Burn, Hollywood, Burn

[lazypadawan]

The Razzies, in a last cheap shot at the PT, gave Hayden worst supporting actor for ROTS. Aside from the fact Hayden was a lead actor, not a supporting one in ROTS, they know he's not in the same league as Paris Hilton. He got mostly positive reviews for ROTS and if I had the time and inclination, I'd photocopy a nice big stack of them and mail them to every Razzie "member" along with a rotten egg. No, this was aimed squarely at trying to hurt his career especially since he's not someone with a particularly long resume. And it's all because he wasn't what they expected as Anakin and the PT wasn't what they expected. If they can't get back at George Lucas, they can at least take down his "discovery" and blame it on some alleged SW curse. I'm also convinced they are as much a part of the Hollywood machinery as the Oscars are with the pretense of being outsiders. For instance, I don't have anything against Keira Knightley, but she starred in a dog called Domino last year that got almost unanimously bad reviews and failed at the box office. Yet the Razzies completely ignored the film. Why? She's hot stuff right now, an Oscar nominee and a cover girl. They're not going to touch her. The nominations for Tom Cruise weren't because of his performance in WOTW, they were because they don't like his public antics. I don't either, but I'm also aware Hollywood tolerates Tom only because his movies make a lot of money. Otherwise, they'd kicked him to the curb a long time ago.

The trouble is, Darth Media pays attention to this sort of thing and it's going to be hard for Hayden to shake the "bad actor" label for a long time to come. We'll keep seeing reviews that say things like "who knew he could act" and when he inevitably has the misfortune of being in a genuinely bad film, they'll say "no wonder he won a Razzie." And I'm sure the Razzie people will give him another just to reinforce that he is a "bad actor."

I've pointed this out on the HaydenOver21 list and there were replies that he is continuing to get work, which is true. On the other hand, if enough people say something enough times, everyone will believe it's true. Being branded a bad actor might keep him from getting the kind of roles that will ensure he stays around and if he does well in a movie, it'll be considered a fluke. I don't wish to sound dire about this, but I've seen what has happened to SW fandom. After 29 years of the bad acting/bad dialogue/bad directing/it's only special effects mantra repeated over and over in the press and by critics, about half of SW fandom now believes it.

It's a shame.

Comments

[may-child.livejournal.com]

I don't wish to sound dire about this, but I've seen what has happened to SW fandom. After 29 years of the bad acting/bad dialogue/bad directing/it's only special effects mantra repeated over and over in the press and by critics, about half of SW fandom now believes it.

Or maybe it just seems like it because the whiners, complainers and bitchers are pretty much the only ones participating on message boards, aka the most visible part of the SW fandom. The so-called SW "fan" sites cater to the whiners, complainers and bitchers, while people who actually have the nerve to like the series they claim to be fans of (and not just the parts of it that have been deemed "acceptable" to like by Darth Media, et al) are banned or otherwise silenced. Darth Media sees the negativity, reports on it, thus completing the feedback loop.

The Razzies are just dumb. As I've said before, they're a way for nerds and social outcasts to feel like they're hip and intelligent. And they've decided to bestow their "awards" on the PT because it's hip to dis the PT right now, especially on the Internet, and because dissing SW, which is high profile, is a surefire way to get attention for their useless organization. They nominate the PT, Darth Media rushes to the scene, the so-called SW "fan" sites rush to the scene, the Razzie organizers bask in the attention, and then completes the aforementioned feedback loop by giving Darth Media some more anti-PT stuff to circulate.

It is unfair that Hayden has been singled out. I feel bad for him, but he at least takes it with good grace. He displays far more class than the whiners, complainers and bitchers who spend 23 hours a day dissing him (being as they're usually losers who have nothing better to do) although that's cold comfort.

I'm no Tom Cruise fan, but you are correct in stating that his Razzie nomination is for his offscreen antics, not because his WOTW performance was bad. Likewise for his fiancée Katie Holmes' Razzie nom for "Batman Begins" -- she wasn't especially good in the role, but neither was she especially bad. And if Keira Knightley (whom I like quite a bit, by the way) didn't have her Oscar nom for "Pride and Prejudice" and wasn't the current darling of the critics, it is very possible that she'd have received a Razzie nom for "Domino."

Oh, I'm sure the little creeps all over the so-called SW "fan" boards will be gloating about Hayden's Razzie, just as they gloated about ROTS's Oscar shutout while their god Peter Jackson's pile of self-indulgence, "King Kong," got several noms. But as disgusting as that is (not least because the moderators on the forums not only tolerate it but openly encourage it -- all under the banner of "free speech," which is utter horse puckey, because they've banned me and other fans of the PT for saying things that were far less poisonous, vicious, and hateful than what regularly issues forth from the keyboards of bashers), they're only showing what worthless, classless, no-life morons they are.

Really...think about it. They hate the PT so much, yet refuse to move on from it. They think LOTR or Spidey or whatever is so superior, yet shun the forums dedicated to those series in favor of being on a SW board, spending inordinate amounts of time posting about how the PT sucks, how Hayden sucks, how Lucas sucks. They actually equate a series of films to child molestation (a serious and horrendous crime). They pat themselves on the back for their intelligence and taste...but refuse to spend that self-proclaimed intelligence and taste on entertainment they deem worthy of it.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

You have good points all around. I saw Batman Begins and I didn't think Katie Holmes was bad, she was just miscast. She was too young for the part. But she won only because of her high-profile romance with Tom Cruise.

These guys live only to be negative and it's sad they get an inordinate amount of attention.

[may-child.livejournal.com]

Katie Holmes' miscasting aside, Batman Begins was a decent movie, but hardly worthy of the ecstatic, gushing praise it received (much of which was couched in subtle or not-so-subtle bashes of ROTS and the PT in general -- in fact, some reviews seemed to be as much about ROTS as about BB).

Receiving attention is what the Razzies are all about, so of course they're going to aim their barbs at high-profile, "safe" targets -- targets that have already received a lot of derision, so no one will seriously speak out against their inclusion.

[foodsthatcan.livejournal.com]

I thought Batman Begins was very good. Not the Best! Movie! EVAHHH!!, but when taken in context of the Batman film franchise, it's not surprising the fanboys fell all over themselves praising it. The last Batman movie was Batman and Robin in 1997, and, well, you know. To have a movie that returned to the gothic roots of the character and had a well-cast, respectable actor playing Bruce Wayne (and a pretty prestigious supporting cast), and was not obviously a "comic book movie" was probably an ecstatic dream come true for the faithful.

I just can't get too worked up over Hayden's Razzie. As may_child pointed out (great post, btw), the Razzies are just a publicity stunt by self-important geeks with too much time on their hands, and also, it's far more likely that "Golden Globe nominee" will precede Hayden's name in the press (and particularly in any future ad campaigns) than "Razzie winner," especially if his next projects have commercial success and/or critical favor. I can't think of anyone's career being seriously hurt by a Razzie unless the person actually deserved it and their career was going nowhere, anyway.

[may-child.livejournal.com]

I thought Batman Begins was very good. Not the Best! Movie! EVAHHH!!, but when taken in context of the Batman film franchise, it's not surprising the fanboys fell all over themselves praising it.

Well, I wasn't talking about the fanboys so much as the critics. The fanboys gushing all over it was no surprise.

The last Batman movie was Batman and Robin in 1997, and, well, you know. To have a movie that returned to the gothic roots of the character and had a well-cast, respectable actor playing Bruce Wayne (and a pretty prestigious supporting cast), and was not obviously a "comic book movie" was probably an ecstatic dream come true for the faithful.

Oh, it was definitely a welcome "reboot" after B&R all but ran the series into the ground.

I just can't get too worked up over Hayden's Razzie. As may_child pointed out (great post, btw),

Thanks. :-)

the Razzies are just a publicity stunt by self-important geeks with too much time on their hands, and also, it's far more likely that "Golden Globe nominee" will precede Hayden's name in the press (and particularly in any future ad campaigns) than "Razzie winner," especially if his next projects have commercial success and/or critical favor. I can't think of anyone's career being seriously hurt by a Razzie unless the person actually deserved it and their career was going nowhere, anyway.

Well said. Plus Hayden's already gotten some independent movie awards for "Shattered Glass," which are arguably more prestigious than the Globes or the Oscars, at least in some circles.

I think he'll be fine. The nasty, jealous fanboys will want him to fail out of sheer spite, and will crow over any misstep he makes (although of course they immediately forgive/excuse any misstep that, say, Natalie makes), but that says a lot more about them than it does about Hayden. He seems to just take it in stride, as something that goes with the territory of playing an iconic character whose nature, personality, motivations, etc. had been speculated upon and written about for the better part of two decades.

Anakin was a character that fanboyz felt they owned, and thus were furious when Lucas didn't follow their exact desires, mutually contradictory though they often were, of Anakin being a great guy, a pillar of righteousness who was also completely badass and practically Vader from the outset.

Currently, their main bitch is that Anakin's turn to the Dark Side was "dumb, naive and immature." Uh...yeah, that's the point! He's turning to the Dark Side. To evil. To what brings about his destruction and the destruction of everything he cares about. Did these fanboys want his turn to the Dark Side to be an intelligent, well-thought-out, mature decision? One he carefully weighed and debated out to himself? Evidently so.

Good LORD. I find that disturbing, on a number of levels.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

It's disturbing all right.

Otherwise, I hope you are right.

[leia-naberrie.livejournal.com]

their god Peter Jackson's pile of self-indulgence, "King Kong," got several noms.

Times have changed. When the DVD came out last year, the critics tore it and the movie apart. Odd, ain't it? ::mischief::

[miss-kitty-b.livejournal.com]

As I just told a friend who was so "polite" as to bring this to my attention...the Razzie folks can kiss my fangirl ass.

I admit, there were a few scenes where the dialogue came off as wooden, (and not just from Hayden) and yes, it bothered me to an extent...yet overall, Hayden perfectly embodied the character of Anakin Skywalker and pulled it off very well. Any lack in dialogue was more than made up for with his facial expressions and the intensity emanting from his eyes...hell, just the very aura he exuded. He certainly did not deserve a Razzie and most certainly should not have been lumped in with the likes of Paris Hilton or Rob Schnieder.

[jawajames.livejournal.com]

i wouldn't worry about it too much - as a razzie winner, hayden is in the same company as Halle Berry, who actually showed up to accept her razzie for Catwoman.

[may-child.livejournal.com]

i wouldn't worry about it too much - as a razzie winner, hayden is in the same company as Halle Berry, who actually showed up to accept her razzie for Catwoman.

Heh. Halle showing up to accept her Razzie was a classy move that turned the tables on the organization, making them the joke instead of her.

[denlover.livejournal.com]

It's not even worth getting worked about the Razzies because it gives them more power and makes them think they actually matter. I don't even remember who received razzies in the past until they picked on Hayden and that was the only reason I noticed. And I do pay attention to entertainment press. So, the impact of Razzies are as long as it takes for me to write this. I'd like to give people more credit, especially in the industry, that they can make up their own minds about someone by their work and their professionalism. Hayden is so above this and such a class act. We know it. The industry knows it. It's done.

[vanimy.livejournal.com]

And when I thought the Razzies couldn't get any worse... *shakes head* I'm not too concerned about Hayden's career though. Someone pointed out Halle Berry but if I remember well, George Clooney won 'worst actor' and showed up to collect the award as well. And now, he wins an Oscar. ;) Still, it's really unfair to Hayden, who did a great job and didn't deserve all the backlash. Anyway, it's not the first time the Razzies prove to be completely useless.