ‘Do it for her.’ It gives me a lump in the throat thinking about it.”

3. A FISH CALLED SELMA [SEASON 7] – McClure enters into a sham marriage with Selma to rehab his image and hide a secret. ”You think it’s going to be that he’s gay. And he says, ‘Gay, I wish!’ It turns out he’s got this weird fish fetish. There’s one throwaway line where one of the mobsters goes, ‘I thought you said Troy McClure was dead,’ and the other responds, ‘No, what I said was he sleeps with the fishes.’ That’s incredible! I never saw that coming! And it’s the one where Troy’s in the Planet of the Apes musical. One of my favorite lines is when he sings ‘from chimpan-A to chimpan-Z.’ Inspired, isn’t it?”

4. MUCH APU ABOUT NOTHING [SEASON 7] – When xenophobia overtakes Springfield, Homer comes to Apu’s aid. ”It’s a great swipe at ignorance and fear. [To prepare Apu for a citizenship test], Homer holds the flag up and says, ‘We all know the 13 stripes are for good luck. But why does the American flag have precisely 47 stars?’ Homer is at his best when he’s arrogant and ignorant at the same time. Also, Chief Wiggum says, ‘First we’ll be rounding up your tired, then your poor, then your huddled masses.’ I love the deconstructing, and taking something that’s so globally obvious and getting it wrong. A kids’ cartoon — think of the satire! Phenomenal!”

5. SECRETS OF A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE [SEASON 5]- Marge kicks Homer out of the house after he divulges intimate details about their relationship to his adult education class. ”He’s in rags, like Robinson Crusoe, in the tree house. Lisa comes upstairs with dessert, and he goes, ‘Help me trick her into taking me back.’ And she says, ‘You can’t trick somebody into loving you.’ Then when Homer goes back into the house, his rags get caught on the table. Marge unhooks him and he says, ‘I know now what I can offer you that no one else can. Complete and utter dependence.’ It’s so sweet, because he’s right!”

[last updated June 23 2011]

Gervais has told reporters: “I’d been thinking about doing something with a midget since seeing The Wizard of Oz again a few years ago. Then we met Warwick during Extras. The real Warwick tells us these great stories. They’re comedy gold.” Stephen Merchant commented of Davis that “he helped create the idea and came to us with the story.” [see Ricky Gervais with Elmo and Warwick Davis]

Gervais described it as “A cross between Extras and Curb your Enthusiasm and One Foot in the Grave but with a dwarf. That is out and out funny.”

Warwick is playing a twisted version of himself. He’s quite conceited and arrogant and manipulative. And he runs a [small person] talent agency, which he does in real life. Davis said that his character is egotistical and suffers from small man syndrome, while Gervais said of the character “he refuses to live his life as a disabled person. We’re making him empowered but also give him these foibles”.

“It’s returning to our Office roots of fake documentary…It follows the life of a showbiz dwarf, Warwick Davis, who’s really a showbiz dwarf. He plays a twisted version of himself and he’s doing this documentary to try to get his career back on track. He has a big tax bill, he’s going through a messy divorce and he’s trying to get back his Hollywood career. He’s a conniving, back-biting little Napoleon.”

FAQ via Pilkipedia

Q: So what is Life’s Too Short then?
A: It’s the brand new sitcom written and directed by Steve Merchant and Ricky Gervais, being filmed in the summer of 2011 for broadcast later in the year.

Q: Are the boys also starring in the show?
A: They will be appearing, playing fictionalized versions of themselves, however the star of the program will be Warwick Davis.

Q: Who he?
A: Warwick is an English actor best known for his roles in the Star Wars, Harry Potter and Leprechaun franchises; his other credits include Willow, Labyrinth, Ray, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He also played himself in the Daniel Radcliffe episode of Extras, which saw him kneed in the face by fat TV bully Andy Millman.

Q: Who else is in the cast?
A: Though several actors have been rumoured, the only other confirmed part is a cameo for megastar and British comedy fan Johnny Depp.

Q: What’s the show about then?
A: The show follows Warwick’s trials and tribulations in showbusiness as he combines an acting career with running an agency for little and large actors.

Steve Carell will leave his role as Dunder Mifflin boss Michael Scott at the end of the season.  There is speculation of who might replace Carell, Gervais actually brought the idea of Arnett taking over the role to NBC, so I wonder if this appearance by Arnett is for keeps.

“Had a little meeting with NBC about various things and recommended Will Arnett for a regular in The Office. Thoughts? I think he’s amazing” he said.

The Office season finale will air on May 19 at 9pm on NBC.

If you want the rainbow, you've gotta put up with the rain - do you know which philosopher said that? Dolly Parton. And people say she's just a big pair of tits.

Ricky Gervais is pretty popular this week, fresh off his fantastic job at the Golden Globes (see all his work here) we now have news that Ricky will have a cameo on The Office as David Brent.  Ricky of course created The Office, one of the best TV series of all time which was later adopted by the U.S.  with Steve Carell starring.

I haven’t seen a lot of the Carell version but I can guarantee I’ll be watching it for this.  Vulture has learned that Ricky Gervais shot a top-secret cameo back in September that will appear in the cold open of the January 27 episode of the NBC series. “It’s a little more than if you blink, you’ll miss it, but if you don’t set your TiVo right, you’ll miss it,” says Office show-runner Paul Lieberstein. “It’s outside of the office, and it’s just the two of them interacting,” he says. “It’s just a llittle nod to Steve and his final year.” To help maintain the cone of silence, Lieberstein adds, “We didn’t even tell NBC at first. So [Ricky] worked for free. But don’t print that — it might get him in trouble with the INS.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW

The Ricky Gervais Show audiobooks have been developed into an animated TV series, which premiered on February 19, 2010, on HBO.  The Animated Podcast of The Ricky Gervais Show is an animated version of the popular podcasts of the same name. It features real audio from conversations between Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington from the first series of podcasts which were released starting in December of 2005.  A lot of people were expecting new material (for some reason) but as advertising and Ricky’s Blog indicated, it was money for old rope, as they put the old audio on top of new animation.  It is very funny and the animation in my view adds a new layer to the hilarity.

Click here to view the embedded video.

LIFE’S TOO SHORT

In April 2010 it was announced that Gervais and Stephen Merchant will be writing a new show, called Life’s Too Short, which they described as, “A cross between Extras and Curb your Enthusiasm and One Foot in the Grave but with a dwarf. That is out and out funny.”

Life’s Too Short will star Warwick Davis.  Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant will write and direct the show much like they did with The Office and Extras. Warwick will play himself in this observational comedy based on his real life trials and tribulations being an actor with dwarfism. The show is similar in style to that of Larry David’s HBO  show Curb your Enthusiasm as it has a very similar concept and will be shot in a single-camera style.

When speaking of Warwick in a recent interview Ricky Gervais stated that “pound for pound he is one of the funniest men I know”. Gervais & Merchant have stated that for this project they plan to focus purely on comedy rather than the mix of comedy and drama that their previous projects have consisted of.  Gervais confirmed via his blog that they will probably shoot 6 episodes for the first season. In April 2010 Gevais announced that the first production meeting has been held and it was “very exciting”.

Davis is best known as the title character in Willow and the Leprechaun  series; other prominent roles include Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter movies and Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  Davis played himself in the third episode of the second series of Extras (clip below).