‘I Know Who Killed Me’ wins a record number of awards
By CHIARA CANZI Special to the Daily Press
DOWNTOWN Passed the wooden monkey parked outside the entrance to the magical world of Magicopolis on Fourth Street, one enters a world that can only be described as a carnival.
Plastic dummies of women resting on the tip of a sword welcomed the press to the 28th Annual Razzie Awards, dis-honoring the best of the worst in film of the past year. In preparation to the Oscars, the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation presented the show in true Hollywood fashion — $3 Razzberries Mimosas, Official Razzberries Skittles and Razzberries M&Ms.
A pink-wigged dragged-dressed impersonator of John Travolta in this year’s high-budget, low-enjoyment musical “Hairspray” opened the show with “Good Morning Razzie Day, if you suck in every way, we love the Razzie Awards!” a parody of “Good Morning Baltimore.”
The opening number set the tone for the entire show. Starlets would be ridiculed and Oscar-nominated actors humiliated. But one actress shined at the Razzies for her less-then-stellar performance.
Lindsay Lohan may resemble Marilyn Monroe in her latest pictorial for New York Magazine, but at Magicopolis, she made history: Her movie “I Know Who Killed Me,” reviewed by the organizers of the Razzie as one of the worst movies ever made, received a record-number eight Razzie Awards for worst director, worst screenplay, worst remake or rip-off, worst excuse for a horror movie, worst movie of the year and Lohan herself can add three Razzies to her now rapidly sinking career: Worst actress, two awards for her dual role as a stripper and as a missing-then-comatose young woman, and for worst screen couple (Lohan and Lohan).
The presenters announced that Lohan’s movie “will go down in history with its record-earning Razzies,” said Razzie Founder John Wilson. Lohan’s film surpassed the previous record-holders “Showgirls” (1995) and “Battlefield Earth” (2000).
But Lohan shared the spotlight with previously-Oscar-nominated actor Eddie Murphy. Murphy, whose film “Norbit” was up for eight awards, won three for his performances: Worst actor, worst supporting actress and worst supporting actor. Presenters called Murphy “the Woody Allen of our awards” and his film “so bad it redefined a notion of hell,” and “it starts off bad and it gets worse and then it spirals into absurdity.”
The Razzie Awards count on film reviews from all over the world, but pays close attention to the ratings at RottenTomatoes.com, a site that chronicles the life and death of movies dictated by the viewing audience. This year, the Razzie-nominated movies rating average was 92 percent negative, and this means that very few people stayed till the end credits on any of the movies on the Razzie ballots.
But Wilson sees it as just another opportunity to poke fun at Hollywood.
The day that Wilson went on a double-bill of “Xanadu” and “Can’t Start the Music” in Culver City more than 30 years ago, he asked himself why such terrible movies cost so much. He said something needed to be done. And that is how the Razzies were born.
“The first year we did the awards at his home, and it was hysterical,” said former cast-member Micki Sackler.
The following couple of years Madeleine Davis, writer for “I Love Lucy” offered her home as a backdrop for the awards,“and she is such a sophisticated woman, and to have these people making fun of the business was so funny,” Sackler said.
Sackler was a performer on the award show for many years, but this time around she sat and watched.
“The show is so much funnier being in the audience,” Sacklersaid. “Back in the day we used to have videos of a Razzie reporter, me, who went to see the nominated movies and actors and reported on it.”
Sackler still can’t believe how bad some movies are. Spoken like a true movie lover. She insists that going to movies is getting more and more expansive, and to give money to such horrible movies is a mere shame.
“Go watch a better movie, or just the money to charity,” she said.
Nominated actors rarely show up to accept a Razzie, but Sackler remembers when one did. Tom Green won for worst actor in “Freddy Got Fingered.”
“It literally took five of us in the cast to drag him off the stage. He started playing the harmonica and we had to get him off,” she added.
Wilson prepares the scripts for the show a month prior to the live performance just as he has done for the past 28 years.
“It is truly John’s labor of love,” Sackler said.
If this year’s movies were bad, Wilson has a few surprises in store for next year’s show.
“I know Paris Hilton will be in the worst actress category for ‘Hottie not Nottie,’” he said. “I also think Sylvester Stallone will be nominated, c’mon, we haven’t picked on him for some years now, and it’s time to give him the career award.”
To vote for next year’s Razzies visit www.razzies.com.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 25, 2008. Read the original PDF.