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Razzies finger 'Freddy'

By PAT NASON, UPI Hollywood Reporter
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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Monday's announcement of nominees for the 22nd Annual Razzie Awards shows that the competition in Hollywood's race to the bottom is as wide open this year as the race for Oscar gold, but MTV personality Tom Green's "Freddy Got Fingered" stands out as the worst of a bad lot.

The movie -- one of the most notoriously unfunny comedies ever made -- was nominated for eight Razzies by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, which began its annual exercise in "dishonoring the worst achievements in film" in 1980.

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In addition to worst picture, the box-office bomb garnered nominations for worst director, actor and screenplay for Green, worst supporting actress for Drew Barrymore and Julie Haggerty, and worst supporting actor for Rip Torn. The picture's repeated and aggravated reliance on scenes of animal abuse also earned a nomination for worst screen couple for "Green & any animal he abuses."

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Razzies founder John Wilson said "Freddy Got Fingered" deserved every nomination it received.

"The movie has no redeeming value," he said. "If (Green's) point was to be offensive and stupid and obnoxious, he made a masterpiece. But then, it still is offensive and stupid and obnoxious."

Sylvester Stallone's latest commercial comeback movie, "Driven," had seven nominations -- including worst picture, worst supporting actor for Stallone and Burt Reynolds, and worst supporting actress for super model Estella Warren, who was also nominated for her performance in "Planet of the Apes."

"Driven" was also nominated for worst director (Renny Harlin), screenplay (Stallone) and screen couple (Reynolds and Stallone).

Misery continued to gather around "Glitter" -- pop diva Maria Carey's debut in a starring role. After tanking at the box office in the aftermath of Carey's highly publicized nervous breakdown, "Glitter" is up for six Razzies -- including worst picture, actress (Carey), supporting actor (Max Beesley), screen couple (Carey's cleavage), director (Vondie Curtis Hall) and screenplay.

"Pearl Harbor" also garnered six nominations, including worst picture, actor (Ben Affleck), director (Michael Bay) and screenplay (Randall Wallace). The World War II epic is also up for worst remake or sequel and worst screen couple -- Affleck and either Kate Beckinsale or Josh Hartnett.

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Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell got razzed for their collaboration on the Elvis impersonator-heist picture "3000 Miles to Graceland." It's up for worst picture, worst actor (Costner), supporting actress (Courteney Cox), screenplay and screen couple (Costner and either Russell or Cox).

"Planet of the Apes" and "Sweet November" were nominated for three Razzies each.

Green and Stallone tied the record with four nominations each, while Stallone extended his own record for most Razzie nominations overall to 29. Stallone has snagged nine Razzies and was named the worst actor of the century in 2000.

The other nominees for worst actor are Keanu Reeves ("Hardball" and "Sweet November") and John Travolta ("Domestic Disturbance" and "Swordfish").

The worst actress Razzie seems to be Carey's to lose. She was named on 93.3 percent of the nominating ballots that the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation sent to its more than 5,000 members around the world.

The other nominees for worst actress are Penelope Cruz ("Blow," "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," "Vanilla Sky"), Angelina Jolie ("Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," "Original Sin"), Jennifer Lopez ("Angel Eyes," "The Wedding Planner") and Charlize Theron ("Sweet November").

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Charlton Heston bagged a worst supporting actor nomination for "Cats and Dogs, "Planet of the Apes" and "Town & Country. Peter Chelsom was nominated for worst director, with Warren Beatty, for "Town & Country."

The award -- a parody of the Academy Award -- is a plastic golf-ball sized raspberry mounted on a mangled Super-8 film reel on a base made from the lid of a Lipton Raspberry Iced Tea jar. It's spray-painted gold and has an estimated street value of about $4.29, according to the foundation.

The foundation recently struck a deal with Nash Entertainment to produce a televised awards show for the 23rd Annual Razzies next year. The 22nd Razzies will be presented on March 23 in ceremonies in Santa Monica, Calif.

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