And just because we’re not complete and total film snobs here (well okay, maybe Gordon is) I’m pleased to compile into one place the list of nominees for the 29th annual Razzie awards, the “other” awards ceremony that will take place on February 21, just one night away from the Academy Awards celebration.
Founded in 1981, the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation was created by copywriter and publicist John Wilson to “dishonor” the worst achievements in film, acting, and screenwriting. Previous “honorees” have included such films as the first Worst Picture honoree Can’t Stop the Music (a pseudo biopic of the Village People) and such actors as Halle Berry (who actually showed up at the 2004 Razzie ceremony to accept her award for Catwoman, with her Monster’s Ball Oscar in one hand).
And best of all, they’ve brought back the World Career Achievement award, and are giving it to Uwe Boll, who is being hailed by the Razzie committee as being “Germany’s answer to Ed Wood.”
So who else is in line to get a gold paint-plated raspberry on a pedestal this year?
Worst Picture
• Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans (Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox)
• The Happening (20th Century Fox)
• The Hottie and The Nottie (Regent Releasing/Purple Pictures)
• In The Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (Boll Kg/Brightlight Picture)
• The Love Guru (Paramount)
Worst Director
• Uwe Boll for 1968: Tunnel Rats, In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, and Postal
• Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer for Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans
• Tom Putnam for The Hottie and the Nottie
• Marco Schnabel for The Love Guru
• M. Night Shyamalan for The Happening
Worst Actor
• Larry the Cable Guy in Witless Protection
• Eddie Murphy in Meet Dave
• Mike Myers in The Love Guru
• Al Pacino in 88 Minutes and Righteous Kill
• Mark Wahlberg in The Happening and Max Payne
Worst Actress
• Jessica Alba in The Eye and The Love Guru
• Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Meg Ryan (yes, all five leading ladies) in The Women
• Cameron Diaz in What Happens in Vegas
• Paris Hilton in The Hottie and the Nottie
• Kate Hudson in Fools’ Gold and My Best Friend’s Girl
Worst Supporting Actor
• Uwe Boll in Uwe Boll’s Postal
• Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia!
• Ben Kingsley in The Love Guru, War, Inc. and The Wackness
• Burt Reynolds in Deal and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
• Verne Troyer in The Love Guru and Uwe Boll’s Postal
Worst Supporting Actress
• Carmen Electra in Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans
• Paris Hilton in Repo: The Genetic Opera
• Kim Kardashian in Disaster Movie
• Jenny McCarthy in Witless Protection
• Leelee Sobieski in 88 Minutes and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Worst Screen Couple
• Uwe Boll & ANY Actor, Camera or Screenplay in Everything Boll Has Ever Done (film citation mine)
• Cameron Diaz & Ashton Kutcher in What Happens in Vegas
• Paris Hilton & either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore in The Hottie and the Nottie
• Larry the Cable Guy & Jenny McCarthy in Witless Protection
• Eddie Murphy IN Eddie Murphy in Meet Dave
Worst Screenplay
• Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans both written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
• The Happening written by M. Night Shyamalan
• The Hottie and the Nottie written by Heidi Ferrer
• In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale screenplay by Doug Taylor
• The Love Guru written by Mike Myers and Graham Gordy
Worst Prequel, Sequel, Remake or Rip-off
• The Day The Earth Blowed Up Real Good, er, Stood Still
• Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans
• Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull
• Speed Racer
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
BlueNight says:
There are quite a few Razzies worth giving, but while the premise of The Happening was ludicrous (yet plausible), it was quite well directed and acted.
I think the greatest irony of that film was that America has largly ended pollution through the EPA over the last twenty years, yet the plants started rebelling only after Al Gore declared war on CO2.
Chris says:
BlueNight, if you really think that “America has largly (sic) ended pollution”, then you might be, hmm, excessively naive, to say the least.
While the situation is much worse in a number of other countries (Japan, for example), the USA’s contribution to the depletion of natural resources and the systematic combustion of all the fossil fuels they can get their hands on (by any means necessary) is NOT to be overlooked.