–The Golden Globes will air Sunday night, and Ricky Gervais is set to return as host. The actor-comedian has still refused to apologize for his semi-offensive performance at last year’s ceremony, and has promised that this year will bring even more controversy. If this sounds like a familiar soundbite, it’s because Gervais has trotted out the tale of his turn as emcee multiple times over the past year, even after it had become old news to everyone else.

This year, though, Gervais and his insults will get a whole new dimension of attention, thanks to online betting site Paddy Power. The site lets you place bets on the potential targets of Gervais’ loathing; among the front-runners for his first zinger of the night are Russell Brand and Katy Perry, who announced plans to divorce over the New Year.

—Meanwhile, on the red carpet, there’s another celeb couple that’s getting the blogosphere excited. Michelle Williams, who is up for a Best Actress statuette for her role in ‘My Week With Marilyn’, has said that she plans to bring best friend Busy Phillips as her date.

But while this might seem like an eyebrow-raising announcement, some commentators seem to have conveniently forgotten that that Williams and Phillips attended last year’s ceremony together as well. Maybe Williams, who hasn’t had an active romantic life since the death of ex-boyfriend (and baby daddy) Heath Ledger, just wants to walk the carpet with a pal instead of inviting speculation about a new romance.

—For those who genuinely don’t care about the action on the red carpet, there’s plenty of room for speculation about the awards themselves. You might be surprised to find that betting on the Golden Globes is actually not reserved to the office water cooler, with online booking sites offering odds on the assorted categories.  ‘The Artist’ is expected to clean up at the ceremony, but George Clooney and ‘The Descendants’ could also snag multiple awards. Interestingly, costars Clooney and Ryan Gosling are pitted against each other this year for a Best Actor prize, for their respective roles in ‘Ides of March’, which should make for some interesting office bets.

—The Golden Globes are always chock full of celebrity presenters; this year, a few of the big names on the stage include Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Frieda Pinto, and Antonio Banderas. But the presenter isn’t the only one making sure the announcements go smoothly; every year, there’s an honorary post awarded to a young man or woman, who will assist in the ceremony and help the celebrities come and go from the stage.

The title of ‘Miss Golden Globe’ (or ‘Mr. Golden Globe’) is traditionally awarded to the daughter (or son) of a celebrity; typically the title is handed to a young lady. This year, the title goes to twenty-two-year-old Rainey Qualley, daughter of Andie MacDowell.

—A lot of work goes into the ceremony, but we bet you didn’t realize that crafting a theme song for the show is an honor unto itself. This year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has selected Japanese musician Yoshiki to compose the theme music for the show. A classically trained pianist, Yoshiki also headlines the popular Japanese rock group Japan X, so it will be interesting to see how he fuses his two backgrounds into a theme song.