The Mean Gays Take Over The 44th Razzies®
as Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Sweeps
For this year’s version of Tinseltown’s Most Notorious Trophy Derby, the 44th Annual Razzies® Awards co-founders John Wilson and Mo Murphy are daring something new. In a strategic partnership brokered by Evan Mirzai and his production banner House of M, viral comedic personalities The Mean Gays (Aaron Goldenberg & Jake Jonez) are set to host, write and produce this year's digital ceremony entitled THE MEAN GAYS TAKE OVER THE 44th RAZZIES®. The results of their efforts (and of the awards) are being unveiled on both the Razzie Channel and the Razzie Website on the now traditional date of “Oscar Eve,” Saturday, March 9.
The big “winner” exists solely because the original author’s copyright on a beloved Children’s Literature character expired in 2023 – In other words, the film-makers could legally use someone else’s classic creation without even crediting them. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey answers the age old question “What does a bear do in the woods?” The film made money, off of their purported budget of $100,000. But, more to the point, it was a huge hit with Razzie voters.
Pooh swept all five categories for which it was nominated: Picture, Director, Screenplay, Screen Couple and Remake/Rip-Off/Sequel. The Actor Razzie went to Oscar® winner Jon Voight for his “Lucky Charms leprechaun” Irish accent in Mercy. Megan Fox can add another pair of trophies to her mantle after taking both Actress (for Johnny & Clyde) and Supporting Actress (for Expend4bles) a rare Razzie feat. Sylvester Stallone further cemented his claim to being the Awl Time Razzie Cham-Peen with a victory as Supporting Actor. And the Razzie Redeemer Award, given to a past contender who has since gone on to better things, went to SAG/AFTRA President Fran Drescher, for her brilliant shepherding of the actors’ guild through a prolonged 2023 strike, with a highly successful conclusion.
A complete list of all “winners” is included below and is also available online at Razzies.com. The Official 44th Razzie Winners Video can be watched on the RazzieChannel.
Razzie® Socials:
44th GOLDEN RASPBERRY (RAZZIE®) AWARD “WINNERS”
PICTURE
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
ACTOR
Jon Voight / Mercy
ACTRESS
Megan Fox / Johnny & Clyde
RAZZIE® REDEEMER AWARD
1998 Nominee and current SAG/AFTRA President Fran Drescher, for her brilliant shepherding of the actors’ guild through a prolonged 2023 strike with a successful conclusion.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Megan Fox / Expend4bles
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sylvester Stallone / Expend4ables
SCREEN COUPLE
Pooh & Piglet as Blood-Thirsty Slasher/Killers (!) in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
DIRECTOR
Rhys Frake-Waterfield / Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
SCREENPLAY
Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey, Written by Rhys Frake-Waterfield
”WINS” per PICTURE
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey = 5
Expend4bles = 2
Johnny & Clyde, Mercy = 1 Each
© 2024, Golden Raspberry (RAZZIE®) Awards, LLC
CLICK HERE
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Let’s Take A Peek into the House of Mouse!
By John Wilson and Mo Murphy
Almost as bad as DeSantis’ “I want to be king” campaign, is this year’s story of his nemesis. 2023 is the year Dizz-Knee turns 100 and there just won’t be that much to celebrate - if you take in a disastrous take-in or lack thereof at the box office.
So, who moved the cheese?
2023 is the Disney company's centennial anniversary, and corporate honchos had hoped to spend this entire year celebrating a century of success. But things haven't exactly worked out that way. For the first time in its 100 year history, the once phenomenally profitable Walt Disney Pictures has suffered failure after failure at the box office..
The biggest problem is their focus on financial rather than create concerns, exemplified by their long-term practice of doing endless, uninspired live action remakes of titles from their animated classics vault, (which we like to think of as "Avarice in Wonderland"). This creatively lazy habit used to all-but-guarantee profits on each product, but between budget over-runs, critical drubbings and public disinterest, the days of "if we make it, they will come" may have come to an end.
This year's big budget re-imagining (read" rip-off") Peter Pan and Wendy, like last year's Razzie winning Pinocchio reboot, went straight to streaming on Disney Plus. This Pan was widely panned, suffering an embarrassing 4.4 out of 10 User Rating at IMDb, and viewership was also lower than expected, never reaching any higher than 7th on any Streaming Title ratings services. At least its production budget was a mere $45 million.
The highly touted (and excessively promoted) remake of Little Mermaid did get released to theatres and does rank among the year's highest grossers. But with an estimated production budget of $250 million (and a commensurate promotional cost as well) it never quite captured the public's imagination as the animated original did, and the eventual profit from this Mermaid will be little indeed.
Additional box office disappointments include the animated Elemental, which cost about $200 million, and has barely generated $150 million in box office (meaning massive losses). Disney was also behind what may be the biggest box office bomb of 2023, the fifth film in the Raiders franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. With a budget of $300 million, and a total gross barely exceeding that, Dial simply excited almost no one, and looks doomed to be a major contributing factor in Disney being awash in red ink.
Add in the recent DOA debut of their second live action version of Haunted Mansion (which opened to a scary $24 million against a cost of $150 million -- then plummeted 73% for Friday of its second weekend).
Current industry estimates (and an extensive article in the current issue of Forbes magazine) have Disney looking at a potential shortfall by year's end of...more than a billion dollars(!).
And the near future doesn't look likely to be much brighter. Disney is the unfair target of a homophobic boycott fomented by Florida governor (and charisma-free GOP candidate) Ron de Santis, and, like the rest of the industry, Disney has seen production ground to a virtual standstill by the double whammy of simultaneous strikes by both SAG and the WGA.
And with the company's main mascot, Mickey Mouse, about to lose its status as a trademarked image, their reputation as an industry leader in both merchandising and synergy may be in jeopardy as well.
If Disney continues on their downward trajectory they've been on so far this year, they could set a Razzie precedent: Winning the first ever Barry L Bumstead award (for box office underachievement) that won't gone to an individual movie title...but to an entire movie studio!
Friday, February 17, 2023 – 43rd Razzie Final Ballot materials
e-mailed to All Current Voting Razzie Members
February 17-February 26, 2023 – Final Ballot Voting open to Members
Saturday, March 11, 2023 – 43rd Razzie Awards “Winners” announced
Sunday, March 12, 2023 – 95th Academy Award ceremonies ]]>
by John Wilson
One of the most controversial choices our voting members ever made happened our very first year, when our scrappy bad-film society was less than 50 people. At that time, we nominated ten contenders for five top categories, including Worst Director. Among the ten contenders as 1980's Worst Director was Stanley Kubrick for The Shining, a film that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Even though Kubrick wound up "losing" to Robert Greenwald for XANADU, we still get "called on the carpet" for that nomination by movie buffs and cineastes four decades later.
Kubrick wound up being nominated in part because a significant number of our voting members that year had actually read Stephen King's novel, and were looking forward to seeing the book translated to the screen. I personally still consider the novel a far superior tale of terror to what Kubrick did with the source material. There were as well several extremely memorable "visual moments" in the book that I (and many a King reader) looked forward to seeing realized on film – including a scene where the intertwined snakes pattern of the hotel carpet came to life, slithering under the characters' feet, and the climactic sequence in which Jack Nicholson's character, armed with an axe, pursued his son through a topiary maze and those inanimate creatures suddenly (and chillingly) gave chase. Difficult as it may have been to bring such moments to the screen in pre-CGI 1980, in many a reader's mind, they were integral to what made King's novel such a scary read. And our voters apparently concurred: If you weren't going to bother including those scenes, don't call your film The Shining...
I should also point out that we are not alone in our less-than-favorable opinion of Kubrick's film – Stephen King himself, who says he was never contacted directly by Kubrick during the production of The Shining, later expressed his dissatisfaction by comparing the film version to "a shiny new Cadillac convertible...with no engine in it." In fact, King was so displeased with Kubrick's movie that he agreed to write and oversee a three-night miniseries adaptation of his novel in 1997.
But if you want the genuine experience of Stephen King's The Shining, we recommend that you go back to the source material, and read the novel yourself. You'll have a far more intense, terrifying and goose-bump-inducing good time than any dramatized version can deliver. And you may finally understand why revered director Kubrick deserved to make our very first list of ten Worst Director nominees 40 years ago...
]]>Kubrick wound up being nominated in part because a significant number of our voting members that year had actually read Stephen King's novel, and were looking forward to seeing the book translated to the screen. I personally still consider the novel a far superior tale of terror to what Kubrick did with the source material. There were as well several extremely memorable "visual moments" in the book that I (and many a King reader) looked forward to seeing realized on film – including a scene where the intertwined snakes pattern of the hotel carpet came to life, slithering under the characters' feet, and the climactic sequence in which Jack Nicholson's character, armed with an axe, pursued his son through a topiary maze and those inanimate creatures suddenly (and chillingly) gave chase. Difficult as it may have been to bring such moments to the screen in pre-CGI 1980, in many a reader's mind, they were integral to what made King's novel such a scary read. And our voters apparently concurred: If you weren't going to bother including those scenes, don't call your film The Shining...
I should also point out that we are not alone in our less-than-favorable opinion of Kubrick's film – Stephen King himself, who says he was never contacted directly by Kubrick during the production of The Shining, later expressed his dissatisfaction by comparing the film version to "a shiny new Cadillac convertible...with no engine in it." In fact, King was so displeased with Kubrick's movie that he agreed to write and oversee a three-night miniseries adaptation of his novel in 1997.
But if you want the genuine experience of Stephen King's The Shining, we recommend that you go back to the source material, and read the novel yourself. You'll have a far more intense, terrifying and goose-bump-inducing good time than any dramatized version can deliver. And you may finally understand why revered director Kubrick deserved to make our very first list of ten Worst Director nominees 40 years ago...
Rambo V: Last Blood vs Downton Abbey - Talk about whiplash!
By Mo Murphy
Just try it. Try watching the assaulting/insulting Rambo: Last Blood and then relax and take in something at the other end of the spectrum: Downton Abbey as a double feature! It’s like eating an artery-plugging, brain-clogging, heart-stopping junk food meal and then having a tangy, yet sweet healthy sorbet to cleanse one's filthy palette afterwards. Basically, it's a trip to polar opposite worlds.
First, even if you’re in a cozy theater with reclining seats and you've brought your blanket and pillow, Rambo (number-whatever) is still a nightmare. Sylvester Stallone (now 73) sits heavily atop a horse on the big screen feigning the Marlboro Man, but looking more like Mr. Potato Head, although less animated. Even the mare is irritated by having to play a part in this.
It’s not about ageism or looks, I'll get back to that. It’s about not growing up. It’s about not letting go of an image that maybe worked a long time ago when killing immigrants wasn't a popular sport in this country. It’s about not being irresponsible with a central message. This movie-maker must think he has a built in-audience he can use to line his pockets in anticipation of his eventual retirement. That audience is dwindling, God only hopes, Or perhaps the opioid crisis has taken a bigger chunk of our nation than I thought. Possibly Stallone believes the crap he's conveying. That makes him a disgruntled old bigot who should be sent to pasture - without his violent toys.
Why? Well, as for the film itself, we're sucker-punched by a weak, regurgitated plot with embarrassing '80's-esq dialogue and stiff performances (mainly from the old action-doll himself.) Mostly, I feel sorry for the supporting cast who had to be a part of this ... and of course the horse. It's the same old idiotic one-man army who's found a new enemy across a border (with no walls.) This time he's seeking revenge for the kidnapping and killing of his beloved niece (didn't see that coming!) The druggy, rapist, non-human beings on the other side of the border (with no walls) get their comeuppance in the only way this non-creative movie-maker knows how to do it: Kill people in fun and funny (?) ways. Hey, let’s bring it on and get our zombie-nation pissed off at a pseudo enemy then blast them to smithereens! How responsible. How smart. Oh, and if you really want to be entertained look for the fence, er, I mean wall metaphors in this piece of …
On the other hand, even if the theater is cold and you are sitting nose to nose with the screen because well, you snuck in … there is Downton Abbey. What a complete joy to fall into and get lost in a simple plot (the king and queen are coming for dinner) and wonderful subplots with rich characters, even though many are poor. And the humor – God thank you for allowing us to laugh with them instead of at them (as was the case with Rambo 5.)
And old? Maggie Smith (now only 84) is the most delicious well rounded, animated – merely sitting or standing - of them all. Take that, Sylvester Stallone. Every time she opens her mouth, you hold your breath, listen and laugh with Smith's wit, cunning and knowing glances. How delectable … the writing, the delivery, the sheer joy.
Every scene catapults us into the middle of this country home’s chaotic drama without exposition (being told through dialogue what the “f” is happening.) We catch on quickly even if we don’t know the backstory or haven’t watched the series and get taken for a wonderful ride and then thank our lucky stars there is still a reason to go to the movies: Witty writing, beautiful cinematography, editing you don’t notice, a thematic score that sweeps you through all the emotions (not the manipulative thump, thump music of the other film) and performances that are worthy of Oscar consideration.
If I could articulate the difference about how I felt after watching each movie: Rambo: Last Blood and Downton Abbey – I'd suggest you try it for yourself. It’s quite a cultural experience.
But please pay to see the latter, we don’t want to encourage the first, Just give Rambo V the award it's gunning for - The Razzie!
]]>By Mo Murphy
Just try it. Try watching the assaulting/insulting Rambo: Last Blood and then relax and take in something at the other end of the spectrum: Downton Abbey as a double feature! It’s like eating an artery-plugging, brain-clogging, heart-stopping junk food meal and then having a tangy, yet sweet healthy sorbet to cleanse one's filthy palette afterwards. Basically, it's a trip to polar opposite worlds.
First, even if you’re in a cozy theater with reclining seats and you've brought your blanket and pillow, Rambo (number-whatever) is still a nightmare. Sylvester Stallone (now 73) sits heavily atop a horse on the big screen feigning the Marlboro Man, but looking more like Mr. Potato Head, although less animated. Even the mare is irritated by having to play a part in this.
It’s not about ageism or looks, I'll get back to that. It’s about not growing up. It’s about not letting go of an image that maybe worked a long time ago when killing immigrants wasn't a popular sport in this country. It’s about not being irresponsible with a central message. This movie-maker must think he has a built in-audience he can use to line his pockets in anticipation of his eventual retirement. That audience is dwindling, God only hopes, Or perhaps the opioid crisis has taken a bigger chunk of our nation than I thought. Possibly Stallone believes the crap he's conveying. That makes him a disgruntled old bigot who should be sent to pasture - without his violent toys.
Why? Well, as for the film itself, we're sucker-punched by a weak, regurgitated plot with embarrassing '80's-esq dialogue and stiff performances (mainly from the old action-doll himself.) Mostly, I feel sorry for the supporting cast who had to be a part of this ... and of course the horse. It's the same old idiotic one-man army who's found a new enemy across a border (with no walls.) This time he's seeking revenge for the kidnapping and killing of his beloved niece (didn't see that coming!) The druggy, rapist, non-human beings on the other side of the border (with no walls) get their comeuppance in the only way this non-creative movie-maker knows how to do it: Kill people in fun and funny (?) ways. Hey, let’s bring it on and get our zombie-nation pissed off at a pseudo enemy then blast them to smithereens! How responsible. How smart. Oh, and if you really want to be entertained look for the fence, er, I mean wall metaphors in this piece of …
On the other hand, even if the theater is cold and you are sitting nose to nose with the screen because well, you snuck in … there is Downton Abbey. What a complete joy to fall into and get lost in a simple plot (the king and queen are coming for dinner) and wonderful subplots with rich characters, even though many are poor. And the humor – God thank you for allowing us to laugh with them instead of at them (as was the case with Rambo 5.)
And old? Maggie Smith (now only 84) is the most delicious well rounded, animated – merely sitting or standing - of them all. Take that, Sylvester Stallone. Every time she opens her mouth, you hold your breath, listen and laugh with Smith's wit, cunning and knowing glances. How delectable … the writing, the delivery, the sheer joy.
Every scene catapults us into the middle of this country home’s chaotic drama without exposition (being told through dialogue what the “f” is happening.) We catch on quickly even if we don’t know the backstory or haven’t watched the series and get taken for a wonderful ride and then thank our lucky stars there is still a reason to go to the movies: Witty writing, beautiful cinematography, editing you don’t notice, a thematic score that sweeps you through all the emotions (not the manipulative thump, thump music of the other film) and performances that are worthy of Oscar consideration.
If I could articulate the difference about how I felt after watching each movie: Rambo: Last Blood and Downton Abbey – I'd suggest you try it for yourself. It’s quite a cultural experience.
But please pay to see the latter, we don’t want to encourage the first, Just give Rambo V the award it's gunning for - The Razzie!
by Raleigh Welch
Sylvester Stallone is taking his dead horse to the old town road. With eight Razzie Awards and 22 Nominations, including the Worst Actor of the Century Award, it was inevitable that Stallone would re-appear at the Razzies someday. With Rambo: Last Blood, it looks like we may be seeing him soon. The Rambo franchise has a special place in Razzies canon just like the Rocky franchise, both started strong but quickly descended into muscle-bound caricatures of hot-blooded American men fighting in the Cold War and—since the Cold War seems to be back—Stallone has resurfaced in both franchises. Check out the trailer for Rambo: Last Blood.
So far there’s not much to go on—the trailer at a little more than a minute, seems to have been lifted from First Blood and Rambo: First Blood II. What we’ve been teased with, appears worthy of a Razzie already.
Well, we have other candidates for this year’s 40th – but Sly, you could very well be a contender!
We’ll find out when the conclusion (?) of the Rambo franchise hits theaters with Rambo: Last Blood on September 20th!
]]>So far there’s not much to go on—the trailer at a little more than a minute, seems to have been lifted from First Blood and Rambo: First Blood II. What we’ve been teased with, appears worthy of a Razzie already.
- It looks like Rambo meets the plot of Taken and the editing of Taken 3. (there’s now an entire subgenre of old action stars doing anything necessary to find their kidnapped female relatives). Stallone is joining the ranks of Liam Neeson, Nicholas Cage, and Denzel Washington—action stars trying to revitalize their careers by reuniting their fictional families. Hollywood has been in love with this formula forever, so much so that it has its own list on IMDb with almost 100 entries. Like any trend, Hollywood is bound to cannibalize it until it ends up at the Razzies. It looks like Rambo: Last Blood is derivative and unoriginal enough to land it at least a nod (or more) at this year’s awards.
- It is already incredibly self-congratulatory; whereas Rambo: First Blood 2 made the series lighter-hearted (and more gratuitous), Rambo: Last Blood seems to be a giant pat on Stallone’s back. This may be the marketing team selling the hype of Rambo, but there were a lot of shot-for-shot callbacks in the trailer. All the muscle-bound glory of the 80s might have gotten to Stallone’s head. The Razzies pays special attention to Hollywood product that takes itself too seriously.
- This sequel looks nothing like Creed. Unlike Rocky tactfully passing the torch, it looks like we’re going to have to pull the Rambo franchise from Stallone’s cold dead hands. It’s easy to see why: Rambo and Stallone played a large part in defining what an action star is. Sylvester Stallone is synonymous with the action movie. Even if Rambo: Last Blood doesn’t end up at the Razzies, it’s hard to see this redefining the Rambo franchise like Creed did for Rocky.
- If we’re totally wrong about this, then Stallone still might be coming back for another Redeemer Award (Stallone won the Redeemer Award in 2015 for Creed). We don’t mind being wrong here at the Razzies. The Razzies are not about putting down some actors as “bad”, but rather about calling out (and having fun with) Hollywood’s overindulgences. Stallone himself is a capable writer and actor, being one of only three people ever to have been Oscar-nominated for both categories in the same year. But Stallone also took home eight Razzie Awards, and that involves scraping the bottom of the barrel for phoned-in performances. Rambo: Last Blood could be a poignant, powerful role for Stallone, or it could be more melodramatic hogwash.
Well, we have other candidates for this year’s 40th – but Sly, you could very well be a contender!
We’ll find out when the conclusion (?) of the Rambo franchise hits theaters with Rambo: Last Blood on September 20th!
By Raleigh Welch
Not just anyone can make a Razzie-worthy film; it takes procrastination, bad instincts, and lots of poorly-calculated decisions. Hack directors don’t study for years - they just keep track of what’s popular now and do a poor imitation a couple of years down the line. They work their way down the ladder , finding more and more projects and franchises to bring to a grinding halt. These paint-by-number filmmakers can also make it to the top of their league and claim that $4.97 Razzie® Award and join the greats: Uwe Boll, M. Night Shyamalan, and—of course—Alan Smithee. There are lessons we can learn from these now award “winning” directors. Let’s breakdown some rules for a Razzie-worthy movie and compare it against its innovative predecessor.
Hellboy (2019) stumbled into theaters this April, failing not only to make back its budget but to revive this dying franchise. So, how does a franchise go from hero to zero? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to race to the bottom, or how to make a Razzie-worthy film in five easy steps:
1. Take out all the levity and enjoyment.
Movies are a gateway to a magical world. Audiences go to movies to get lost in that world. Razzie directors don’t give them the satisfaction. All the best Razzie movies know how to insult and annoy their audiences.
Hellboy (2019) gets this exactly right. The tone of its narration demonstrates that it knows how clichéd it is, but it’s not going to subvert this or make any interesting choices. “Don’t you see? The narrator is making fun of the opening with you!” It’s the cinematic equivalent of hiring someone to hang out in the seat next to you to laugh at just how dumb Hellboy is. “He’s a red guy jumping around fighting witches and vampires. That’s just so stupid. But hey, at least we get it, right?”
On the other hand - whether it’s The Shape of Water or Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Toro (“original” director of Hellboy) has a way of not only bringing monsters to life, but also making them human. The stakes feel real in his films. Not until the end, when the credits roll, does he take you out of the film. His 2004 version of Hellboy runs on the same philosophy, as once the audience wades into the magical world they only get deeper and deeper into it. The main difference between the Hellboys is how seriously the directors take their worlds.
2. Characters should unreasonably hate each other.
Good characters don’t exist in a vacuum. If you’re worried you may have accidentally written a complex three-dimensional character, ask yourself: does this character enjoy the company of anyone else in my movie? If there answer is yes, change that. In the original Hellboy (2004), Hellboy has strong, developed relationships with the agents. He only insults others when he’s uncomfortable with change and, while childish, it’s understandable. Hellboy (2019) fixes this by having characters insult each other in a constant game of one-upsmanship. Hellboy insults professional wrestlers, his dad, fellow agents, and the audience for buying tickets to this all within the first 12 minutes. Remember, developed relationships lead to developed characters, the bane of any Razzie movie. And while we’re on that:
3. Supporting cast should never be developed.
Remember how most characters in the original Hellboy had arcs and their choice felts like they had real weight and consequence? We can’t have any of that. Take Hellboy’s father as a perfect example of a Razzie adaptation. In the original film, Professor Broom cares deeply for his son and believes that Hellboy is more man than monster. He’s fun but also clearly motivated. In the new and improved version, there’s little to no familiarity between Professor Broom and Hellboy. Broom doesn’t act fatherly and their relationship is more quips and insults than anything else. The best Razzie films only tell the audience that characters are related. They don’t bother showing it. That way at the climax of the film when the characters must face their pasts the audience can successfully feel nothing.
4: Exposition (let me tell you what’s going on here) should interrupt story whenever possible (more flashbacks!)
Hellboy (2004) opened at the closing of WW2, where Nazis plundered ancient ruins in a last- ditch effort to control the world through the supernatural. Every villain is introduced here, as well as Hellboy’s origin and the concept of Broom as a father figure as a set up. The film wraps this up and never has another flashback, focusing only on the characters dealing with their present situation.
A deadly mistake in any Razzie film.
There should always be more than one flashback, actually as many flashbacks as possible. Razzie directors cut back to them whenever they can, interrupting the pace of the story. They don’t trust whatever audience is left to understand what the hell is going on. Hellboy (2019) does this to a T. Most of the first act is made of flashback sequences. It’s a shame they didn’t just flashback to the first film.
5. Recycle everything and add nothing.
When adapting a franchise, the primary audience will be those most familiar with the property. They’ve most likely seen Hellboy (2004). They’ve might’ve even read the comics. They’re familiar enough with the story and they’re excited for some surprises and changes to revive the franchise.
A Razzie director will shock them by telling the same story but worse.
Professor Broom, an apocalyptic prophecy, an ultimate choice between good and evil—themes of nature vs. nurture and free will. Hellboy (2019) and Hellboy (2004) sound awfully similar, don’t they? On top of all this, a good Razzie director will invoke the imagery of better, previous movies without understanding why that imagery worked in the first place. Lots of Hellboy (2019) is built on the back of the version from 2004. It wants you to have seen it, but also not to compare it. The best Razzie directors want to have their cake and eat it too.
A final note to any auteur looking to make a Razzie-winning film: read as little as possible. In fact, if you’ve finished this article, it’s probably already too late for you.
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KEANU REEVES - RAZZIE & RAZZIE REDEEMER?
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE BEST & THE WORST
by Raleigh Welch
This year Keanu Reeves is on a winning streak, hitting the ground running with John Wick 3, Toy Story 4 and a cameo in Netflix’ Always Be My Maybe. In contrast, he stumbled out of the gate at the beginning of 2019 with the cinematic mess, Replicas, giving himself a shot at Hollywood’s most humbling award, a Razzie. How can someone be Razzie worthy and worthy of our Razzie Redeemer Award in the same year?
Let’s take a look at the best and the worst of Keanu Reeves.
THE BEST:
The Matrix (1999) – While its sequels would earn some Razzie nominations, there's no denying that this film is a masterpiece. This is still the Reeves film against which we measure the others. There are so many iconic moments in this film: the red and blue pills, the dojo fight, and—of course—the bullet dodge. Keanu cemented himself as one of the world's leading action stars, continuing even now that he is well into his 50s.
Bill and Ted (1989) – This movie is timeless. Alex Winter as Bill remains, to this day, Keanu's best on-screen pairing. Theodore "Ted" Logan is probably Reeve's most quotable role to date, and this film's fun take on time travel and colorful cast of characters keep it rockin'. We hope that Bill & Ted Face The Music will be “most excellent.”
John Wick (2014) – John Wick relaunched Reeves' career. It's hard to find a better role for him than this. Every special feature or behind-the-scenes commentary shows that he put a lot of work into and had a lot of fun making this film. The fight choreography is out of this world, and a welcome return to form to his Matrix days. But you don't need us to tell you that, you probably just saw John Wick 3: Parabellum.
Speed (1994) – Keanu plays alongside Sandra Bullock, another critically acclaimed actor who's well known at the Razzies. It's hard to believe that this movie came out a year after Much Ado About Nothing, and a year before Johnny Mnemonic and A Walk In the Clouds. It really proves that with Keanu it's all about where you place him. And if you place him on a bus with a bomb, you're bound to have a great picture.
Point Break (1991) – It's like watching Ted Logan grow up and join the FBI. This movie could have easily been a comedy or a parody with the premise of "FBI surfer agent", but it takes itself completely seriously and it just works. Reeves is perfect here, toeing the line between lovable goofball and gritty action star.
THE WORST:
Hardball (2001)- This swing-and-miss was released the same year as Sweet November, both of which together earned Keanu a Worst Actor Razzie nomination. Lots of Reeve's worst movies have something in common: they're run-of-the-mill carbon copies of other films. Here, this sports genre picture almost reaches Dodgeball levels of parody.
Chain Reaction (1996) – Even though Keanu is the most sought-after action star in the world right now, he's not the secret ingredient to every action movie. Here he plays a Harrison Ford-type, wrongly accused and out of his depth, in-universe and out.
The Watcher (2000) - It took a while for Keanu Reeves to perfect his performance as cold hard killer. What could have been a nice cameo for Law & Order instead forced itself into a feature film. Here, he follows a trend of charismatic serial killers…and was convincing as neither.
A Walk in the Clouds (1995) – Keanu has a lot of trouble with period pieces. And romance pieces. A Walk in the Clouds plays to all of Keanu's weaknesses, but Hollywood will probably never be done trying to cast him in romantic leads.
Sweet November (2001)– This movie proves that the only onscreen pairing for Bill is Ted (isn't he Ted?). It's hard to think of a movie in which Reeves and his costar have strong romantic chemistry. As handsome as Reeves is, he isn't believable in romantic roles.
Johnny Mnemonic (1995)– Before The Matrix reinvented cyberpunk, Johnny Mnemonic nearly sunk it. This sci-fi action romp shows just how much skill goes into making good cyberpunk movies. This one screams cheese, which is fun if you're into that sort of thing (and we certainly are). It has an outlandish premise that leads to a lot of inadvertently hilarious line deliveries(? A bit awk). Keanu is not at all believable in it, but little did we know that he would actually be the "future's most wanted man".
Much Ado About Nothing (1993) - Angelica Jade Bastién wrote that Reeves "missed his calling as a silent film actor". By that metric, Shakespeare is the absolute worst place you can put him. This may be Keanu Reeves' most infamous role as it tortured a generation of High School English students forced to watch it.
Ten 2019 Movies to Watch Out for at The 40th Annual Razzies®
by Raleigh Welch
Turns out the revolution will be televised! The 40th Annual Razzie Award Show will blast off one night before the Oscars to every ivory tower, every little mudhut and iWatch on earth. Now the stakes are higher than ever! So, what’s racing to the Razzies this year?
Hellboy: Hellboy just isn’t the same without Guillermo del Toro, and the fans (and critics) noticed. This film crowned itself as the first bomb of the year, falling short of its $50 million dollar budget at the box office.
Dark Phoenix : What was supposed to be redemption for the X-Men franchise was instead a nail in its coffin. Dark Phoenix butchered one of the most iconic comic storylines, along with the good will fans had for the series. X-Men fans were dying for a reason to love these films, but Fox wasn’t ready to hand them one just yet.
Replicas: Ironically, this movie about a man trying to recreate his family feels itself like a clone of some other movie. Not even Keanu Reeves at the height of his fame could make audiences watch this. Unfortunately it’s not quite bad enough to venture into “so bad it’s good” territory. Keanu is no stranger to the Razzies, with seven nominations total and a Razzie Redeemer nomination--he’s a regular here. So maybe he’s trying to earn both Worst Actor for this film and the Razzie Redeemer award for John Wick 3? That would be a first!
A Madea Family Funeral : Tyler Perry is the Razzie gift that keeps on giving. At this point, we wonder if he can stop making these films. This could easily be a contender in any and every category: Worst Screenplay (Tyler Perry), Worst Director (also Perry), Worst Actor (Perry again), Worst Actress (yep, Perry again), and/or Worst Screen Couple (a two-fer -- Perry & Perry!). Allegedly, this may be the final Madea movie…but we here at the Razzies sure hope not.
Hustle – This female-led remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was as rotten and scoundrelous as fans and critics attested. We’ve gotten reports that some members find this one so amusingly bad that they’ve actually subjected themselves to seeing it more than once!
Glass : With a combined nine Razzie Nominations, M. Night Shyamalan will always make our watchlist. While Glass isn’t The Last Airbender, it’s also not The Sixth Sense. Superhero films that don’t quite fly are always a smash at the Razzies, and with MNS at the helm, what could go wrong…did go wrong.
Wonder Park : This film has no credited director. That’s right. For the first time in Razzie history, the title of Worst Director might be “won” by…literally nobody.
Serenity: Mathew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway have won a lot of awards, but neither have won a Razzie… yet. That may change with this box office bomb, which crashed before it even left harbor. Critics and audiences alike panned it. The greatest mystery of this film is how it attracted such starpower.
Godzilla: This monster of a movie didn’t make as much of a smash at the box office as it would have liked. With so many other franchises out there, there doesn’t seem to be room for the Warner Brothers Cinematic Monster-Verse. This Godzilla hasn’t been able to ignite the series, but maybe Zilly can make a big splash at the Razzies this year.
Rambo: Last Blood - we can't say enough - just see it!
We’re halfway to the finish line and already there’s a lot of Razz to contend with - Let us know your favorite potential 2019 Razzie contender in the comments.
With a stumbling stock market, a possible impending Presidential impeachment, raging wild fires, devastating floods, mass shootings and a litany of plagues that reached near Biblical proportions, 2018 was a year overfull with disasters.
And then there were last year’s movies! As reflected in the list of contenders for this year’s 39th Annual Razzie® Awards, catastrophies occurred on-screen as well as off. Voting Razzie Members' selections for the five Worst Picture slots represent a melange of mishaps. They include: The misbegotten “mob drama” Gotti; the first film to feature graphic sex acts between humans and muppets, The Happytime Murders; A comedy whose own ads admit it "doesn't have a clue," Holmes & Watson; A 17th (and mostly incoherent) remake that left its rich investors poor, Robin Hood; and an intriguing true story turned into a horrendous horror movie starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren (who got a Worst Actress nod for her efforts) Winchester.
Other acting contenders include John Travolta for Gotti, Melissa McCarthy for Happytime Murders, Bruce Willis for his Death Wish remake, Jennifer Garner for the comatose revenge tale Peppermint, and perhaps the best-known Razzie Repeat Offender on the list – Donald J. Trump (who “won” a Worst Supporting Actor Razzie for 1991’s Ghost Can’t Do It) nominated for Worst Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for archival footage in which he appears as himself in a pair of documentaries (Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9). A complete list of nominees is included below.
The 39th Razzie Nominations video - click here, . “Winners” of this year's tackiest Tinsel Town trophy will be revealed on Saturday, February 23 – the now traditional day before the 91st Annual Giving Out of the Little Gold Naked Men.
Voting Razzie Members (1,047 from all 50 US States and two dozen foreign countries) cast their ballots online, selecting the five final contenders in ten categories.
Razzies.com RazzieChannel Razzie Facebook Razzie Twitter
To interview John Wilson, please e-mail: [email protected]
39th Annual RAZZIE® AWARD NOMINATIONS
WORST PICTURE Gotti
The Happytime Murders
Holmes & Watson
Robin Hood
Winchester
WORST ACTRESS Jennifer Garner / Peppermint
Amber Heard / London Fields
Melissa McCarthy / Happytime Murders and Life of the Party
Helen Mirren / Winchester
Amanda Seyfried / The Clapper
WORST ACTOR Johnny Depp (Voice Only) Sherlock Gnomes
Will Ferrell / Holmes & Watson
John Travolta / Gotti
Donald J. Trump (As Himself) Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9
Bruce Willis / Death Wish
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR Jamie Fox / Robin Hood
Ludacris (Voice Only) Show Dogs
Joel McHale / Happytime Murders
John C. Reilly / Holmes & Watson
Justice Smith / Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Kellyanne Conway (As Herself) Fahrenheit 11/9
Marcia Gay Harden / Fifty Shades Freed
Kelly Preston / Gotti
Jaz Sinclair / Slender Man
Melania Trump (As Herself) Fahrenheit 11/9
WORST SCREEN COMBO Any Two Actors or Puppets (Especially in Those Creepy Sex Scenes) Happytime Murders
Johnny Depp & His Fast-Fading Film Career (He’s doing voices for cartoons, fer kripesakes!)
Sherlock Gnomes
Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly (Trashing Two of Literature’s Most Beloved Characters)
Holmes & Watson
Kelly Preston & John Travolta (Getting BATTLEFIELD EARTH type Reviews!) Gotti
Donald J, Trump & His Self Perpetuating Pettiness / Death of a Nation & Fahrenheit 11/9
WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
Death of a Nation (Remake of Hillary’s America...)
Death Wish
Holmes & Watson
The Meg (Rip-Off of Jaws)
Robin Hood
WORST DIRECTOR Etan Cohen / Holmes & Watson
Kevin Connolly / Gotti
James Foley / Fifty Shades Freed
Brian Henson / Happytime Murders
The Spierig Brothers (Michael & Peter) / Winchester
WORST SCREENPLAY Death of a Nation, Written by Dinesh D’Souza & Bruce Schooley
Fifty Shades Freed, Screenplay by Niall Leonard, from the Novel by E.L. James
Gotti, Screenplay by Leo Rossi and Lem Dobbs
Happytime Murders, Screenplay by Todd Berger, Story by Berger and Dee Austin Robinson
Winchester, Written by Tom Vaughan and The Spierig Brothers
NOMINATIONS PER PICTUREGotti = 6
Holmes & Watson = 6
Death of a Nation = 6
Happytime Murders = 6
Winchester = 4
Robin Hood = 3
Fifty Shades Freed = 3
Death Wish = 2
©2019, Golden Raspberry (Razzie®) Awards, LLC
]]>And then there were last year’s movies! As reflected in the list of contenders for this year’s 39th Annual Razzie® Awards, catastrophies occurred on-screen as well as off. Voting Razzie Members' selections for the five Worst Picture slots represent a melange of mishaps. They include: The misbegotten “mob drama” Gotti; the first film to feature graphic sex acts between humans and muppets, The Happytime Murders; A comedy whose own ads admit it "doesn't have a clue," Holmes & Watson; A 17th (and mostly incoherent) remake that left its rich investors poor, Robin Hood; and an intriguing true story turned into a horrendous horror movie starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren (who got a Worst Actress nod for her efforts) Winchester.
Other acting contenders include John Travolta for Gotti, Melissa McCarthy for Happytime Murders, Bruce Willis for his Death Wish remake, Jennifer Garner for the comatose revenge tale Peppermint, and perhaps the best-known Razzie Repeat Offender on the list – Donald J. Trump (who “won” a Worst Supporting Actor Razzie for 1991’s Ghost Can’t Do It) nominated for Worst Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for archival footage in which he appears as himself in a pair of documentaries (Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9). A complete list of nominees is included below.
The 39th Razzie Nominations video - click here, . “Winners” of this year's tackiest Tinsel Town trophy will be revealed on Saturday, February 23 – the now traditional day before the 91st Annual Giving Out of the Little Gold Naked Men.
Voting Razzie Members (1,047 from all 50 US States and two dozen foreign countries) cast their ballots online, selecting the five final contenders in ten categories.
Razzies.com RazzieChannel Razzie Facebook Razzie Twitter
To interview John Wilson, please e-mail: [email protected]
39th Annual RAZZIE® AWARD NOMINATIONS
WORST PICTURE Gotti
The Happytime Murders
Holmes & Watson
Robin Hood
Winchester
WORST ACTRESS Jennifer Garner / Peppermint
Amber Heard / London Fields
Melissa McCarthy / Happytime Murders and Life of the Party
Helen Mirren / Winchester
Amanda Seyfried / The Clapper
WORST ACTOR Johnny Depp (Voice Only) Sherlock Gnomes
Will Ferrell / Holmes & Watson
John Travolta / Gotti
Donald J. Trump (As Himself) Death of a Nation and Fahrenheit 11/9
Bruce Willis / Death Wish
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR Jamie Fox / Robin Hood
Ludacris (Voice Only) Show Dogs
Joel McHale / Happytime Murders
John C. Reilly / Holmes & Watson
Justice Smith / Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Kellyanne Conway (As Herself) Fahrenheit 11/9
Marcia Gay Harden / Fifty Shades Freed
Kelly Preston / Gotti
Jaz Sinclair / Slender Man
Melania Trump (As Herself) Fahrenheit 11/9
WORST SCREEN COMBO Any Two Actors or Puppets (Especially in Those Creepy Sex Scenes) Happytime Murders
Johnny Depp & His Fast-Fading Film Career (He’s doing voices for cartoons, fer kripesakes!)
Sherlock Gnomes
Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly (Trashing Two of Literature’s Most Beloved Characters)
Holmes & Watson
Kelly Preston & John Travolta (Getting BATTLEFIELD EARTH type Reviews!) Gotti
Donald J, Trump & His Self Perpetuating Pettiness / Death of a Nation & Fahrenheit 11/9
WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
Death of a Nation (Remake of Hillary’s America...)
Death Wish
Holmes & Watson
The Meg (Rip-Off of Jaws)
Robin Hood
WORST DIRECTOR Etan Cohen / Holmes & Watson
Kevin Connolly / Gotti
James Foley / Fifty Shades Freed
Brian Henson / Happytime Murders
The Spierig Brothers (Michael & Peter) / Winchester
WORST SCREENPLAY Death of a Nation, Written by Dinesh D’Souza & Bruce Schooley
Fifty Shades Freed, Screenplay by Niall Leonard, from the Novel by E.L. James
Gotti, Screenplay by Leo Rossi and Lem Dobbs
Happytime Murders, Screenplay by Todd Berger, Story by Berger and Dee Austin Robinson
Winchester, Written by Tom Vaughan and The Spierig Brothers
NOMINATIONS PER PICTUREGotti = 6
Holmes & Watson = 6
Death of a Nation = 6
Happytime Murders = 6
Winchester = 4
Robin Hood = 3
Fifty Shades Freed = 3
Death Wish = 2
©2019, Golden Raspberry (Razzie®) Awards, LLC
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2019 - 39th Razzie Awards NOMINATING Ballot Materials sent to all Current Voting Members
11:59pm/PST, SATURDAY, JAN. 12, 2019 - Nominating Ballots DUE
MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2019 - 39th Razzie Award Nominations ANNOUNCED
(The Now Traditional Day Before The Oscar Nominations)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2019 - 39th Razzie Awards FINAL Ballot Materials sent to all Current Voting Members
11:59pm/PST, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2019 - Final Ballots DUE
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2019 - 39th Razzie Awards "Winners" ANNOUNCED
(The Now Traditional Day Before The Giving Out of the Little Gold Naked Men)]]>
Dear Academy:
The Razzies don’t always get it right. We get called on it. We usually ignore it because well – who takes the Razzies seriously? But seriously we’re not the Oscars. The Oscars are not the low-brow $4.97 statuette that reminds otherwise good talent they done bad or the talent-free they done made too much money.
The Oscars lowering themselves to “honor” popular fare just to get more eyeballs is not conducive to their brand. Everyone depends on Oscar to point out the good stuff that might not otherwise be seen. We sift through bottom-of-the-barrel mindless popular and sometimes unpopular entertainment. The Razzies invite the “dis-honored’ to humble themselves and “own their bad.” That’s our job.
So a tip to our older more distinguished bald brother: You are our inspiration – don’t fail us now. The Razzies are co-dependent on Oscar. If you are devalued – so are we.
]]>The Razzies don’t always get it right. We get called on it. We usually ignore it because well – who takes the Razzies seriously? But seriously we’re not the Oscars. The Oscars are not the low-brow $4.97 statuette that reminds otherwise good talent they done bad or the talent-free they done made too much money.
The Oscars lowering themselves to “honor” popular fare just to get more eyeballs is not conducive to their brand. Everyone depends on Oscar to point out the good stuff that might not otherwise be seen. We sift through bottom-of-the-barrel mindless popular and sometimes unpopular entertainment. The Razzies invite the “dis-honored’ to humble themselves and “own their bad.” That’s our job.
So a tip to our older more distinguished bald brother: You are our inspiration – don’t fail us now. The Razzies are co-dependent on Oscar. If you are devalued – so are we.
Razzie® Award Winner, expatriate alleged Putin-lover, alleged sexual harasser, alleged movie star, Steven Seagal’s latest movie co-starring former fighter/biter Mike Tyson, China Salesman, has finally hit U.S. Shores!!! Previously released in China a year ago and garnering a whopping $1.4 million dollars of its $20 million budget has apparently become a cult hit in Malaysia, where it was shot and entertainment in any form is rare. Razzie fans worldwide should be able to pick up the rest of the bill – at least on VOD as it is hard to find in a theater near you! It’s about… well, who cares – Seagal and Tyson are back and they are contenders … for The Razzies. Oh – don’t forget your pillow – it’s two hours long!
Razzie® Winner, and Trump (a fellow Razzie® Winner) pardonee, Dinesh D'Souza, propaganda filmmaker for the right, is at it again with his latest thing called "Death of a Nation." This time he is attempting to equate Trump with Lincoln. We commend him for his imagination and well ... balls. And he does have them, because he did accept his Razzies for that other hideous attempt at twisting the minds of the intellectually challenged, with his anti-Hillary Crockucumentary entitled: Hillary's America (Worst Director, Actor, Picture of 2016). We are not encouraging our Razzie members to pay to see this stuff, as it only encourages him. Just look at the poster and imagine how funny it is!
Razzie® Winner for one of the worst films in the history of movie making (the all-time Razzie classic Battlefield Earth) John Travolta dons make-me-more-grimacing makeup for the Scorsese Wanna-Be but-isn't-anywhere-close-to-it biopic Gotti (currently rated 0% on Rotten Tomatoes). The aftermath of this mess will leave your head spinning - and that is an experience, right? Perhaps it will just die and be resurrected for your consideration in the 39th Razzie Awards! This one - we encourage you to see!
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