Netflix ÇEO Ted Sarandos speaks at Ricky Gervais Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony
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00:00Hello, everybody. The audience is over here, but we're going to do it this way.
00:05So Ricky Gervais is receiving the 2,813th star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
00:11But unlike the other 2,812, Ricky does not care.
00:19If he did, he would have been much kinder to Hollywood over the years.
00:24In fact, this is the guy who said that Martin Scorsese was not tall enough to go on the rides at Disneyland.
00:30And said that Joe Pesci was Baby Yoda.
00:35To their face, by the way.
00:38He asked Johnny Depp if he was on recreational drugs on live television.
00:43He asked him if he had seen the movie The Tourist, even though he had been nominated for his appearance in the film The Tourist the year before.
00:51He said that the movie version of Cats was the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs.
00:58It's a good joke.
01:00Now, what he said about James Corden in that film, I won't not repeat.
01:05He may repeat if you ask him.
01:07He did question the sobriety of Mel Gibson, intimated that a room full of movie stars were friends of Jeffrey Epstein,
01:14suggested that Tim Cook might be operating sweatshops in China.
01:17Now, I don't know how Apple TV Plus works, but I'm guessing that is not the act of a man trying to get a show on Apple TV Plus.
01:23Nor are his irreverent takes on Hollywood, the acts of a man trying to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
01:31But Ricky Gervais is undeniable.
01:34And the one thing all of those jokes have in common is that they are jokes.
01:38Ricky does care a lot about some things, and more than anything, he cares about funny.
01:42He's been accused of being anti-this or anti-that, and I can tell you firsthand that Ricky Gervais is not anti-anything except animal cruelty.
01:54He is pro-everything, and he's pro-everyone, actually.
01:56And funny comes first.
01:58He will tread into waters that others will not in an endless search for the funniest words.
02:03Now, it should not be viewed as brave to tell jokes in a free speech culture, but he is, and he's also been a tireless warrior defending the right to say funny things
02:13and to defend our right to laugh at them if, indeed, we find them funny, and to turn it off or leave if we do not.
02:21It would be easy to talk about Ricky the same way we talk about a Mort Saul or a Lenny Bruce or a George Carlin or a Richard Pryor,
02:28except for Ricky Gervais is alive.
02:33And he would have nothing to do with such self-seriousness.
02:39He doesn't even, in fact, he, in fact, is looking only for the funny when he's exploring language and ideas that defy the very idea that you can't say this or you can't say that.
02:49He's an equal opportunity offender, punching up or punching down, because at the end of the day, these jokes are just that.
02:57They are jokes.
02:58They do not define us, and they only are there to make us laugh.
03:03And if you don't like one of them, it's okay.
03:05There's more coming.
03:06And thank goodness for that.
03:11It is clear that Ricky Gervais figured out what funny is.
03:14In 2023, he set the record for the highest-grossing single performance of a stand-up comedy for his sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl.
03:21And when most people would rest on that record, Ricky is back again with another show at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend.
03:28He is, in fact, one of the most successful touring comedians in the world.
03:32And he has created some of the most iconic television in the world as well.
03:36The original British version of The Office, Extras on another network.
03:40And for Netflix, created the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated Derek and the enormous hit of Afterlife, which we're very proud of.
03:47His comedy specials have been enormous, and his films, he's made a great film for us called Special Correspondence that he wrote, directed, and stars in, just like Charlie Chaplin.
04:00And as was said earlier, his comedy specials have broken many records at Netflix, and he'll be back with another one for Mortality.
04:07And he has a great animated project in the works as well.
04:15In film, in series, on stage, on social media, Ricky Gervais is a comedy genius.
04:21So, and given the fact that of all of the hours and hours of laughter he has given us, this bit of concrete is the least we can do to say thank you.
04:30So, for myself, I'd like to say a simple thank you to Jane and to Ricky, you both mean the world to me and Nicole, and for the partnership, and for being the silliest kid in the room, or the most serious adult in the room, and always knowing exactly what is called for in that exact moment.
04:46I'm so proud of you, and I'm so proud to be part of this event with you.
04:50Congratulations, Ricky Gervais, on receiving your star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.