Stinkers Bad Movie Awards

The Bad Cinema Society (formerly known as the "Hastings Bad Cinema Society") was a Los Angeles-based group of film buffs and movie critics devoted to honoring the worst films ever made.

The society was founded by Mike Lancaster and Ray Wright, two former ushers who met in the late 1970s at what is now the Pacific Hastings Theater in Pasadena, California (from which the society originally got its name).

History

Founding and comparisons to the Razzzies

They offered the annual Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, which was a parody of the Academy Awards. The Stinkers were similar to the Razzies. Aside from the usual categories one might expect in an Oscar parody (worst film, worst actor, etc.), the Stinkers offered other clever categories such as Worst Fake Accent, Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy and Least 'Special' Special Effects. Unlike the Razzie, the Stinkers did not have an awards ceremony.

The Stinkers' first ballots

The Stinkers' first ballots were handed out to the public in 1997. In the years that followed, the Razzies and Stinkers rarely agreed on a list of nominees or "winners." The Stinkers initially opened their balloting to the general moviegoing public but soon discovered that most people surveyed hadn't seen many of the films on the ballot and often just voted for the person they hated the most, usually someone like Mariah Carey, the Spice Girls or anyone connected with the film "Gigli".

A more selective way of obstaining votes

In 2004, the Stinkers went to a more selective way of obtaining votes. They dismantled their membership and offered ballots by invitation only to a small, select group of film geeks and critics, who had seen a majority of the films during the year.

Nominating Paris Hilton

In 2006, the Stinkers refused to nominate hotel heiress Paris Hilton for her supporting role in the horror film "House of Wax". Said Lancaster, "To get on the Stinkers ballot you are judged on your performance, not your tabloid persona. Anyone that would put Paris Hilton on a list of the five worst supporting actresses in 2005 didn't see a lot of movies in 2005. I could list 12 actresses who gave worse supporting performances than Paris Hilton."

The very next year, the Stinkers did nominate Paris Hilton for an award -- Worst Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role -- for her performance in the barely released "National Lampoon's Pledge This!". Society co-founder Mike Lancaster had this to say about Hilton's nomination; "It was like Paris was baiting us, I'm not sure why she needs us to confirm to her that she's a bad actress appearing in a bad movie, but if she has the nerve to play her movie in a theater five minutes from my house, I will take notice. I still have my ticket stub if any one doubts this film played in a theater. It was like a gift from the bad movie gods."

The end of an era

In late January 2007, it was announced on the website that following the announcement of this year's winners, the Stinkers website would be officially closed down after ten years on the internet. On July 1, 2007, four months after the announcement of the worst of 2006 winners, the site was taken down. Its' final headline was a review quote from "Chicago Sun-Times" critic Richard Roeper calling the film "Evan Almighty" "a paper-thin alleged comedy with a laugh drought of biblical proportions."

ee also

*"Mystery Science Theater 3000"
*Golden Raspberry Awards