No stars turned up to claim their prizes at the Razzies

LOS ANGELES - Action flick The Last Airbender and comedy Sex and the City 2 earned the wrath of Razzie voters on Saturday in the annual Oscar spoof that spotlights Hollywood's worst performances.

Valentine's Day stars Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba won Golden Raspberry Awards for worst actor and supporting actress. Kutcher was also pilloried for his work in another film, Killers, and Alba for Little Fockers, The Killer Inside Me and Machete.

The year's loudest Razzie went to director M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender. It won five Razzies to eclipse all other 2010 movies.

Organizers of the "worst awards" noted the film was based on an animated television show, and some young viewers of the cartoon were unhappy with the movie adaptation.

"When this film opened, for once critics and fans were in agreement: This movie sucks," John Wilson, founder of the Razzies, said at a presentation of Golden Raspberries.

The Last Airbender, which came out last summer, is a fantasy action movie about a boy with the ability to manipulate natural elements who uses his power to restore harmony to a world divided into warring factions.

The film made nearly $320 million at global box offices, but received only a 6 percent favorable rating at review aggregating website RottenTomatoes.com.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, the four stars of Sex and the City 2, were collectively named worst actress at the Razzies.

In the film, the four women bring their Western lives to Abu Dhabi in the Middle East.

"The four gal pals become America's worst goodwill ambassadors since the My Lai massacre," Razzie presenter Chip Dornell joked.

Unlike last year, when Sandra Bullock showed up to take the Golden Raspberry for her performance in All About Steve, no stars claimed their prizes on Saturday at the Razzies, now in their 31st year.

Razzie performers opened the show with a video segment showing a number of real Hollywood stars declining to host the event. Comedian Paula Poundstone begged off by saying she had "a lot going on," as she sat in a rocking chair.

The Razzies also had fun with this year's Oscar-nominated films. In a send-up of best picture Oscar nominee The King's Speech, a Razzie presenter wearing a crown feigned a stammer as he read names of the worst screenplays.

The Razzie "winners" were determined by ballots from 657 voters in the United States and 17 other countries.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/28/2011 page10)