Sequels, Remakes Dominate Razzie Nods

Monday, January 30th 2006, 9:52 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Bad sequels and remakes tortured movie audiences last year, and they provided a smorgasbord for the Razzies, an Academy Awards spoof that pays heed to the worst in Hollywood.

Four of the five worst-picture nominees for the Razzies were sequels or remakes, led by ``Son of the Mask,'' which had eight nominations Monday, including worst actor for Jamie Kennedy and supporting actor for Alan Cumming and Bob Hoskins.

The other worst-picture contenders were Rob Schneider's sequel ``Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo,'' Jenny McCarthy's raunchy romance ``Dirty Love,'' the TV update ``The Dukes of Hazzard'' and the horror remake ``House of Wax.''

Razzies will be announced March 4, the day before the Oscars.

Tom Cruise earned three Razzie nominations, as worst actor for ``War of the Worlds'' and two of the five slots in a new Razzies category for most tiresome tabloid targets. Cruise was nominated there for his anti-psychiatry rant and for his very public romance with Katie Holmes.

``He had been a very private person up until this past year,'' said Razzies founder John Wilson. ``It certainly was a bizarre turn in terms of how he handles his personal life and the access that he gave the media to himself. The endless posing on the red carpet and just smooching like they were on the couch at home.''

``Son of the Mask,'' a flop that starred Kennedy as a new father whose son is born with the shape-shifting powers showcased in Jim Carrey's original 1994 movie, was an early Razzies favorite when it came out nearly a year ago. As Wilson was preparing for last year's Razzies ceremony, his family went to see ``Son of the Mask.''

``I was working on the script for last year's show, and they got home and my son stuck his head in the door and said, `Dad, we've got one for next year,''' Wilson said.

Besides Cruise and Kennedy, worst-actor nominees were Will Ferrell for ``Bewitched'' and ``Kicking & Screaming,'' The Rock for ``Doom'' and Schneider for ``Deuce Bigalow.''

McCarthy earned three nominations for ``Dirty Love,'' for worst actress, screenplay and screen couple (she and ``anyone dumb enough to befriend or date her'').

Her worst-actress competitors: Jessica Alba for ``Fantastic Four'' and ``Into the Blue,'' Hilary Duff for ``Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' and ``The Perfect Man,'' Jennifer Lopez for ``Monster-in-Law'' and Tara Reid for ``Alone in the Dark.''

Paris Hilton received two nominations, worst supporting actress for ``House of Wax'' and most tiresome tabloid target. Holmes also was nominated for worst supporting actress for ``Batman Begins,'' along with Carmen Electra for ``Dirty Love'' and the Simpson sisters, Jessica for ``The Dukes of Hazzard'' and Ashlee for ``Undiscovered.''