Has Ricky Gervais gone loopier than David Brent? ZOO had to do a double-take when he told us this week that one of his inspirations for The Office was 1940s movie Casablanca. But don't go hunting for a scene where Humphrey Bogart hides Ingrid Bergman's stapler in jelly - it turns out what Ricky meant was that the film inspired the Tim, Dawn and Lee love triangle.

And Gervais exclusively revealed to ZOO that The Office was based on another spoof documentary, This Is Spinal Tap, a pisstake of a rock band. Now we know why Brent likes to think he could become a pop star.

The comedy legend also gave ZOO the lowdown on his favourite ever films and albums, revealing his all-time inspirations. The master has spoken. Stick these on your list now...


  1 THE GODFATHER
"Amazing epic tale. the dynamics of the family and the world they live in is so wonderfully depicted. I love the fact there's an amibguity as to whether you should like these characters even thought they're murderers. Reeks of class"
  2 CASABLANCA
"The love triangle is fascinating as there are reasons for Ingrid Bergman's character to stay with Bogart or Paul Henreid, and we tried to capture that theme with the Dawn, Lee and Tim love triangle in The Office."
  3 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
"Jack Nicholson is the coolest. I saw him once at The Globes, walking around like a grandad at a barbecue in his back garden. He's the alpha male, he's the man."
  4 THIS IS SPINAL TAP
"The single biggest influence on The Office. I saw it as a bootleg in 1984 and was blown away. Whether you're in a band or work at ICI, you can relate to it. The improvisation's amazing. So many classic lines. Hysterical."
  5 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
"It's a classic Christmas film. It really does provide vitamins for the human spirit. I'm a terrible atheist, but a sucker for an angel, and this makes you forget there is nastiness in the world."
  1 THE BENDS - RADIOHEAD
"I've listened to this album so much that I've had to replace it three times. Bones, especially, brings a tear to my eye every time."
  2 ALADDIN SANE - DAVID BOWIE
"The lyrics are so evocative and interesting. Bowie has always been my favourite artist."
  3 THE SMITHS - THE SMITHS
"Marr and Morrissey did some of their best work on this - it has such hypnotic guitars."
  4 BLOOD ON THE TRACKS - BOB DYLAN
"If You See Her... is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. He is a living icon."
  5 BORN TO RUN - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
"He hasn't reached that god-like status of Dylan, but he's honest, he's The Boss."




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