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It’s that the time of year people who love movies a little too much hold very dear in their black hearts: the announcement of the nominees for the Razzie Awards, which dishonors the worst in cinema.
Anyone can enjoy a good movie, but it takes a serious devotee of the medium to spend the time enjoying their dislike for a bad one. Back in 1980, John Wilson created the Razzies in reaction to the yearly deluge of awards and over the years the field has steadily grown. This year the nominees were selected out of the 573 films released and, according to their website, “determined by mailing ballots to 687 voters in 45 U.S. states and 19 foreign countries.”
Leading the way is Mike Myer’s The Love Guru with seven nominations including worst picture and worst acting nods to Myers and his costars Jessica Alba, Verne Troyer and Academy Award-winner Ben Kingsley.
History is made once again this year with two Worst Picture nominees, the appropriately tilted Disaster Movie, which received six nominations, and Meet the Spartans, which received five, made by the same writer/director team of Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, who appear to be doing a better job of spoofing their professions behind the camera than they do pop culture in front of it.
Not to be upstaged, Uwe Boll does them one better and received a Worst Director nod for his work on three films: Postal, 1968: Tunnel Rats, and In The Name Of The King, which received five nominations including Worst Picture. The remaining Worst Picture nominees are the Paris Hilton-starring “comedy” The Hottie & the Nottie, which received five nominations, and multiple-nominee M. Night Shyamalan’s eco-disaster, with emphasis on the latter, film The Happening.
Box office success doesn’t spare a film from the wrath of Razzie voters as Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, the third-highest grossing film, also earned a nomination in the Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel category.
The “winners” will be revealed on Saturday night February 21, 2009, the eve of the Academy Awards, at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood. Anyone looking to take part in the voting for the worst of 2008, can sign up through the Razzie website.
The complete list of nominees:
Worst Picture
Disaster Movie
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Meet the Spartans
The Happening
The Hottie & the Nottie
The Love Guru
Worst Actor
Mike Myers – The Love Guru
Eddie Murphy – Meet Dave
Al Pacino – 88 Minutes and Righteous Kill
Mark Wahlberg – The Happening and Max Payne
Larry the Cable Guy – Witless Protection
Worst Actress
Jessica Alba – The Love Guru and The Eye
Cameron Diaz – What Happens in Vegas
Paris Hilton – The Hottie & the Nottie
Kate Hudson – Fool's Gold and My Best Friend's Girl
The Entire Cast of The Women – Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Meg Ryan
Worst Supporting Actor
Uwe Boll, Postal
Pierce Brosnan – Mamma Mia!
Ben Kingsley, The Love Guru; War, Inc.; The Wackness
Burt Reynolds, Deal and In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Verne Troyer, The Love Guru and Postal
Worst Supporting Actress
Carmen Electra – Disaster Movie, Meet The Spartans
Paris Hilton – Repo! The Genetic Opera
Kim Kardashian – Disaster Movie
Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
Leelee Sobieski – 88 Minutes, In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Worst Screen Couple
Uwe Boll and Any Actor, Camera and Screenplay [My favorite nominee of the year]
Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, What Happens In Vegas
Paris Hilton and either Christine Lakin or Jorel David Moore, The Hottie And The Nottie
Larry The Cable Guy and Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
Eddie Murphy and Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave
Worst Prequel, Sequel, Remake Or Rip-Off
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Disaster Movie
Meet The Spartans
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
Speed Racer
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Worst Director
Uwe Boll – Tunnel Rats, In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale And Postal
Jason Friedberg And Aaron Seltzer – Disaster Movie And Meet The Spartans
Tom Putnam – The Hottie And The Nottie
Marco Schnabel – The Love Guru
M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening
Worst Screenplay
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer – Disaster Movie And Meet The Spartans
M. Night Shyamalan – The Happening
Heidi Ferrer – The Hottie And The Nottie
Doug Taylor – In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Mike Myers and Graham Gordy, The Love Guru
Worst Career Achievement
Uwe Boll – "Germany's answer to Ed Wood"
