2024 Razzie Awards

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey eviscerated the 44th Annual Razzies Awards field when the winners were announced on March 9.  The film – which answers the age old question “What does a bear do in the woods?” – swept all five categories in which it was nominated.

The big “winner” exists solely because the original author’s copyright on a beloved Children’s Literature character expired in 2023 – in other words, the film-makers could legally use someone else’s classic creation without even crediting them.

44th GOLDEN RASPBERRY (RAZZIE®) AWARD “WINNERS”

PICTURE

  • Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

ACTOR

  • Jon Voight / Mercy

ACTRESS

  • Megan Fox / Johnny & Clyde 

RAZZIE® REDEEMER AWARD

  • 1998 Nominee and current SAG/AFTRA President Fran Drescher, for her brilliant shepherding of the actors’ guild through a prolonged 2023 strike with a successful conclusion.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Megan Fox / Expend4bles

SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Sylvester Stallone / Expend4ables

SCREEN COUPLE

  • Pooh & Piglet as Blood-Thirsty Slasher/Killers (!) in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL

  • Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

DIRECTOR

  • Rhys Frake-Waterfield / Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

SCREENPLAY

  • Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, Written by Rhys Frake-Waterfield 

[Based on a press release.]

44th Razzie® Award Nominations

The 44rd Razzie nominations are out.

After strikes, lingerings of a worldwide plague and a general sense of universal agoraphobia, the decline of the cinematic experience goes without saying.  Thankfully, a doll pic and a bomb movie jump-started The Industry, which still left a trail of Pooh behind for the Razzies® to pick up!

The five Worst Picture nominees for the 44th Annual Razzies® are:

  • The Exorcist: Believer — a fifty-years-later remake/rip-off that was horrifying in unintended ways
  • Expend4bles — another installment of a franchise that’s fading faster than Razzie “winner” Donald Trump’s mental acuity
  • Meg 2: The Trench — a fishy tale about a snarky shark that flopped across all seven seas 
  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods — One of 2023’s several comic book movies failing to save the superhero genre
  • Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey — a defamation (and defecation) on two of the most beloved Kiddie Lit characters, “re-imagining” the huggable denizens of the Hundred Acre Wood as vicious, cannibal serial killers.

Apart from Expend4bles, with 7 Razzie nominations, genre films did the most damage to Hollywood last year: The Exorcist: Believer: 5; Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey: 5; Shazam! Fury of the Gods: 4; Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania: 4; and Meg 2: The Trench: 3.

43RD ANNUAL GOLDEN RASPBERRY (RAZZIE®) NOMINATIONS

WORST PICTURE

  • The Exorcist: Believer
  • Expend4bles
  • Meg 2: The Trench
  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods
  • Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

WORST ACTOR

  • Russell Crowe / The Pope’s Exorcist
  • Vin Diesel / Fast X
  • Chris Evans / Ghosted
  • Jason Statham / Meg 2: The Trench
  • Jon Voight / Mercy

WORST ACTRESS

  • Ana de Armas / Ghosted
  • Megan Fox / Johnny & Clyde
  • Salma Hayek / Magic Mike’s Last Dance
  • Jennifer Lopez / The Mother
  • Dame Helen Mirren / Shazam! Fury of the Gods

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Kim Cattrall / About My Father
  • Megan Fox / Expend4bles
  • Bai Ling / Johnny & Clyde
  • Lucy Liu / Shazam! Fury of the Gods
  • Mary Stuart Masterson / Five Nights at Freddy’s

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Michael Douglas / Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
  • Mel Gibson / Confidential Informant
  • Bill Murray / Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
  • Franco Nero (as “The Pope”) The Pope’s Exorcist
  • Sylvester Stallone / Expend4ables

WORST SCREEN COUPLE

  • Any 2 “Merciless Mercenaries” / Expend4bles
  • Any 2 Money-Grubbing Investors Who Donated to the $400 Million
  • for Remake Rights to The Exorcist
  • Ana de Armas & Chris Evans (who flunked Screen Chemistry) Ghosted
  • Salma Hayek & Channing Tatum / Magic Mike’s Last Dance
  • Pooh & Piglet as Blood-Thirsty Slasher/Killers (!) in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL

  • Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
  • The Exorcist: Believer
  • Expend4bles
  • Indiana Jones and The Dial of…Still Beating a Dead Horse
  • Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

WORST DIRECTOR

  • Rhys Frake-Waterfield / Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
  • David Gordon Green / The Exorcist: Believer
  • Peyton Reed / Ant Man & the Wasp: Quantumania
  • Scott Waugh / Expend4bles
  • Ben Wheatley / Meg 2: The Trench

WORST SCREENPLAY

  • The Exorcist: Believer
  • Expend4bles
  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of…Can I go home now?
  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods
  • Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey

43rd Razzie® Awards

Marvel’s vampire movie Morbius claimed two Razzies when the 43rd annual Razzie Award winners were revealed on March 11, with title character Jared Leto named Worst Actor and Adria Arjona Worst Supporting Actress.

Disney’s Pinocchio was branded Worst Remake. Despite that, Tom Hanks did not win for his performance as Gepetto, although he take the Razzies in two other categories for his non-genre work in Elvis.

Indirectly of genre interest was the first-ever Razzie given to the Razzies themselves, for originally having included The King’s Daughter actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong, age 12, among the Worst Actress nominees. (The film is based on Vonda McIntyre’s novel.) The press release explains, “After their blunder of nominating someone who should not have been considered, the organization was put through the cyberworld blender. They publicly apologized to the actress, changed the rules for anyone under 18, rescinded the nomination and put themselves in her place on the ballot – which won by a landslide.”

43rd Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie®) Winners

WORST PICTURE

  • Blonde

WORST ACTOR

  • Jared Leto / Morbius 

WORST ACTRESS

  • Awarded to The RAZZIES for “Their 43rd Worst Actress Nominations Blunder”

RAZZIE® REDEEMER AWARD

  • Colin Farrell (From 2004 Worst Actor nominee to 2022 Best Actor Oscar Front-Runner)

WORST REMAKE/RIP-OFF/SEQUEL

  • Disney’s Pinocchio (NOT del Toro’s!)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Adria Arjona / Morbius 

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Tom Hanks / Elvis 

WORST SCREEN COMBO

  • Tom Hanks & His Latex-Laden Face (and Ludicrous Accent) ELVIS

WORST DIRECTOR

  • Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) & Mod Sun / Good Mourning

WORST SCREENPLAY

  • Blonde  / Written for the Screen by Andrew Dominik. Adapted from the “Bio-Novel” by Joyce Carol Oates

43rd Razzie® Award Nominations

The 43rd Razzie nominations are out and three genre works are contenders in several categories. The first two are named in the press release:

The year’s most ridiculed movie, Morbius (with Worst Actor nominee Jared Leto in the title role) collected five nods. Disney’s wholly unnecessary (and oddly creepy) live action/CGI remake of Pinocchio pulled our voters’ strings to make it into six categories.

Morbius is based on a Marvel superhero character of the same name.

Tom Hanks, not ordinarily associated with stinkers, acted his way into two categories, as Worst Actor for his performance as Gepetto in Disney’s Pinocchio, and as Worst Supporting Actor as Col. Parker in the non-genre Elvis.

The third genre contender is The King’s Daughter, based on Vonda McIntyre’s historical fantasy The Moon and the Sun. It also yielded nominees for Worst Actress and Worst Supporting Actress.

The 43rd Razzie “winners” will be unveiled on Oscar Eve — Saturday, March 11th.
 
43rd Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie®) Nominations

WORST PICTURE

Blonde              
Disney’s Pinocchio
Good Mourning     
The King’s Daughter
Morbius
 

WORST ACTOR

Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) Good Mourning
Pete Davidson (Voice Only) Marmaduke
Tom Hanks (As Gepetto) Disney’s Pinocchio
Jared Leto / Morbius 
Sylvester Stallone / Samaritan

WORST ACTRESS

Ryan Kiera Armstrong / Firestarter
Bryce Dallas Howard / Jurassic Park: Dominion
Diane Keaton / Mack & Rita 
Kaya Scodelario / The King’s Daughter
Alicia Silverstone / The Requin  

WORST REMAKE/RIP-OFF/SEQUEL

Blonde      
BOTH 365 Days Sequels – 365 Days: This Day
& The Next 365 Days [a Razzie BOGO]
Disney’s Pinocchio 
Firestarter 
Jurassic World: Dominion


WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Adria Arjona / Morbius 
Lorraine Bracco (Voice Only) Disney’s Pinocchio
Penelope Cruz / The 355 
Bingbing Fan / The 355 & The King’s Daughter
Mira Sorvino / Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend 

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Pete Davidson (Cameo Role) Good Mourning
Tom Hanks / Elvis 
Xavier Samuel / Blonde
Mod Sun / Good Mourning
Evan Williams / Blonde

WORST SCREEN COUPLE

Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) & Mod Sun / Good Mourning
Both Real Life Characters in the Fallacious White House Bedroom Scene / Blonde
Tom Hanks & His Latex-Laden Face (and Ludicrous Accent) ELVIS
Andrew Dominik & His Issues with Women / Blonde 
The Two 365 Days Sequels (both Released in 2022)

WORST DIRECTOR

Judd Apatow / The Bubble
Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) & Mod Sun / Good Mourning
Andrew Dominik / Blonde
Daniel Espinosa / Morbius 
Robert Zemeckis / Disney’s Pinocchio 

WORST SCREENPLAY

Blonde  / Written for the Screen by Andrew Dominik,
    Adapted from the “Bio-Novel” by Joyce Carol Oates
Disney’s Pinocchio / Screenplay by Robert Zemeckis & Chris Weitz
   (Not Authorized by the Estate of Carlo Collodi)
Good Mourning  / “Written” by Machine Gun Kelly & Mod Sun
Jurassic World: Dominion / Screenplay by Emily Carmichael
   & Colin Treverrow,Story by Treverrow & Derek Connolly
Morbius / Screen Story and Screenplay by Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless

Update 01/25/2023: Added The King’s Daughter per correction in comments. // Lined out Ryan Kiera Armstrong in the Worst Actress category: “Razzie awards remove 12-year-old from worst actress category after backlash” in the Guardian.

Pixel Scroll 4/1/22 This Title Contains A Non-Fungible Tribble

(1) DIAL Q FOR MOCKERY. It may be April 1 but calling 323-634-5667 gets you the message: “Star Trek Picard Easter Egg: Real Phone Number Lets You Call Q” reports Gizmodo.

Which, of course actually works. Turns out, calling the number and not being fictional rogue geneticist Adam Soong however, just gets Q mocking you for trying to call the mighty, incomprehensible society that is the Q Continuum. Check out our recording of the phone message below:

If you can’t hear the message, here’s a transcript:

“Hello! You have reached the Q Continuum. We are unable to get to the phone right now, because we are busy living in a plane of existence your feeble, mortal mind cannot possibly comprehend.

“Furthermore, it’s pointless to leave a message, because we of course already knew that you would call, and we simply do not care. Have a nice day.”

(2) A FOOLISH CONSISTENCY. Daniel Dern sent this link with the caution – “Note, (Stardate) April 1, 2022.” “Timekettle New Cross-Species Translator Supports Klingon and Dog&Cat”.

The Timekettle team has launched cross-species language translation through its self-developed translation engine on April 1st, 2022. It is now possible to chat with aliens from the Klingon Empire, as well as with your pets via Woof or Meow.

Dern also suggested trying it on this: “GreenEggsAndHam” at the Klingon Language Wiki.

(3) PRESSED DOWN, SHAKEN TOGETHER, AND RUNNING OVER. What was Brandon Sanderson’s final take? According to CNBC, “Author’s record-breaking Kickstarter campaign closes at $41.7 million”.

Brandon Sanderson asked Kickstarter fans for $1 million to self-publish four novels he wrote during the pandemic. Thirty days later, his campaign has topped $41.7 million from more than 185,000 backers and is the most-funded Kickstarter in the crowdfunding site’s history.

Sanderson’s campaign surpassed the previous record holder in just three days, topping the $20.3 million in funds that smartwatch company Pebble Technology generated in 2015.

With the project successfully funded, Kickstarter will take a 5% fee from the funds collected, or more than $2 million….

(4) EATING THE FANTASTIC. Scott Edelman invites listeners to pig out on pork BBQ with Paul Witcover in episode 168 of his Eating the Fantastic podcast.

Paul Witcover

Paul Witcover‘s first novel, Waking Beauty (1997) was short-listed for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. He’s also written five other novels: Tumbling After (2005), Dracula: Asylum (2006), The Emperor of All Things (2013) and its sequel, The Watchman of Eternity (2015), plus most recently, Lincolnstein, just out from PS Publishing.

His 2004 novella “Left of the Dial” was nominated for a Nebula Award, and his 2009 novella “Everland” was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. His short fiction has appeared in Twilight Zone magazine, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine, Night Cry, and other venues. A collection of his short fiction, Everland and Other Stories, appeared from PS Publishing in 2009, and was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. He’s been a frequent reviewer for Realms of FantasyLocusNew York Review of Science Fiction, and elsewhere. He teaches fiction at UCLA Extension and at Southern New Hampshire University, where he is the Dean of the Online MFA program.

We discussed the reason the pandemic resulted in some of the best years of his freelance career, the way he thrives as a writer when dealing with the boundaries of historical fiction, why his new novel Lincolnstein is “exactly what you think it is,” how he writes in yesterday’s vernacular without perpetuating yesterday’s stereotypes, what can and can’t be taught about writing, the reasons he felt lucky to have attended Clarion with Lucius Shepard, the effect reading slush at Asimov’s and Twilight Zone magazines had on his own fiction, what Algis Budrys told him that hit him like a brick, and much more.

(5) PATREON EXPLAINS IT TO JDA. Jon Del Arroz, who as usual says he didn’t do nothin’, asked Patreon to explain why they killed his account. They answered and he has posted their response letter — which mentions that “our guidelines apply equally to off-platform activity.” It would be ironic if Patreon bounced him for the racist and misogynistic tweets and YouTube videos he posts which those platforms permit to go undisciplined despite their own community guidelines.  

(6) AGING ORANGE. [Item by SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie.] Check out BBC Radio 4’s Front Row arts programme. Last night’s episode includes an item on A Clockwork Orange, it being the 60th anniversary of the novel. It was very interesting. Apparently there was an unpublished sequel which was basically having a message that art does not spread violence though society. Front Row – “A Clockwork Orange, the National Poetry Competition winner announced, Slow Horses and Coppelia reviewed”.

(7) WESTWARD HO. [Item by Martin Morse Wooster.] In the Financial Times behind a paywall, Tom Faber reviews Horizon Forbidden West.

The one-line pitch is that you’re a hunter-gatherer fighting robot dinosaurs across a post-apocalyptic US.  With such a fun hook, nobody needed Horizon Zero Dawn to have a good story, yet its narrative proved unexpectedly compelling.  The game takes place a thousand years after rampaging machines have wiped out most of humanity.  Survivors have clustered into tribal communities who view relics of technology as objects of either suspicion or religious reverence.  The dramas of warring clans are narrated alongside the tale of how our world came to ruin. Guerillas struck gold with flame-haired heroine Aloy, who balances grit and tenderness as one of the most memorable new characters of its console generation…

Forbidden West is the first truly eye-popping flex of the PS5’s muscles, with graphics so beautiful that I have often found myself halting the adventure just to gawp at the landscape, whether dust clouds careening across the desert or forest leaves quivering in the breeze.  The robot enemies are ingenious works of biomechanical clockwork, shaped like snakes, hippos, ferrets, rams, and pterodactyls, with electric cables for sinew and gleaming steel for ligaments.

(8) CLARION WEST CLASSES. Registration for Clarion West’s Spring online classes and workshops is now open. Full information and ticket prices at the links.

This workshop aims to give you practical tools for evaluating publishing contracts. While it’s impossible to teach you everything there is to know about the legal side of publishing in a single class, it is possible to gain a general understanding of the rights involved and the practical mindset needed to protect your interests.

After a brief lecture on common publishing contractual terms, instructor Ken Liu (a lawyer and an author) will lead participants in interactive exercises to spot potential issues in language taken from actual contracts. Whether you’re looking at your first pro short story sale or an offer to adapt your novel into a TV show, the exercises in this class will help you.

Depending on the contracts used in the exercises, topics covered may include publishing rights (print, web, electronic, audio, etc.), performance rights, foreign language rights, media rights (gaming, film, and TV), royalties, advances, taxes, indemnification, etc. There will also be a Q&A period to address specific questions from participants.

This class is provided for educational purposes only, and none of the content should be construed as professional legal, tax, or financial advice.

With demand for transgender and nonbinary narratives on the rise, more cisgender (non-trans/nonbinary) people are adding trans and nonbinary characters to their stories. But what can you do to make sure you’re providing accurate representation? In this session, we will explore the “Three Es” of writing a trans/nonbinary character, the best craft approaches for each, and their potential pitfalls. We’ll also go over (in)appropriate reasons to write a trans/nonbinary narrative, general dos, and don’ts, and an overview of the experiences most often used incorrectly in stories.

This class for intermediate to advanced writers focused on craft to help you flex your funny muscles (since bones don’t flex). We’ll cover new ways to look at your funny fiction, techniques, exercises, the odd hack and trick- and culminate in a small mini-workshop where we’ll go over a piece you worked on!

This class meets three times: April 12, 16 and May 10, 2022, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Pacific.

This class will give an overview of the tools libraries use to discover materials and what makes a title more likely to be ordered for a library’s collection. We will also discuss the challenges and opportunities librarians face in acquiring materials and how authors can position themselves to be in a library’s line of sight when it comes to getting their books included in library collections.

We’ll cover physical materials (books and audiobooks) as well as the prickly digital (ebooks and audiobooks) library landscape.

Finally, we’ll also cover a little bit about doing library programs, like readings and classes.

Attendees will come away with a better understanding of how libraries locate and purchase materials and the limitations and differences between the library and the consumer markets.

You know it’s possible to be a successful short story writer with a full-time job, family, and hobbies. The question is, How? How do you get beyond the slush pile? How do you find the time to write when you have a million other obligations? This class will cover how to level up your craft as a short story writer and how to find the time, motivation, and persistence to stick with it while living a full life.

Suitable for writers at all stages of their careers, this class will emphasize self-compassion and give you ideas for how to level up your stories!

(9) HE WAS AN INFLUENCE ON BRADBURY. [Item by Alan Baumler.] Loren Eisley was a prolific science writer, and at least one sf writer liked him. About his book The Star Thrower Ray Bradbury wrote, “The book will be read and cherished in the year 2001. It will go to the Moon and Mars with future generations. Loren Eiseley’s work changed my life.” In “Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 1,059”, Erik Loomis traces the author’s life for readers of Lawyers, Guns & Money.

…As Ray Bradbury said of Eiseley, “he is every writer’s writer, and every human’s human.” This is a great description and his combination of interest in science, human origins, evolutionary theory, and what it means to be a human being continued to lead to best sellers. He quickly moved on his popularity to become the leading interpreter of science in the United States. Darwin’s Century followed in 1958. I haven’t read that one. I have read his 1960 book The Firmament of Time. This was an attempt to give people hope to live with science in an era of such astounding advances that it threatened human beings, particularly nuclear science….

(10) MEDIA BIRTHDAY.

1995 [Item by Cat Eldridge.] Twenty-seven years ago this evening on BBC One, the Bugs series first aired. The series was created by Brian Eastman and producer Stuart Doughty with input from writer and producer Brian Clemens who is best known for his work on The Avengers which is why he considered this “an Avengers for the 1990s”. No idea if that was true having not seen it.

It lasted, despite almost being cancelled at the end of series three, for four series and forty episodes. It had an immense, and I do mean that, cast including Jaye Griffiths who was on Silent Witness early on (I’m watching all twenty-one series of it right now), Craig McLalachlan who was the lead in The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Jesse Birdsall who played Fraser Black in the very popular soap opera Hollyoaks and Steve Houghton who’s Gregg Blake in the London Burning series.

So how was it? I couldn’t find any contemporary reviews, but this later review suggests that it was a mixed bag: “Bugs is a mid-1990s British techno-espionage TV series, intended to be The Avengers (1960s) for a new decade. Wikipedia has the facts. Absolutely laden with Hollywood Science tropes, and quite prone to So Bad, It’s Good.” Another review noted that, “The show does have a cult following in the UK and in 2005 was released on DVD. The main cast have also spoken very highly of the show and the work they did on it, expressing that Bugs was deliberately ahead of its time and set a bench mark for other shows to come.” 

JustWatch says it is not streaming anywhere at the current time.

(11) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

  • Born April 1, 1883 Lon Chaney. Actor, director, makeup artist and screenwriter. Best remembered I’d say for the Twenties silent horror films The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera in which he did his own makeup. He developed pneumonia in late 1929 and he was diagnosed with bronchial lung cancer which he died from. (Died 1930.)
  • Born April 1, 1917 Sydney Newman. Head of Drama at BBC, he was responsible for both The Avengers and Doctor Who happening. It’s worth noting that Newman’s initial set-up for The Avengers was much grittier than it became in the later years. (Died 1997.)
  • Born April 1, 1925 Ernest Kinoy. He was a scriptwriter for such stories as “The Martian Death March” to Dimension X and X Minus One as well as adapting stories by Isaac Asimov,  Ray Bradbury,  Philip K. Dick for the both series. He also wrote an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” for NBC’s Presents: Short Story. (Died 2014.)
  • Born April 1, 1926 Anne McCaffrey. I read both the original trilogy and what’s called the Harper Hall trilogy oh so many years ago when dragons were something I was intensely interested in. I enjoyed them immensely but haven’t revisited them so I don’t know what the Suck Fairy would make of them. I confess that I had no idea she’d written so much other genre fiction! And I recounted her Hugo awards history in the March 7 Pixel Scroll (item #9). (Died 2011.)
  • Born April 1, 1930 Grace Lee Whitney. Yeoman Janice Rand on Star Trek. She would reach the rank of Lt. Commander in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Folks, I just noticed that IMDB says she was only on eight episodes of Trek, all in the first fifteen that aired. It seemed like a lot more at the time. She also appeared in in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. By the last film, she was promoted to being a Lt. Commander in rank. Her last appearance was in Star Trek: Voyager’s “Flashback” along with Hikaru Sulu. Oh, and she was in two video fanfics, Star Trek: New Voyages and Star Trek: Of Gods and Men. (Died 2015.)
  • Born April 1, 1942 Samuel R. Delany, 80. There’s no short list of recommended works for him as everything he’s done is brilliant. That said I think I’d start off suggesting a reading first of Babel- 17 and Dhalgren followed by the Return to Nevèrÿon series. His two Hugo wins were at Heicon ’70 for the short story “Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones” as published in New Worlds, December 1968, and at Noreascon 3 (1989) in the Best Non-Fiction Work category for The Motion of Light in Water: Sex and Science Fiction Writing in the East Village, 1957-1965.  I will do a full look at his awards and all of his Hugo nominations in an essay shortly. 
  • Born April 1, 1953 Barry Sonnenfeld, 69. Director of The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values  (both of which I really like), the Men in Black trilogy and Wild Wild West. He also executive-produced Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events which I’ve not seen, and did the same for Men in Black: International, the recent not terribly well-received continuation of that franchise.
  • Born April 1, 1963 James Robinson, 59. Writer, both comics and film. Some of his best known comics are the series centered on the Justice Society of America, in particular the Starman character he co-created with Tony Harris. His Starman series is without doubt some of the finest work ever done in the comics field. His screenwriting is a mixed bag. Remember The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? Well, that’s him. He’s much, much better on the animated Son of Batman film. And I’ll admit that James Robinson’s Complete WildC.A.T.s is a sort of guilty pleasure.

(12) IT CAUGHT ON IN A FLASH. Cora Buhlert has a new story out. A flash story called “Rescue Unwanted,” it appears as part of the flash fiction Friday series of Wyngraf Magazine of Cozy Fantasy“Cozy Flash: ‘Rescue Unwanted’”.

After a lengthy and laborious climb, Sir Clarenbald the Bold finally reached the summit of the Crag of Doom. The cave of the dragon lay before him, its mouth a dark void in the grey rock….

(13) WHERE IT’S AT. The Movie District has mapped out the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Filming Locations” with a combination of stills from the movie and contemporary Google Maps images. This is pretty damn interesting to me because I used to live two blocks from a few of the places in Sierra Madre.

(14) RAZZIES REVERSED. “Razzie Awards Backtrack, Rescind Bruce Willis Award – and Shelley Duvall Nomination as Well”The Wrap explains why.

The Razzie Awards have reversed their decision to stand by their “Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in 2021” award. “After much thought and consideration, the Razzies have made the decision to rescind the Razzie Award given to Bruce Willis, due to his recently disclosed diagnosis,” a statement by co-founders John Wilson and Mo Murphy says.

“If someone’s medical condition is a factor in their decision making and/or their performance, we acknowledge that it is not appropriate to give them a Razzie.” Willis’ family announced on Wednesday that the actor had been diagnosed with the cognitive disorder aphasia and was stepping away from acting.

The Razzie Awards came under fire on Wednesday for refusing to rescind the special award for Willis, and for making an inflammatory Tweet. “The Razzies are truly sorry for #BruceWillis diagnosed condition,” the parody awards ceremony wrote on Twitter. “Perhaps this explains why he wanted to go out with a bang in 2021. Our best wishes to Bruce and family.”

In addition, the organization took the opportunity to rescind another previous nomination – Worst Actress for Shelley Duvall in “The Shining.”

“As we recently mentioned in a Vulture Interview, extenuating circumstances also apply to Shelley Duvall in ‘The Shining.’ We have since discovered that Duvall’s performance was impacted by Stanley Kubrick’s treatment of her throughout the production.  We would like to take this opportunity to rescind that nomination as well.”…

(15) JEOPARDY! Andrew Porter says tonight’s Jeopardy! contestants struck out on this one.

Category: Books and Authors

Answer: In “The Story of” this man, his friends include Too-Too, an owl, Chee-Chee, a monkey, & Dab-Dab, a duck.

No one could ask, “Who is Doctor Dolittle?”

(16) JUSTWATCH – TOP 10’S IN MARCH. JustWatch says these were the “Top 10 Sci-Fi Movies and TV Shows in the US in March 2022”.

Rank*MoviesTV shows
1Spider-Man: No Way HomeSeverance
2DuneHalo
3The Adam ProjectUpload
4After YangResident Alien
5Spider-Man: Far From HomeDoctor Who
6Spider-Man: HomecomingRaised by Wolves
7Venom: Let There Be CarnageSnowpiercer
8Spider-ManStar Trek: The Next Generation
9InterstellarThe X-Files 
10The Matrix ResurrectionsBattlestar Galactica

*Based on JustWatch popularity score. Genre data is sourced from themoviedb.org

(17) VIDEO OF THE DAY. [Item by Martin Morse Wooster.] In “Hancock Pitch Meeting” Ryan George explains that Hancock has a scene where one character destroys her house to prevent her husband from knowing she has super powers.  But the producer is troubled by another scene where Hancock becomes enraged and violent after he is taunted.  “How could that happen?” the producer asks.  “That’s just not in Will Smith’s character!”

[Thanks to Mike Kennedy, Martin Morse Wooster, JJ, John King Tarpinian, Cora Buhlert, Alan Baumler, Scott Edelman, Michael J. Walsh, Dennis Howard, Dan Bloch, Andrew Porter, Michael Toman, and Cat Eldridge for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]

42nd Annual Razzie Awards

[Update: 04/01/2022. In light of Bruce Willis’ family announcing that he has aphasia and is stepping back from acting, the Razzie award and nominations have been withdrawn.]

The satirical 42nd Annual Razzie Awards for the worst cinematic achievements of the past year were announced March 26, a day ahead of the Academy Awards.

Genre scored four “winners,” with three Golden Raspberry trophies claimed by Space Jam: A New Legacy, and one by Bruce Willis for his work in Cosmic Sin.

The complete list of winners follows.

WORST PICTURE 

  • Diana: The Musical (The Netflix Version)

WORST ACTOR 

  • LeBron James / Space Jam: A New Legacy 

WORST ACTRESS  

  • Jeanna de Waal / Diana the Musical 

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS  

  • Judy Kaye (as BOTH Queen Elizabeth & Barbara Cartland) / Diana: The Musical

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR  

  • Jared Leto / House of Gucci 

WORST PERFORMANCE by BRUCE WILLIS in a 2021 MOVIE  (Special 8 Title Category)

  • Bruce Willis / Cosmic Sin                          

RAZZIE® REDEEMER AWARD   

  • Will Smith – for King Richard

WORST SCREEN COUPLE  

  • LeBron James & Any Warner Cartoon Character (or WarnerMedia Product)  He Dribbles On Space Jam: A New Legacy 

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL 

  • Space Jam: A New Legacy 

WORST DIRECTOR  

  • Christopher Ashley / Diana: The Musical 

WORST SCREENPLAY  

  • Diana: The Musical / Script by Joe DiPietro, Music and Lyrics by DiPietro and David Bryan

42nd Razzie® Award Nominations

[Update: 04/01/2022. In light of Bruce Willis’ family announcing that he has aphasia and is stepping back from acting, the Razzie award and nominations have been withdrawn.]

The 42nd Razzie® Nominations are out. “We simple Earthlings who did not ‘Look Up’ remained glued to the Razzie crap streaming, beaming and steaming from our various screens and devices,” begins the press release.

The choices for this year’s Worst Picture nominees include two genre productions, Infinite and Space Jam: A New Legacy. Each film is nominated in several more categories, however, they are eclipsed by Diana the Musical, based on the life of the late princess, which leads with nine nominations.  

Actor Bruce Willis has worked so much lately that he is nominated eight times and designated a category by himself. Two of his roles are sff.

This year’s “winners” will be unveiled on the now traditional date of “Oscar Eve,” Saturday, March 26.

The complete list of nominees follows the jump.

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41st Annual Razzie Awards

The satirical 41st Annual Razzie Awards for the worst cinematic achievements of 2021 were announced April 24, a day ahead of the Academy Awards.

Genre scored only one “winner” and that lone Golden Raspberrry trophy went to Dolittle for Worst Screenplay.

This was an upset given the many nominations for Dolittle (6), Fantasy Island (5), Hubie Halloween (3), and Wonder Woman 1984 (2)..

There also was a Special Governors’ Trophy bestowed on The Year 2020 as “The Worst Calendar Year EVER!”

The complete list of winners follows.

WORST PICTURE

  • Absolute Proof

WORST ACTOR 

  • Mike Lindell (The “My Pillow” Guy) – Absolute Proof

 WORST ACTRESS 

  • Kate Hudson – Music

 WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS 

  • Maddie Ziegler – Music

 WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Rudy Giuliani (As “Himself”) Borat, Subsequent Movie-Film

 WORST SCREEN COMBO

  • Rudy Giuliani & His Pants Zipper (Yes, That Really IS Rudy Giuliani!) Borat Subsequent Movie-Film

WORST DIRECTOR 

  • Sia – Music 

WORST SCREENPLAY 

  • Dolittle

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL

  • 365 Days (Polish Remake/Rip-Off of Fifty Shades of Grey)

41st Annual Razzie Award Nominations

Genre movies (unfortunately!) dominate the satirical 41st Annual Razzie Award nominations for the worst cinematic achievements of 2021. The selections were announced March 13, as always a day before the Academy Awards nominees are released.

Dolittle was one of two pictures tied for the most Razzie nominations with six. Close behind was Fantasy Island with five. The marginally genre Hubie Halloween received three. Wonder Woman 1984 got two.

This year’s “winners” will be unveiled on the now traditional date of “Oscar Eve,” Saturday, April 24.

The complete list of nominees follows the jump.

Continue reading

2020 Razzies at Long Last

Razzie voters still can’t expunge their “Memory” of Cats judging by the way the film claimed half the 2020 Golden Raspberry awards when they were finally announced online today.

But there were enough raspberries left over for deserving actors in other movies – John Travolta won for both his work in The Fanatic and Trading Paint, and Hilary Duff won for her film The Haunting of Sharon Tate, in which she played the iconic ’60s starlet in a horror film.

WORST PICTURE

  • Cats

WORST ACTOR

  • John Travolta / The Fanatic & Trading Paint

WORST ACTRESS

  • Hilary Duff / The Haunting of Sharon Tate

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Rebel Wilson / Cats

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • James Corden / Cats

WORST SCREEN COMBO

  • Any Two Half-Feline/Half-Human Hairballs / Cats

WORST SCREENPLAY

  • Cats / Screenplay by Lee Hall and Tom Hooper

WORST DIRECTOR

  • Tom Hooper / Cats

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL

  • Rambo: Last Blood

WORST RECKLESS DISREGARD for HUMAN LIFE and PUBLIC PROPERTY

  • Rambo: Last Blood

RAZZIE® REDEEMER AWARD

  • Eddie Murphy / Dolemite Is My Name

Eddie Murphy was snubbed at the Oscars themselves for his work in “Dolemite Is My Name,” but he beat out Adam Sandler for the Razzies’ Redeemer Award, which recognizes strong performances from past honorees of the Razzies.

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]