Razzie Dazzle

Amid all of the usual glitz and glad-handing that the film award season offers, I have to say that the one event I look forward to as much (if not more) than the Academy Awards are the Razzie Awards. The organization honors the worst movies of the year and today, they announced their coveted nominations for 2006:

David Germain, movie writer for the Associated Press has the details on the honorees:

At least someone was happy Sharon Stone reprised her notorious femme-fatale role with "Basic Instinct 2."

The box-office bomb received seven nominations Monday for the Razzie Awards that mock the bottom of Hollywood's barrel, among them worst picture and worst actress of the year.

Also receiving seven nominations was the Wayans brothers comedy "Little Man," about a thief posing as a baby, including worst picture and director for Keenen Ivory Wayans.

Shawn and Marlon Wayans shared a worst-actor nomination, while sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff shared a worst-actress nomination for "Material Girls."

"We stuck the siblings together to allow room for more dreck," said Razzies founder John Wilson.

The other worst-picture nominees were the fantasies "BloodRayne" and "Lady in the Water" and the thriller "The Wicker Man."

Winners will be announced Feb. 24, the day before the Academy Awards.

Joining Stone and the Duffs in the worst-actress category were Lindsay Lohan for "Just My Luck," Kristanna Loken for "BloodRayne" and Jessica Simpson for "Employee of the Month."

Stone previously won a Razzie as worst-actress for 1994's "The Specialist" and "Intersection."

"She's what we call a Razzie repeat offender. Perhaps even a recidivist," Wilson said.

"Basic Instinct 2" also had a nomination for worst screen couple for Stone's "lopsided breasts."

Also nominated were co-star David Thewlis for worst supporting actor and the movie's director, Michael Caton-Jones.

Along with the Wayans, "Little Man" co-star Rob Schneider had a worst-actor nomination.

The other nominees were Tim Allen for "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," "The Shaggy Dog" and "Zoom"; Nicolas Cage for "The Wicker Man"; and Larry the Cable Guy for "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector."

The Razzies added a new category, worst excuse for family entertainment. The nominees were "Deck the Halls," "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties," "RV," "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" and "The Shaggy Dog."

The big surprise for Wilson was that all-time Razzies champ Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky Balboa" was not nominated. Stallone, who has 30 Razzie nominations and 10 wins, surprised many skeptics by delivering a sequel that was well received by audiences and earned better-than-expected reviews.

"At the first of the year, you could not have convinced me it wasn't going to be a Razzie contender," Wilson said. "I would like to publicly say that Stallone has made a good movie."

Director Michael Caton-Jones tried really hard to make Basic Instinct 2 a serious follow-up to the 1992 hit...Too bad Sharon Stone haming it up got in the way. The film definitely gets my vote as the year's worst. I have family members that swear Little Man and Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector are at least good for a laugh. I wouldn't know...Lady in the Water had water-logged reviews and sank at the box office...Nicolas Cage gets my vote as worst actor for his entire career...I would say that the Razzie staff did a great job this year with their picks...