The 35th Annual Golden Raspberry Award nominations (or “Razzies” for short) have been announced and, as usual, the awards body that (dis-)honors the worst movies of the year has decided to go for the low-hanging fruit. Successful mainstream blockbusters Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers: Age of Extinction are both on the chopping block, as are familiar punching bags Adam Sandler (earning his 20th nomination, having already “won” 6 times), Arnold Schwarzenegger (his 9th nomination, he won “Worst Razzie Loser” in 2005) and Cameron Diaz (earning her 4th and 5th nominations).
But, in what seems like a rarity, a film many critics agree actually “is” the worst film of the year also got plenty of nominations: Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas, a Christian polemic about Kirk Cameron defending mainstream yuletide traditions, got six nominations: for Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Kirk Cameron), Worst Supporting Actress (Brigitte Ridenour), Worst Director (Darren Doane), Worst Screen Combo (Kirk Cameron & His Ego) and Worst Screenplay (Darren Doane and Cheston Harvey).
Combined with three nominations for Left Behind (a remake of a Kirk Cameron movie), that’s nine swipes at subpar Christian-themed cinema, usually not the sort of films the Razzies pick on. They usually prefer more mainstream targets. We suspect Kirk Cameron’s public rebuke of the Rotten Tomatoes score for Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas made him an easier target, as did the fact that Left Behind starred popular Razzie nominee Nicolas Cage, who earned his seventh nomination this year.
Check Out: 13 Times The Razzies Got It Wrong
But all is not lost for these Razzie nominees. For the first time in history the Razzies are offering a chance at redemption. The new “Razzie Redeemer Award” is offering what is essentially a former apology to past winners who turned their careers around. Nominees include (relatively) recent Oscar winner Ben Affleck, new Oscar contender Jennifer Aniston, comedian turned documentary director Mike Myers, acclaimed John Wick star Keanu Reeves and also former Twilight star Kristen Stewart, who appeared in multiple acclaimed indies in 2014.
Fans will be able to vote for the Razzie Redeemer Award at Rotten Tomatoes, but the rest of these poor nominees will be left in the hands of the 757 official Razzie voters. Check out the complete list of nominations below, and come back on Saturday, February 21 to see who “won.”
Related: CraveOnline Picks the 14 Worst Films of 2014
WORST PICTURE
Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
Left Behind
The Legend of Hercules
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Transformers 4: Age of Ex-STINK-Tion
WORST ACTOR
Nicolas Cage / Left Behind
Kirk Cameron / Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
Kellan Lutz / The Legend of Hercules
Seth MacFarlane / A Million Ways To Die in the West
Adam Sandler / Blended
WORST ACTRESS
Drew Barrymore / Blended
Cameron Diaz / The Other Woman and Sex Tape
Melissa McCarthy / Tammy
Charlize Theron / A Million Ways to Die in the West
Gaia Weiss / The Legend of Hercules
THE RAZZIE REDEEMER AWARD (New Category!)
Ben Affleck (From RAZZIE “Winner” for GIGLI to Oscar Darling for ARGO and GONE GIRL)
Jennifer Aniston (From 4-Time RAZZIE Nominee to SAG Award Nominee for CAKE)
Mike Myers (From RAZZIE “Winner” for LOVE GURU to Docu Director of SUPERMENSCH)
Keanu Reeves (From 6-Time RAZZIE Nominee to Critically Acclaimed JOHN WICK)
Kristen Stewart (From RAZZIE “Winner” for TWILIGHT to the Art House Hit CAMP X-RAY)
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cameron Diaz / Annie
Megan Fox / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Nicola Peltz / [Transformers: Age of Extinction]
Brigitte Ridenour (Kirk’s Sister) / Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
Susan Sarandon / Tammy
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mel Gibson/ Expendables 3
Kelsey Grammer / Expendables 3, Legends of Oz, Think Like a Man Too and [Transformers: Age of Extinction]
Shaquille O’Neal / Blended
Ah-Nuld Schwarzenegger / Expendables 3
Kiefer Sutherland/ Pompeii
WORST DIRECTOR
Michael Bay / [Transformers: Age of Extinction]
Darren Doane / Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
Renny Harlin / The Legend of Hercules
Jonathan Liebesman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Seth MacFarlane / A Million Ways To Die in the West
WORST SCREEN COMBO
Any Two Robots, Actors (or Robotic Actors) [Transformers: Age of Extinction]
Kirk Cameron & His Ego / Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
Cameron Diaz & Jason Segel / Sex Tape
Kellan Lutz & Either His Abs, His Pecs or His Glutes / The Legend of Hercules
Seth MacFarlane & Charlize Theron / A Million Ways To Die in the West
WORST SCREENPLAY
Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas, Written by Darren Doane and Cheston Hervey
Left Behind, Screenplay by Paul LaLonde and John Patus,
Based on the Novel by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Sex Tape, Screenplay by Kate Angelo and Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Written by Evan Daugherty and Andre Nemec & Josh Applebaum,
Based on Characters Created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman
[Transformers: Age of Extinction], Written by Ehren Kruger, Based on Hasbro’s Transformers Action Figures
WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL
Annie
Atlas Shrugged #3: Who Is John Galt?
The Legend of Hercules
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
[Transformers: Age of Extinction]
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
