# 29th Golden Raspberry Awards

The 29th Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, ceremony was held by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation to identify the worst films the film industry had to offer in 2008, according to votes from members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation. Razzies co-founder John J. B. Wilson has stated that the intent of the awards is "to be funny." The ceremony was held at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 21, 2009. Nominations were announced on January 21, 2009. The Love Guru was the most nominated film of 2008, with seven. Award results were based on votes from approximately 650 journalists, cinema fans and film professionals from 20 countries. Awards were presented by John Wilson, the ceremony's founder. The Love Guru received the most awards, winning Worst Picture, Worst Actor, and Worst Screenplay. Paris Hilton received three awards, including Worst Actress for her work in The Hottie & the Nottie and Worst Supporting Actress for Repo! The Genetic Opera. Hilton matched the record number of awards received by an actor in a single year, set by Eddie Murphy the previous year at the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards for his roles in Norbit.
Pierce Brosnan received Worst Supporting Actor for his role in Mamma Mia!, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull received the award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel. Uwe Boll received the Worst Director award for the films 1968 Tunnel Rats, In the Name of the King and Postal, and also received a special award for Worst Career Achievement.
Nominations were announced on January 21, 2009, one day before the 81st Academy Awards nominations, and according to Razzies tradition the ceremony itself also preceded the corresponding Academy Award function by one day. The most nominated film of 2008 was the box office bomb The Love Guru, with seven nominations. Paid members of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation voted to determine the winners; individuals may become members of the foundation by visiting the organization's website at www.razzies.com. Award results were based on votes from approximately 650 journalists, cinema fans and professionals from the film industry. Voters were from 45 states in the United States and 19 other countries.

## Ceremony

The ceremony opened with a musical number which parodied the song "Dancing Queen" from Mamma Mia! The Movie. Awards were presented by John Wilson, the ceremony's founder. Awardees received a gold spray-painted raspberry worth $4.97. The Love Guru received three awards: Worst Picture, Worst Actor and Worst Screenplay. Worst Picture was the last award given out at the ceremony. John Wilson did not agree with the voters' determination on The Love Guru, and after viewing the film again in preparation for the ceremony, said to the Associated Press: "A couple of things he did got me to laugh, and these days, two laughs in a comedy is a high ratio." "The main thing wrong with it is no one said to Myers that it wasn't funny. He managed to offend the entire Indian population and his investors," said Wilson in a statement in The Guardian. Wilson shredded a copy of The Love Guru at the awards ceremony.
Paris Hilton's acting roles brought her three awards: Worst Actress and as part of Worst Screen Couple (with either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore) for her performance in The Hottie & the Nottie, and Worst Supporting Actress for her work in Repo! The Genetic Opera. Hilton matched the record number of awards received by an actor in a single year, set by Eddie Murphy the previous year at the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards; he received three awards from different categories for the multiple characters he played in Norbit. "She is the 21st century Zsa Zsa Gabor. She is famous for who she hangs out with. She's not famous for any talent she has yet exhibited. She may end up working with Uwe Boll. She could be the head vampire in 'BloodRayne 3'," said Wilson of Hilton's performances. Pierce Brosnan received Worst Supporting Actor for his role in Mamma Mia! The Movie. Award hosts Chip Dornell and Kelie McIver described Brosnan as "an actor who could not sing, should not sing and arguably did not sing, in a role he should not have accepted." The Steven Spielberg film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull received the award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.
Uwe Boll received the Worst Director award for films 1968 Tunnel Rats, In the Name of the King and Postal. He also received a special award for Worst Career Achievement. Boll was dubbed by award organizers as "Germany's answer to Ed Wood", a reference to Plan 9 from Outer Space film director Ed Wood Boll sent a humorous videotaped speech from a mock set of Darfur, Sudan, stating he would not return because the Razzie awards had "ruined his life". Wilson commented to Agence France-Presse: "Uwe Boll is the world-class movie director – anything he does is awful. He was the overwhelming choice to receive our career achievement award."

## Winners and nominees

| Category | Recipient |
| Worst Picture | The Love Guru (Paramount) |
| Worst Picture | Disaster Movie (Lionsgate) and Meet the Spartans (20th Century Fox) (jointly) |
| Worst Picture | The Happening (20th Century Fox) |
| Worst Picture | The Hottie and the Nottie (Regent/Summit) |
| Worst Picture | In the Name of the King (Boll KG/Brightlight Pictures) |
| Worst Actor | Mike Myers in The Love Guru as Guru Maurice Pitka |
| Worst Actor | Larry the Cable Guy in Witless Protection as Larry Stalder |
| Worst Actor | Eddie Murphy in Meet Dave as Dave Ming Cheng / The Captain |
| Worst Actor | Al Pacino in 88 Minutes and Righteous Kill as Dr. Jack Gramm and Det. David "Rooster" Fisk (respectively) |
| Worst Actor | Mark Wahlberg in The Happening and Max Payne as Elliot Moore and Max Payne (respectively) |
| Worst Actress | Paris Hilton in The Hottie and the Nottie as Cristabel Abbott |
| Worst Actress | Jessica Alba in The Eye and The Love Guru as Sydney Wells and Jane Bullard (respectively) |
| Worst Actress | Cameron Diaz in What Happens in Vegas as Joy McNally |
| Worst Actress | Kate Hudson in Fool's Gold and My Best Friend's Girl as Tess Finnegan and Alexis (respectively) |
| Worst Actress | Cast of The Women (Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Meg Ryan) as Sylvie Fowler, Crystal Allen, Edie Cohen, Alex Fisher and Mary Haines (respectively) |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! as Sam Carmichael |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Uwe Boll in Postal as Himself |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Ben Kingsley in The Love Guru, The Wackness, and War, Inc. as Guru Tugginmypudha, Dr. Jeffrey Squires, and Walken (respectively) |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds in Deal and In the Name of the King as Tommy Vinson and King Konreid (respectively) |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Verne Troyer in The Love Guru and Postal as Coach Punch Cherkhov and Himself (respectively) |
| Worst Supporting Actress | Paris Hilton in Repo! The Genetic Opera as Amber Sweet |
| Worst Supporting Actress | Carmen Electra in Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans as The Beautiful Assassin and Queen Margo (respectively) |
| Worst Supporting Actress | Kim Kardashian in Disaster Movie as Lisa Taylor |
| Worst Supporting Actress | Jenny McCarthy in Witless Protection as Connie |
| Worst Supporting Actress | Leelee Sobieski in 88 Minutes and In the Name of the King as Lauren Douglas/Lydia Doherty and Muriella (respectively) |
| Worst Screen Couple | Paris Hilton and either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore in The Hottie and the Nottie |
| Worst Screen Couple | Uwe Boll and "any actor, camera, or screenplay" |
| Worst Screen Couple | Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher in What Happens in Vegas |
| Worst Screen Couple | Larry the Cable Guy and Jenny McCarthy in Witless Protection |
| Worst Screen Couple | Eddie Murphy in Meet Dave (alongside himself) |
| Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount) |
| Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | The Day the Earth Stood Still (20th Century Fox) (remake of the 1951 film) |
| Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | Disaster Movie (Lionsgate) and Meet the Spartans (20th Century Fox) (jointly) |
| Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | Speed Racer (Warner Bros.) |
| Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Warner Bros.) |
| Worst Director | Uwe Boll for 1968 Tunnel Rats, In the Name of the King, and Postal |
| Worst Director | Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer for Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans |
| Worst Director | Tom Putnam for The Hottie and the Nottie |
| Worst Director | Marco Schnabel for The Love Guru |
| Worst Director | M. Night Shyamalan for The Happening |
| Worst Screenplay | The Love Guru (written by Mike Myers and Graham Gordy) |
| Worst Screenplay | Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans (jointly) (written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer) |
| Worst Screenplay | The Happening (written by M. Night Shyamalan) |
| Worst Screenplay | The Hottie and the Nottie (written by Heidi Ferrer) |
| Worst Screenplay | In the Name of the King (screenplay by Doug Taylor) |
| Worst Career Achievement | Uwe Boll ("Germany's answer to Ed Wood") |

### Films with multiple nominations

These films garnered multiple nominations:
| Nominations | Films |
| 7 | The Love Guru |
| 6 | Disaster Movie |
| 5 | The Hottie and the Nottie |
| 5 | In the Name of the King |
| 5 | Meet the Spartans |
| 4 | The Happening |
| 3 | Postal |
| 3 | Witless Protection |
| 2 | 88 Minutes |
| 2 | Meet Dave |
| 2 | What Happens in Vegas |
| 2 | Tunnel Rats |

### Films with multiple wins

| Nominations | Films |
| 3 | The Love Guru |
| 2 | The Hottie and the Nottie |