14 DAY TRIAL // Each year, the Annual Golden Raspberry Awards seek to remind the movie industry, the media and moviegoers in general that, before we sit down to cheer for the winners of a shiny new Academy Award, we should also look at the worst of what the previous year had to offer.
The Razzies are a Hollywood staple just as much as the Oscars are, and they serve as this painful reminder that the industry of filmmaking also delivers offensively bad duds, many of which are obvious money grabs.
So here are last year’s attempts of this kind: the Razzies 2015 nominees.
Repeat offenders, newcomers and redeemers
This year, the Razzies have a brand new category, one that is meant to show the world that being a Razzie nominee or winner isn’t the kiss of death, that one such actor and director can still pick themselves up and move on to quality work: the Razzie Redeemer Award.
The nominees for this category are Jennifer Aniston (who is now being showered with lots of critical praise for her role in the drama “Cake”), Ben Affleck (who proved his acting worth in “Gone Girl”), Mike Myers (probably for his work on SNL), Keanu Reeves (who made his “comeback” with a series of indies and the action film “John Wick”) and Kristen Stewart (who bid farewell to “The Twilight Saga” with solid performances in “Camp X-Ray” and “Still Alice”).
Repeat offenders include Michael Bay, both for his work as director for “Transformers: Age of Extinction” and as producer for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Hilariously, at the end of last year, Paramount Pictures was actually campaigning to get “Transformers” into the Oscar race, including for Best Director, Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and several technical categories (photo below).
The Razzies is the closest thing to Bay winning a major industry award.
Also included among nominees is Kirk Cameron’s religious film “Saving Christmas,” which is currently ranked the worst movie of all times on IMDB’s Top Bottom 100, with a 1.5 rating. From the impressive number of nods he’s earned, Kirk Cameron is bound to add a few (unwanted) accolades to his resume when the awards are handed out.
Speaking of which, the ceremony will take place, as usual, on the night before the Oscars, on February 21, at the Montalban Theater in Hollywood.
Winners will be decided by votes from G.R.A.F. members, except for the Razzie Redeemer Award, which will be determined by public vote on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here is the complete list of nominees:
Worst Picture
“Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas” “Left Behind” “The Legend of Hercules” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” “Transformers: Age of Extinction”
Worst Actor
Nicolas Cage, “Left Behind” Kirk Cameron, “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas” Kellan Lutz, “The Legend of Hercules” Seth MacFarlane, “A Million Ways to Die in the West” Adam Sandler, “Blended”
Worst Actress
Drew Barrymore, “Blended” Cameron Diaz, “The Other Woman,” “Sex Tape” Melissa McCarthy, “Tammy” Charlize Theron, “A Million Ways to Die in the West” Gaia Weiss, “The Legend of Hercules”
Razzie Redeemer Award
Ben Affleck Jennifer Aniston Mike Myers Keanu Reeves Kristen Stewart
Worst Supporting Actress
Cameron Diaz, “Annie” Megan Fox, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Nicola Peltz, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” Brigitte Ridenour, “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas” Susan Sarandon, “Tammy”
Worst Supporting Actor
Mel Gibson, “The Expendables 3” Kelsey Grammer, “The Expendables 3,” “Legends of Oz,” “Think Like a Man Too,” “Transformers: Age of Extinction” Shaquille O’Neal, “Blended” Arnold Schwarzenegger, “The Expendables 3” Kiefer Sutherland, “Pompeii”
Worst Director
Michael Bay, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” Darren Doane, “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas” Renny Harlin, “The Legend of Hercules” Jonathan Liebesman, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Seth MacFarlane, “A Million Ways to Die in the West”
Worst Screen Combo
Kirk Cameron and his ego, “Saving Christmas” Seth MacFarlane and Charlize Theron, “A Million Ways to Die in the West” Any two robots, actors (or robotic actors), “Transformers: Age of Extinction” Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, “Sex Tape” Kellan Lutz and either his abs, pecs or glutes, “Legend of Hercules”
Worst Screenplay
“Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas” “Left Behind” “Sex Tape” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” “Transformers: Age of Extinction”
Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel
“Annie” “Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?” “The Legend of Hercules” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”
