14 DAY TRIAL // What with all the Golden Globes and Oscar madness, moviegoers were this close to forgetting about yet another major gala for the movie industry: the Raspberry Awards, also known as the Razzies. Hated by many (actors) and loved by the public at large, because it gets to point the finger at what we liked and what not in the past year, the awards ceremony has just announced its “favorites.”
The official press release accompanying the list of nominees is written in the same mocking tone as the ceremony itself. “It wasn’t just the American economy that took a disastrous downturn in 2008 – so did the quality of Hollywood movie-making. Of the 573 films released last year a record 75 rated forum discussions on the official RAZZIE Awards web site.” the statement begins by saying.
Since this ceremony is about pointing out to Hollywood that most of its productions should go directly in the garbage bin and not on the silver screen, tormenting people, announcing the nominees was the perfect time to remind the world of the difficult task the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation had to accomplish. “This plethora of putrid motion pictures proved a double-edged sword – It meant Golden Raspberry Award voters had plenty to choose from – but it also made their task of culling the crud down to a mere five contenders each in nine categories verry complicated.” it is being said.
The statement goes on to say that, as usual, the winners (or losers, depending on how one looks at it) of the night will be announced on Oscar eve, as is customary, “in intentionally tacky ceremonies.” One of the biggest favorites is Mike Myers and “The Love Guru,” with no less than nine nods. Paris Hilton follows next, with two nominations for both Worst Film and Worst Actress (“The Hottie and the Nottie”), but also one for Worst Supporting Actress for her part in “Repo: The Genetic Opera” and another one for Worst Onscreen Couple, for the former flick.
Jessica Alba, Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher and director Uwe Boll are also strong contenders. For the entire list of nominees, go here.