Countdown: Top 10 Most Razzie-Nominated (And -Winning) Films

If you've seen our most recent Lockdown Special, you'll have seen at the end that we mention the IMDB Bottom 100 films list; there's some dreadful stuff on there that we'll no doubt be exploring soon. 

So (you'll have to imagine my best Carrie Bradshaw impersonation) I couldn't help but wonder... what are some of the worst films ever made? Now, as you know, I'm an awards geek (sorrynotsorry) and a film is often judged by its Oscar wins (see Matt's comment about Once Upon A Time In America in the Lockdown Special). And, as regular readers/listeners/viewers will know, the yang to the Oscars yin is... The Golden Raspberry Awards, which also celebrates its 40th year this year. 

So I figured I'd do a bit of research and come up with a list of the 10 films with the most Razzie nominations (and wins). This includes any superlatives they may have been nominated for, or won (eg. Worst Film Of The Decade or Worst Of Our First 25 Years).

So, strap yourself in for a quick romp through some of cinema's biggest flops, disappointments, and bizarre ideas. Brace yourselves!

1. Showgirls (1995)

dir. Paul Verhoeven, starring Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan and Gina Gershon

15 nominations, 8 wins

This tawdry tale of a young woman who wants to become a dancer in Las Vegas is widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made, so it's no surprise that the Razzies decided to pile both the nominations and the awards on. At the 1996 awards, it won 7 awards, including Worst Picture; lead actress Elizabeth Berkley was singled out for two awards (Worst Actress and Worst New Star) whilst the rest of the cast escaped unscathed- despite Worst acting nominations for MacLachlan and Gershon, as well as Robert Davi, Alan Rachins and Lin Tucci. Verhoeven actually accepted his Razzie for Worst Director in person! (He was the first person to do so). It also won Worst Picture Of The Decade (for the 1990s) and was nominated for Worst Drama Of Our First 25 Years in 2005.

2. The Lonely Lady (1983)

dir. Peter Sasdy, starring Pia Zadora, Lloyd Bochner, and Bibi Besch

13 nominations, 6 wins

Another torrid tale of an idealistic young woman looking to achieve success and getting exploited along the way (although here, she's a screenwriter wanting to make it big in Hollywood) The Lonely Lady is an adaptation of a Harold Robbins novel and an unmitigated mess. Winning its 6 awards in 1984, including Worst Picture, actress Pia Zadora had already won a Worst Actress Razzie the previous year for Butterfly, so added to that with a second. It's telling that director Peter Sasdy never directed another film; his resume shows a lot of TV work after this blot. It was nominated for Worst Picture Of The Decade (for the 1980s) and was also nominated for Worst Drama Of Our First 25 Years in 2005.

3. Jack And Jill (2011)

dir. Dennis Dugan, starring Adam Sandler, Al Pacino, and Katie Holmes

12 nominations, 10 wins

The Razzies dishonour the worst of cinema, so imagine how bad a film has to be to get a clean sweep of every category. Well, Jack and Jill is that film. It's the first film in Razzies history to win every single category. It had multiple nominations in the Worst Supporting acting categories (Nick Swardson and Katie Holmes being nominated but their co-stars Al Pacino and David Spade taking the awards; yes, David Spade won Worst Supporting Actress; yes, it is that kind of a film; no, I don't get it either). Sandler was reportedly paid a cool $20m dollars to make this utter dreck, so I would imagine he's not particularly bothered. 

4. Gigli (2003)

dir. Martin Brest, starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, and Al Pacino

11 nominations, 7 wins

What was originally a mob movie turned into a romantic comedy to capitalise on the real-world relationship between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Which might explain why there's a sex scene between the two of them, despite Lopez's character being a lesbian. So much to unpack in that statement, so little time... Another film that's universally accepted as one of the worst ever made, it won 6 Razzies in 2004- including the Big Five (Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay)- and added a seventh in 2005 as the Worst "Comedy" Of Our First 25 Years. Dropped from UK cinemas after only a week, due to the dreadful reviews it received, Gigli also provided the kiss of death for Brest's career; after films like Beverly Hills Cop, Scent Of A Woman, and Meet Joe Black, the negative experience of making this film meant Brest retired from directing once it was over. 

5. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)

dir. Bill Condon, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner

11 nominations, 7 wins

The Razzies were always pretty unkind to the Twilight films; all but the first film got at least four nods. However, prior to this, despite all the nominations, the Twilight films had only won one Razzie before, when Jackson Rathbone was named Worst Supporting Actor for Eclipse. Time to make up for lost ground. Here, they pulled a Lord-Of-The-Rings-at-the-Oscars and awarded the final act of the saga the most awards. With seven awards, this soapy, poorly-acted, badly-written and utterly dismal film franchise finally bit the dust. Oh, no, I forgot... their vampires don't turn into dust. They sparkle in the sunlight. Sparkle. Vampires. Shouldn't. Sparkle. Along with Worst Picture and Director, sullen charisma vacuum Kristen Stewart took Worst Actress, with Taylor Lautner as Worst Supporting Actor. 

6. Mommie Dearest (1981)

dir. Frank Perry, starring Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, and Steve Forrest

11 nominations, 6 wins

Faye Dunaway was convinced that this biopic of the late actress Joan Crawford and the tumultuous relationship she had with her adopted children (especially her daughter Christina, who penned the salacious tell-all book the film is based on) would get her another Oscar. Instead, it got her a Razzie. To this day, Dunaway is known to stop interviews if anyone dares mention the film, even though the film is now considered something of a camp cult classic (and was even marketed as such by Paramount once they found out that people were attending out of a morbid curiosity). Along with Dunaway's Worst Actress win, and Worst Picture, it also won two Worst Supporting acting awards for Steve Forrest (as Greg Savitt) and Diana Scarwid (as the older Christine) and Worst Screenplay. It also won Worst Picture of the Decade (1980s) and was nominated for Worst "Drama" Of Our First 25 Years. 

7. Batman & Robin (1997)

dir. Joel Schumacher, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, and Chris O'Donnell

11 nominations, 1 win

We've spoken a lot about how much of a guilty pleasure this film is for us, so very little bears repeating, except for this: you know a film is bad when the director apologises for it (which Joel Schumacher did on a couple of occasions). It's certainly not as bad as it's painted; there's some fun to be had if you look for it. Despite 11 nominations (it was nominated for the most Razzies that year)- for everything from Worst Picture to Worst Screen Couple, Worst Original Song and Worst Reckless Disregard For Human Life And Public Property- the film winded up only winning one Razzie: Alicia Silverstone was named Worst Supporting Actress (beating her co-star Uma Thurman). They should be thankful they were nominated in the same year as The Postman...

8. Battlefield Earth (2000)

dir. Roger Christian, starring John Travolta, Barry Pepper, and Forest Whitaker

10 nominations, 9 wins

Based on a work by L. Ron Hubbard, Battlefield Earth was something of a passion project for John Travolta (no surprise there, given the whole Scientology thing...) but something went desperately wrong with the film and it's ended up as this sprawling incoherent, visually muddling mess. Plans for a sequel got quietly shelved. It won in every category it was nominated in at the 2001 awards (with a second Worst Supporting Actor nod for Forest Whitaker), although wasn't nominated in every category. Forest Whitaker has expressed his regret for taking part, and Barry Pepper had said he would have shown up to accept his Worst Supporting Actor Razzie in person had he known about it! Screenwriter J.D. Shapiro actually did show up in person and accepted the Worst Movie Of The Decade (2000s) award, and it won Worst Drama of Our First 25 Years, beating out Mommie Dearest, Showgirls, and The Lonely Lady for the dubious honour. 

9. Bolero (1984)

dir. John Derek, starring Bo Derek, George Kennedy, and Andrea Occhipinti

10 nominations, 6 wins

There's a fine line to be walked when it comes to "erotic" movies. You can go too far and end up with a crass exploitative mess verging on actual pornography, or end up not going far enough in which case it's about as sensual as a bucket of cold custard. Bolero veers wildly between the two extremes. Bo Derek stars as a young woman whose sexual awakening leads to a journey around the world to find her ideal lover. Already, things are starting to clench (and not in a good way). But here's where the line gets massively crossed: actress Olivia d'Abo was fourteen (yes, fourteen) and appears in nude scenes throughout the film. Released unrated in the US (wonder why?), d'Abo was one of the six "winners" (getting the Worst New Star award) with the film also winning Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Musical Score (which included music by celebrated composer Elmer Bernstein). What a sorry state of affairs. 

10. An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)

dir. Arthur Hiller (as Alan Smithee), starring Ryan O'Neal, Coolio, and Eric Idle

10 nominations, 5 wins

A quick lesson. "Alan Smithee" was the official Director's Guild pseudonym used on a film when its director disowns it and doesn't want their name on it. After director Arthur Hiller (who'd previously directed Love Story, The Man In The Glass Booth, and Silver Streak) used the credit for this shambles, the DGA deregistered the name, making this the last Alan Smithee film. Produced and written by Joe Eszterhas (who wrote Showgirls)- and who produced his own cut of the film which was preferred by the production company, over Hiller's (which prompted him to disown the film)- it's a bloated mess, aiming for "satire" and failing miserably. Eszterhas received three Razzies alone for this film- Worst Supporting Actor, Worst New Star, and Worst Screenplay- with Worst Picture and Worst Original Song completing the list of wins. Eric Idle (who plays filmmaker Alan Smithee who wants to disown his film... yeah...) said he was disappointed not to get a Razzie nomination for his performance. 

Other films that just fell outside the Top 10 but have still got a shedload of nominations and (in some cases, wins) are: 

• Freddy Got Fingered (2001) - 10 nominations, 5 wins
• Butterfly (1982) - 10 nominations, 2 wins
• I Know Who Killed Me (2007) - 9 nominations, 7 wins
• Cats (2019) - 9 nominations, 6 wins
• Rocky IV (1985) - 9 nominations, 5 wins
• Wild Wild West (1999) - 9 nominations, 5 wins
• Swept Away (2002) - 9 nominations, 5 wins
• The Last Airbender (2010) -  9 nominations, 5 wins

What an absolute shower of cinematic atrocities we have here. So much wasted potential. So much wasted money. So much wasted celluloid. But... one thing I hope that you take away from reading this litany of crapulence is this: if films this dire, this dreadful, this irredeemably shit can be made, there's hope for us all. 

Tez

Countdown: Oscar-Nominated Actors Playing Oscar-Nominated Actors

This is a feature that I initially wanted to call "Cineception" as the idea of Oscar-nominated actors playing Oscar-nominated actors on film feels like something that belongs in a Christopher Nolan film. 

We can even add an extra layer of meta-ness when you consider that several of these actors were nominated for an Oscar for their performance as an Oscar-nominated actor - and have even won Oscars! Honestly, it gets all a bit... metaphysical-like. 

But, anyway, here are ten Oscar-nominated actors who have played ten Oscar-nominated actors.

Annette Bening as Gloria Grahame (Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool)

Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee (three as Best Actress [for American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right], and once as Best Supporting Actress [The Grifters]). 

Grahame won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in The Bad And The Beautiful (1952), and was nominated in the same category for Crossfire (1947)

Bening puts in a superb performance as Grahame in Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool, about her later years in the theatre and her burgeoning relationship with a young Scouse actor (played by Jamie Bell). An Oscar nomination eluded her, but Bening did get a well-deserved BAFTA nod for Best Actress. 

Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn (The Aviator)

Blanchett and Hepburn both occupy places in Oscar history, so it's entirely appropriate that Blanchett should play Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator. 

Hepburn still holds the record for most Best Actress wins, with four (Morning Glory, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, The Lion In Winter, and On Golden Pond) from 12 nominations (all in the Best Actress category)

Blanchett, on the other hand, is one of a select group of actors who has been nominated for a Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscar in the same year (for Elizabeth: The Golden Age and I'm Not There.). Not only that. Blanchett has also won both a Best Actress Oscar (for her stunning turn in Blue Jasmine) and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for... yep, The Aviator (also making her the first actor to win an Oscar for playing an Oscar-winning actor). Blanchett's performance as Hepburn goes beyond a mere impersonation to capture not only the actress' strident vocal tones but her strength and fragility. 

Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier (My Week With Marilyn)

Just as with Blanchett and Hepburn, there are few actors better to play Sir Laurence Olivier than the man whose career trajectory has so closely followed his: Kenneth Branagh. 

Both men have Oscar nominations in three categories (both acting categories, and Best Director), although Olivier won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Hamlet (1948). 

Branagh takes on the role of Olivier in the utterly charming My Week With Marilyn, which details the making of The Prince And The Showgirl (1957) where Olivier worked opposite- and directed- Marilyn Monroe. Branagh's performance as Olivier isn't just an impression- he gets under the skin of a great actor who has to deal with an actress of great talent but flaky personal qualities. His exasperation, yet deep respect for Marilyn comes out. 

Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin (Chaplin)

Richard Attenborough's 1992 star-studded biopic of the silent movie star garnered the first Oscar nomination for Robert Downey Jr. (his second would come in 2008 for Tropic Thunder, this time as Best Supporting Actor). It's the first time an actor was nominated for an Oscar for playing another Oscar-nominated actor. 

Chaplin was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in The Great Dictator (1940), and there are scenes in Chaplin where he watches speeches of Hitler to prepare for his role in that film. 

[As a nice bonus, Chaplin features a second Oscar-nominated actor playing an Oscar-nominated actor: Diane Lane (a Best Actress nominee for Unfaithful) plays Paulette Goddard (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for So Proudly We Hail!)]

Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest)

Joan Crawford won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Mildred Pierce (1945) and had two further nominations (for Possessed and Sudden Fear).

Faye Dunaway won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Network (1976) and also had two further nominations (for Bonnie And Clyde and Chinatown).

Dunaway truly felt that her performance as Crawford in biopic Mommie Dearest, detailing the traumatic upbringing Crawford's adopted daughter had at the hands of her movie-star mother, was going to net her another Oscar. Nothing could have been further than the truth. It's a campy. larger-than-life, very hammy performance (not helped by such ludicrous dialogue as "NO. WIRE. HANGERS. EVER!"). The reviews were terrible, the Oscars gave it a wide berth, but the newly started Golden Raspberry Awards gave the film an (at the time) unprecedented nine nominations. It "won" five... including Worst Actress for Dunaway.

It's become something of a cult classic in latter years, but- even nearly thirty years later- Dunaway is known to stop interviews if Mommie Dearest gets mentioned. 

Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh (Hitchcock)

Like Cate Blanchett, Scarlett Johansson is part of the two-nominations-in-one-year club (garnering a Best Actress nod for Marriage Story and a Best Supporting Actress nod for Jojo Rabbit at the 92nd Academy Awards). Just like buses... you wait ages for one, and two come along at once...

Johansson was part of the ensemble cast of the 2012 biopic Hitchcock, which focuses on the struggles he had to get Psycho (1960) made. In it, she plays Janet Leigh who is famously killed off in the notorious "shower scene". There are moments in the film where Johansson looks so like Leigh, I did a double take, thinking they'd just used stock footage. 

Leigh would receive her only Oscar nomination for Psycho, with a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as Marion Crane.  

Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly (Grace of Monaco)

I've long felt that Nicole Kidman is her generation's Grace Kelly, so it's again appropriate that Kidman should play Kelly in Olivier Dahan's 2014 biopic, focusing on her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. 

Kidman won the Best Actress Oscar for her devastating turn as Virginia Woolf in The Hours (and has further nominations for her roles in Moulin Rouge!, Rabbit Hole and Lion).

Kelly received her first Oscar nomination in the Supporting Actress category for Mogambo (1953) and won Best Actress the following year for her performance in The Country Girl. According to rumour, there were only half-a-dozen votes separating Kelly from her nearest rival, which was... Judy Garland. 

Grace Of Monaco is not a great film. It's soapy, melodramatic and (like many biopics) plays fast and loose with historical events. Dahan's version, which opened the Cannes Film Festival to what might be charitably called "mixed reviews", doesn't really do anyone any favours. That said, Kidman does a solid job bringing Kelly to life. 

Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers (The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers)

It might come as a surprise to some people, especially if they only know him from things like The Goon Show or The Pink Panther films, to realise that Peter Sellers is a double Best Actor Oscar nominee. He was nominated for his three roles in Kubrick's scabrous Cold War satire Dr. Strangelove (1964), and for his turn as the simple-minded gardener turned political adviser in Being There (1979). 

Scenes which feature the filming of Being There are included in Stephen Hopkins' 2004 biopic, The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers, in which the British funnyman is played by Oscar-winning Australian actor Geoffrey Rush who does a good job to encapsulate the various facets of Sellers' character- even the less than palatable ones.

Rush won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as pianist David Helfgott in Shine (1996) and received further nominations for Quills, Shakespeare In Love and The King's Speech (the latter two in the Supporting Actor category). 

Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin (Beyond The Sea)

There's a scene in Beyond The Sea, Kevin Spacey's 2004 biopic of crooner Bobby Darin (clearly a passion project for Spacey as he directs, stars, and co-wrote the film) where Darin rants about losing the Best Supporting Actor to Melvyn Douglas (who won for playing Paul Newman's father in Hud). 

Darin, better known as a singer ("Beyond The Sea", "Mack The Knife"), played Jim Tompkins, a young Corporal traumatised after his aircraft was shot down, in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) opposite Gregory Peck and Tony Curtis. It was his only Oscar nomination. 

Spacey is a two-time Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects, and Best Actor for American Beauty). Beyond The Sea is an entertaining enough biopic, but Spacey is far too old to play Darin, and the relationship between Darin and his wife Sandra Dee (played by Kate Bosworth) just looks wrong because of the two-decade age difference.

Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)

Judy Garland was nominated for two competitive Oscars during her career- a Best Actress nod for A Star Is Born (1954) [which she lost out to Grace Kelly, in a result which Groucho Marx called "the biggest robbery since Brink's"] and a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role in Judgment In Nuremberg (1961)- but was given a special Juvenile Award in 1940 for "her outstanding performance as a screen juvenile during the past year" (which would cover her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz)

Zellweger is, like Cate Blanchett, an actress who has won both a Best Actress and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. After two Best Actress nods (for Bridget Jones' Diary and Chicago), she won the Supporting Actress award for Cold Mountain (2003), and won Best Actress this year for her superlative performance as Judy Garland in Judy, which focuses on Garland's time in London in 1968 to do a series of sold-out concerts. 

Whilst Judy is a bit patchy (which seems to be a running complaint when it comes to biopics), Zellweger's performance is just sublime, encapsulating the strength, inner turmoil and turbulent life of this great performer.