HOLLYWOOD: President George W Bush and Halle Berry were named worst actor and actress of 2004 at the Razzies, an irreverent spoof of the Oscars. Berry, “honoured” for her role

in the action-flick flop ‘Catwoman’, actually showed up to collect her “award”.

“Thank you so much. I never in my life thought I would be up here,” Berry quipped, clutching the golden plastic rasberry (whence Razzie) in one hand and the Oscar she won in 2002 for ‘Monster’s Ball’ in the other.

In a take-off of an Oscars acceptance speech, Berry thanked the French director of the film, Pitof, and her manager. “He loves me so much that he convinces me to do projects even when he knows that it is shit,” joked the actress, clad in a low-cut gown. On a more serious note, she said her mother had taught her to accept criticism at a young age.

“As my mother told me, I take it graciously, I take your criticism,” she said.

The Razzies were awarded late Saturday at Hollywood’s Ivar Theater, just a few hundred metres from the Kodak Theater, where the golden statuettes will be delivered.

The Razzies have been poking fun at film industry award ceremonies for 25 years. Very rarely do “winners” show up to accept their Golden Raspberry awards.

Just like the Oscars, presenters wore evening gowns or tuxedos, and reveled in the suspense of opening little envelopes to reveal the winners.

But they have also been known to smash a cassette of the offending film with a hammer of a well-aimed high-heeled shoe. And they read withering extracts from the movie critics. ‘Catwoman’ was drubbed as worst picture, worst director and worst screenplay of 2004.

The Razzies were started 25 years ago by John Wilson, a self-described cinematic cynic. Wilson has put together a jury which today comprises 650 members — industry professionals, fans and critics — in 40 US states and 15 foreign countries.

“Oscars have become as nasty as politics. It is the same people to orchestrate the campaign. The one thing that I was disappointed that there isn’t a thoroughly enjoyable bad movie this year,” Wilson had said a few days before the ceremony. — AFP