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A post by Maynard

In case you need it, here’s the Academy Awards nominations list. (Update: And here are final results.)

As a pseudointellectual elitist, I admit to being a great fan of the Coen Brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson. These are the auteurs respectively responsible for frontrunners “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood“. I give both films the highest praise; however “No Country” is easier to “get” than TWBB.

So much for the best of the best. On the flip side, there are The Razzies — that is, the awards for the worst films of the year. The 2008 winners list (summarized in this press release) heavily favors the turkey “I Know Who Killed Me“; honored individuals include Lindsay Lohan and Eddie Murphy. These awards are duly reported in Variety.

Winners of the “Razzie” rarely show up to collect their statuettes. One notable exception was Halle Berry, who was honored for her miserable performance in “Catwoman“. In accepting the award, Berry cited the wisdom of her mother, who once told her, “If you aren’t able to be a good loser, then you’re not able to be a good winner.”

The erudite Economist newsmag published this amusing analysis of the practice of saluting the best of the worst in the creative arts. In justifying the inherent negativity of such ceremonies, the report draws a conclusion worth noting:

Staggering, awe-inspiring deficiency perhaps deserves even greater recognition than the handful of prizes doled out today. It is the vital second front in the battle against creative mediocrity.