'Razzie' contenders for best of the worst

The Razzies, the worst-film equivalent of the Oscars, gave Catwoman a leading seven nominations, among them worst picture, worst actress for Halle Berry and worst supporting players for Sharon Stone and Lambert Wilson.

Catwoman also was nominated for worst screen couple for Berry with either Stone or co-star Benjamin Bratt.

“Catwoman is the cinematic equivalent of a clump in the cat-litter box,” Razzies founder John Wilson said in Los Angeles. “Kind of a sad little thing laying there stinking up the place.”

The historical bomb Alexander was second with six Razzie nominations, including worst picture, actor Colin Farrell, actress Angelina Jolie and director Oliver Stone.

The other worst-picture contenders were the family action comedy Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, the holiday debacle Surviving Christmas and the cross-dressing comedy White Chicks.

US president George Bush and some of his advisers received worst-acting nominations for their appearances in news and archival footage in Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, which assails Bush for his actions surrounding the September 11 attacks.

Bush was nominated for worst actor, while secretary of state-designate Condoleezza Rice got a nomination for worst supporting actress and defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld for worst supporting actor.

Wilson said that while Fahrenheit 9/11 was a piece of anti-Bush propaganda, the president and his associates earned their Razzie nominations on their own.

“It wasn’t Mr Moore’s editing,” Wilson said. “It’s the raw footage of these people just making fools of themselves.”

Just a few seconds of screen time in Fahrenheit 9/11 brought a nomination as worst supporting actress for Britney Spears, who sits for a moment blank-faced and chewing gum in the film before saying she thinks people should support the president in all decisions he makes.

Along with Bush and Farrell, worst-actor nominees were Ben Affleck for Jersey Girl and Surviving Christmas; Vin Diesel for The Chronicles of Riddick; and Ben Stiller for Along Came Polly, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Envy and Starsky & Hutch.

Joining Berry and Jolie as worst-actress contenders were Hilary Duff for A Cinderella Story and Raise Your Voice, and two pairs of siblings: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for New York Minute and Shawn and Marlon Wayans, who play federal agents in drag in White Chicks.

The Olsen twins and the Wayans brothers also had nominations as worst screen couples.

Arnold Schwarzenegger received a nomination for worst supporting actor for Around the World in 80 Days, for which he did a cameo before becoming California’s governor. Besides him, Rumsfeld and Wilson, the other supporting nominees were Val Kilmer for Alexander and Jon Voight for Superbabies.

Besides Rice, Spears and Stone, Carmen Elektra of Starsky & Hutch and Jennifer Lopez of Jersey Girl” also were nominated for worst supporting actress.

Selected by about 500 members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation, Razzie nominations were released a day before the Academy Awards nominations come out. Razzie winners will be announced on February 26, a day before the Oscars.