By David Germain, Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” made a fortune. “Land of the Lost” tanked.
Both films are equal earners at the Razzies, though, grabbing seven nominations each on Monday, including worst picture of 2009 and worst-acting slots for Will Ferrell and Megan Fox.
Other worst-picture nominees: Sandra Bullock’s romance “All About Steve,” the action tale “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and the Robin Williams-John Travolta comedy “Old Dogs.”
Bullock earned a worst-actress nomination for “All About Steve.” She’s expected to score an Academy Award nomination Tuesday for her hit drama “The Blind Side.”
“She could be the first person ever to win a Razzie and an Oscar in the same weekend,” said John Wilson, founder of the Golden Raspberry Awards, now in their 30th year of singling out Hollywood’s low points. Winners will be announced March 6, the night before the Oscars.
Razzie voters also are making worst-of-the-decade picks. The worst-picture nominees are Travolta’s “Battlefield Earth,” Tom Green’s “Freddy Got Fingered,” Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s “Gigli,” Lindsay Lohan’s “I Know Who Killed Me” and Madonna’s “Swept Away.”
Affleck and Travolta are up for worst actor of the decade, along with Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers and Rob Schneider. Lohan, Lopez and Madonna are nominated for the decade’s worst actress, along with Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton.
Wilson said the worst-actress category probably would come down to Hilton and Lohan, while “Eddie Murphy I would guess would be pretty hard to beat as worst actor of the decade.”
Razzie 2009 nominees also include Miley Cyrus as worst actress and her dad, Billy Ray, as worst supporting actor for “Hannah Montana: The Movie.”
All three Jonas brothers shared a worst-actor nomination for “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience.” Razzie voters also included “any two (or more)” Jonas brothers in the category for worst screen couple.
Robert Pattinson was nominated as worst supporting actor for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” Co-star Kristen Stewart is in the running for worst screen couple paired with either Pattinson or “New Moon” player Taylor Lautner.
Ferrell has nominations as worst actor for “Land of the Lost” and as worst screen couple paired with “any co-star, creature or ‘comic riff'” in the action comedy inspired by the children’s TV show. “Land of the Lost” also was nominated for worst supporting actor (Jorma Taccone), director (Brad Silberling), screenplay and worst sequel, rip-off or remake, a category that includes the “Transformers” sequel.
Fox was nominated as worst actress for both “Revenge of the Fallen” and “Jennifer’s Body.” ”Revenge of the Fallen” star Shia LaBeouf was cited for worst screen couple alongside Fox or any Transformer, while the movie also had nominations for supporting actress (Julie White), director (Michael Bay) and screenplay.
Joining Ferrell and the Jonas brothers for worst actor were Steve Martin in “The Pink Panther 2,” Murphy in “Imagine That” and Travolta in “Old Dogs.”
For worst actress, Bullock, Cyrus and Fox are up against Beyonce Knowles for “Obsessed” and Sarah Jessica Parker for “Did You Hear About the Morgans?”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More