Please Accept or Refuse Now! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby's career in show business is long and stellar. He started as a stand-up comedian, and released a number of award-winning comedy albums, including his debut album, 'I Started Out as a Child' (1965) and 'Revenge' (1967) where the world was first introduced to the character of Fat Albert. In 1965 he was cast in the part of Scotty, the trainer of international tennis player and fellow spy Kelly Robinson, played by Robert Culp. He was the first African-American to be billed as the co-star of a dramatic series on American television. Cosby's performance earned him Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series in 1966, 1967 and 1968. He has appeared in over twenty movies, written over a dozen books, released over ten music albums in addition to all his comedy albums. He has a dozen Honorary Doctorate degrees as well as the Doctorate of Education he earned at University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1976. Then there were a few television shows along the way, too.

'Leonard Part 6' was not one of Cosby's career highlights. He produced, wrote and starred in the 1987 spy spoof about an ex-CIA agent called back to action in order to defeat an evil criminal mastermind (played by Gloria Foster, who was nominated for a Razzie herself, but did not win) who uses brainwashed animals as her weapon of choice. In the film's climax, Cosby's character escapes by having an ostrich fly him off the roof to freedom after, of course, having saved the world. In 2005, 'Leonard Part 6' was nominated for Worst "Comedy" of Our First 25 Years, but did not win.

Answer: King Ferdinand of Spain

Spoiler alert - Columbus manages to work his way through the intrigues of the Spanish court and gain the financing he requires to try and find a path to the East Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic. 'Christopher Columbus: The Discovery' was plagued with directing, casting and financial issues, leading to six Razzie nominations: Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay (Mario Puzo), Worst Director (John Glen, who replaced George Pan Cosmatos shortly before filming began, causing Timothy Dalton and Isabella Rossellini to leave the film), Worst New Star (George Corraface, who replaced Dalton as Columbus), and two nominations for Worst Supporting Actor (Marlon Brando as Torquemada and the winner, Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand).

It was one of a number of films released in 1992 to try and capitalize on the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage.

Answer: Paul Verhoeven

'Showgirls', which chronicles the career of Nomi Malone, played by Elizabeth Berkley, as she works her way up through the seedy world of Las Vegas nightlife, was a critical and financial failure when released in cinemas, but has apparently been a very popular video release.

Paul Verhoeven has made movies in his homeland as well as achieving considerable Hollywood success. His 1973 film 'Turkish Delight' won an award for Best Dutch Film of the Century, and the 2006 'Black Book' was nominated for a BAFTA Award as Best Film Not in the English Language. 'Showgirls' was clearly not his finest moment as a director! As well as the two awards accepted by Verhoeven, the film won another five Razzies, setting the record at the time for the most awards by a single film, after having received a record thirteen nominations.

Answer: Screenplay writer

'LA Confidential' won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, for a screenplay adapted from James Elroy's novel by Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland. Helgeland and Eric Roth adapted David Brin's novel for 'The Postman', a post-apocalyptic film directed by Kevin Costner, who also played the title role. The film was initially a commercial failure, but later became popular among fans of post-apocalyptic books and films, and the DVD release sold well, allowing the film to eventually turn a profit.

Helgeland has been quoted as saying that he planned to keep his Oscar and his Razzie side by side, as a reminder that success and failure are only separated by the thinnest of margins.

Answer: Tom Green

While all of these fine Canadian performers could have pulled it off, it was Tom Green who became the first to accept a Razzie for Worst Actor in person, and showed an appropriate levity in the process. 'Freddy Got Fingered' won for Worst Actor, Worst Director, Worst Picture, Worst Screen Couple, and Worst Screenplay - quite a haul! Green portrayed Gord Brody, a struggling cartoonist trying to get a television series on air while dealing with a dysfunctional family. Although criticized as one of the worst films of all time, it found an appreciative audience and DVD sales have made it a commercial success.

Tom Green started performing stand-up in local Ontario clubs at the age of 15, moved into radio at his college radio station during the 1990s, and then entered the world of television with 'The Tom Green Show', aired on public-access cable. When that show was picked up by MTV is 1999, he gained mainstream international recognition. From there, it was a short step to Hollywood, and such films as 'Road Trip' (2000) in which he played Barry, the narrator, and 'Charlie's Angels' (2000) in which he was Chad, the boyfriend of Dylan. Dylan was portrayed by Drew Barrymore, to whom he was subsequently (briefly) married; she also had a small part in 'Freddy Got Fingered'.

Answer: Pearl Harbor

'Pearl Harbor' (2001) saw Affleck nominated for Worst Actor and Worst Screen Couple, but he did not win either award. His 2003 film output, however, was another story. 'Paycheck' was an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story about a reverse engineer who has his memory wiped to protect the industrial secrets.

The romantic comedy 'Gigli' also earned Affleck a Razzie for Worst Screen Couple (with Jennifer Lopez, who he met during filming, and to whom he was engaged for a while). 'Daredevil', based on a Marvel Comics character, also saw him nominated for an MTV award for Best Screen Kiss (with Jennifer Garner, who married him in 2005).

He did not attend the actual Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, but received his award later on 'Larry King Live'.

Answer: Halle Berry

In 'Monster's Ball', Halle Berry played Leticia Musgrove, who fell in love with Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), a security guard who had assisted in the execution of her husband, and whose son committed suicide. They met when her son died after being hit by a car, and initially found solace in their common sense of loss. Her performance won widespread acclaim, but 'Catwoman' was another story. Halle Berry played Patience Phillips, who becomes Catwoman, a woman who is turning into a cat after dying and being resurrected by an Egyptian Mau cat, and who seeks revenge on those who killed her. The other actresses in the question had all portrayed a more traditional Catwoman, as a villain fought by Batman, in earlier films and on television.

'Catwoman' also won Worst Picture, among other Razzies, and Halle Berry was nominated for Worst Screen Couple (with either Benjamin Bratt or Sharon Stone). The award for Worst Screen Couple that year went to George Bush and either Condoleezza Rice or his pet goat in Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.

Answer: Michael Ferris (Worst Screenplay)

Michael Ferris and John Brancato started writing together in 1990, having met while they were both editors of 'The Harvard Lampoon'. They have been responsible for a number of successful films, but 'Catwoman' (on which they worked along with Theresa Rebeck and John Rogers) was not one of them.

It defeated 'Alexander', 'Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2', 'Surviving Christmas' and 'White Chicks' for Worst Screenplay.

Answer: Sandra Bullock

All four of these women were nominated for the 2010 Worst Actress award, along with Megan Fox. Sandra Bullock won for her performance as a socially inept crossword puzzle writer who falls for a blind date and stalks him in an attempt to get him to reciprocate.

The comedy was nominated for five Razzies, winning Worst Actress and Worst Screen Couple (not surprising, since the premise was hardly conducive to a good on-screen relationship). Bullock's Oscar success the next day made her the first performer to win a Golden Raspberry Award and an Academy Award in the same year. Now, we need to see someone do it for the same film!

Answer: Battlefield Earth

'Battlefield Earth' was based on the book of the same name by L. Ron Hubbard, and had long been a pet project of star John Travolta. It tells the story of an uprising of humans against the giant humanoid aliens who have taken control of the planet. The film ends about halfway through the book, with the humans having regained control of the planet, but precariously so. Clearly, a sequel was planned, but this film received such negative reviews that it is highly unlikely to happen. It took so long to arrange funding that Travolta, who had originally planned to play the youngish hero, eventually decided to take on the part of Terl, the chief villain of the film. 'Battlefield Earth' won seven Razzies in the year of release, equaling the record at that time. Its subsequent winning of Worst "Drama" of Our First 25 Years in 2005, and Worst Picture of the Decade in 2010, gave it a total of nine Razzies, a total which was then surpassed in 2012 when 'Jack and Jill' won ten awards to raise the bar in the most Razzie competition.

J. David Shapiro was one of the original writers of the screenplay, and is listed in the film credits, along with Corey Mandell, who was hired to do the final screenplay. From some of Shapiro's comments at the Razzies, it seems that he was less than impressed with the way his work was changed for the final film.

The three incorrect options also won Razzies for Worst Screenplay in the first decade of the 21st century: 'I Know Who Killed Me' in 2007, 'The Love Guru' in 2008, and 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' in 2009.