2007 Razzies Nominees Announced

& I Thank God that I haven't seen any of the movies nominated.

The 28th Annual Razzie nominations were recently announced. The awards are given out to the worst of the worst by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation (GRAF) on the night before the Oscars. The awards were created in 1980 by John Wilson & 1st awarded in 1981. Unlike the Motion Picture Academy, anyone who is willing to pay $25 to join ($20 per year to renew) can vote for the winners(?). The winners are announced the night before the Oscars. & yes, an occasional winner has shown up to get his or her award. & what does the winner get? The person is awarded a gold-spray-painted, $4.89 statuette that signify their “winners” stank. (Picture at left, description from official website)

So who are the nominees this year for the least coveted award out there? What did GRAF members see as the worst of 2007?

(From their press release) Topping the field with 9 nominations is I KNOW WHO KILLED ME, a Lindsay Lohan “vehicle” that proved as dangerous for its star as any car she ever ran off the road. An oddball cross-breeding of the HOSTEL/SAW genre of “teen torture porn” with elements of the old PATTY DUKE SHOW, I KNOW stars Lohan as psychically connected twins. KILLED ME copped nominations as 2007’s Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Director and Worst Screen Couple (Lohan appearing opposite herself). It also pulled off the feat of the first ever double Worst Actress nod: Lohan is individually listed for each of the two characters she so lamely portrays. But last year’s Oscar® loser Eddie Murphy managed to steal Lohan’s thunder by garnering himself a record-setting FIVE nominations in a single year. The Latex-laden, nearly laugh-free “comedy” NORBIT, in which Murphy plays three distinct (and decidedly stinky) characters “won” Eddie a chance to take home trophies for Worst Supporting Actor (as the Asian character Mr. Wong) Worst Supporting Actress (as the hideous 400 pound harpy Rasputia) and Worst Actor (as the title character) as well as having Murphy compete alongside himself for Worst Screen Couple. For having co-written the misbegotten mess, Eddie is also a Worst Screenplay nominee. Tying with NORBIT’s total of 8 nominations, and rounding out the Trifecta of the Truly Terrible, is 1999 Worst Actor “winner” Adam Sandler’s gag-inducing “gay romp” I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY, the plot of which has Sandler and co-star Kevin James as New York firemen who pretend to be a married gay couple to scam medical benefits for James. In addition to Worst Picture, I NOW PRONOUNCE was pronounced a contender for Worst Actor (Sandler) Worst Supporting Actor (James) Worst Supporting Actress (Jessica Biel) and Worst Screen Couple (Sandler and EITHER James OR Biel). Rounding out the Worst Picture field are the BFF B.O. bomb BRATZ and the duddy sequel DADDY DAY CAMP. Other well-known names getting their share of blame in this year’s RAZZIE® competition include former Oscar winners Cuba Gooding Jr. (Worst Actor for both DADDY DAY CAMP and NORBIT) Diane Keaton (Worst Actress for BECAUSE I SAID SO) and Jon Voight (Worst Supporting Actor for 4 titles, including BRATZ).

Full List of Nominees

Worst Picture
Bratz: The Movie (Lions Gate)
Daddy Day Camp (Sony/TriStar/Revolution)
I Know Who Killed Me (Sony/TriStar)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (Universal)
Norbit (DreamWorks)

Worst Actor
Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider, National Treasure: Book of Secrets and Next
Jim Carrey in The Number 23
Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Daddy Day Camp and Norbit
Eddie Murphy in Norbit (as the character of Norbit)
Adam Sandler in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Worst Actress
Jessica Alba in Awake, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck
Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos and Skyler Shaye in Bratz: The Movie
Elisa Cuthbert in Captivity
Diane Keaton in Because I Said So
Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me (as the character of Aubrey)
Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me (as the character of Dakota)

Worst Supporting Actor
Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Kevin James in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Eddie Murphy in Norbit (as the character of Mr. Wong)
Rob Schneider in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Jon Voight in Bratz: The Movie, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, September Dawn and Transformers

Worst Supporting Actress
Jessica Biel in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Next
Carmen Electra in Epic Movie
Eddie Murphy in Norbit (as the character of Rasputia)
Julia Ormond in I Know Who Killed Me
Nicollette Sheridan in Code Name: The Cleaner

Worst Screen Couple
Jessica Alba and either Hayden Christensen (Awake), Dane Cook (Good Luck Chuck) or Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)
"Any Combination of Two Totally Airheaded Characters" in Bratz: The Movie
Lindsay Lohan and Lindsay Lohan ("as the yang to her own yin") in I Know Who Killed Me
Eddie Murphy (as Norbit) and either Eddie Murphy (as Mr. Wong) or Eddie Murphy (as Rasputia) in Norbit
Adam Sandler and either Kevin James or Jessica Biel in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Worst Remake or Rip-off
Are We Done Yet? (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House)
Bratz: The Movie ("a rip-off if there ever was one")
Epic Movie ("rip-off of every movie it rips off")
I Know Who Killed Me (Hostel, Saw and The Patty Duke Show)
Who's Your Caddy? (Caddyshack)

Worst Prequel or Sequel
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Daddy Day Camp
Evan Almighty
Hannibal Rising
Hostel: Part II

Worst Director
Dennis Dugan for I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Roland Joffé for Captivity
Brian Robbins for Norbit
Fred Savage for Daddy Day Camp
Chris Sivertson for I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Screenplay
Daddy Day Camp (Screenplay by Geoff Rodkey and David J. Stem & David N. Weiss)
Epic Movie (Written by Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer)
I Know Who Killed Me (Written by Jeffrey Hammond)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (Screenplay by Barry Fanaro and Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor)
Norbit (Screenplay by Eddie Murphy & Charlie Murphy and Jay Sherick & David Ronn)

Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Captivity
Hannibal Rising
Hostel: Part II
I Know Who Killed Me

What is sad is that there are several great actors in the above list who have done some excellent performances in the past. But they are not the 1st & definitely not the last to make mistakes in their careers.

Also, the above list is typical of most of Hollywood's output these days. & why I rarely go to a movie any more. The Oscars list, while better made, has only a couple movies that I would even consider seeing in the theater & even fewer I would consider renting. & the best film of 2007, Bella, despite all the other awards & recognition that it garnered (top prize at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, the "People's Choice Award"; Heartland Film Festival, Crystal Heart Award & its $100,000 grand prize; Rotten Tomatoes, best foreign language film of 2007; 2007 Tony Bennett Media Excellence Award; filmmakers, Eduardo Verastegui & Alejandro Monteverde, received the Smithsonian Institutes "Legacy Award" for it's positive contribution to Latino art and culture; The director of the Department of Citizenship gave Alejandro Monteverde (director), the "American by Choice" award at a White House reception for Bella's positive contribution to Latino art and culture in the U.S.; the Mexican Embassy honored Verastegui and Monteverde and gave Bella a screening at their annual Cinco De Mayo celebration), didn't even get a nomination for an Oscar.

The 1 good thing I can see coming out of the writers strike in Hollywood, is that there will be a few less badly written pictures produced this year. But I suspect (unfortunately), that there will still be more than enough with what is in the pipeline for the Razzies to have a full slate next year.

It will be interesting to see who walks away with this year's (dis)honors for their bad work.

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