Tom Hanks Nominated for Three ‘Razzies’

Tom Hanks was short-listed by the tongue-in-cheek Razzies for his roles as Gepetto in Disney's 'Pinocchio' remake, and in 'Elvis' as the star's manager © ANGELA WEISS / AFP/File
Tom Hanks was short-listed by the tongue-in-cheek Razzies for his roles as Gepetto in Disney's 'Pinocchio' remake, and in 'Elvis' as the star's manager © ANGELA WEISS / AFP/File
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Tom Hanks Nominated for Three ‘Razzies’

Tom Hanks was short-listed by the tongue-in-cheek Razzies for his roles as Gepetto in Disney's 'Pinocchio' remake, and in 'Elvis' as the star's manager © ANGELA WEISS / AFP/File
Tom Hanks was short-listed by the tongue-in-cheek Razzies for his roles as Gepetto in Disney's 'Pinocchio' remake, and in 'Elvis' as the star's manager © ANGELA WEISS / AFP/File

His recent hit film "Elvis" is an Oscars frontrunner, but Tom Hanks was left all shook up Monday as he earned three nominations from the Razzies, which "celebrate" the year's worst films.

Hanks was short-listed by the tongue-in-cheek awards for his roles as Presley's manager in rock 'n' roll biopic "Elvis," and Geppetto in Disney's critically slated live-action "Pinocchio" remake.

A press release from organizers of the Razzies dubbed Hanks' "Elvis" role as "2022's most widely derided performance," and piled on a further nomination for "worst screen couple" to "Tom Hanks & His Latex-Laden Face (and Ludicrous Accent)."

While "Elvis" and its star Austin Butler have generally received acclaim, Hanks' appearance as his exploitative manager Colonel Tom Parker was panned by many critics.

A New York Times review said Hanks appears "with a mountain of prosthetic goo, a bizarre accent and a yes-it's-really-me twinkle in his eyes," and portrays Parker as "part small-time grifter, part full-blown Mephistopheles."

"Disney's Pinocchio" was among five "worst picture" nominees for the annual Golden Raspberry -- or Razzie -- awards, as was the controversial Marilyn Monroe biopic "Blonde."

Also in the running were regular Razzies punching bag Jared Leto, and his Spider-Man spinoff "Morbius."

Just last year, Leto was named worst supporting actor for his flamboyant performance -- complete with a campy Italian accent and heavy prosthetics -- in "House of Gucci."

The Razzies are usually announced the day before the Oscars, serving to mock the following night's self-congratulatory Tinseltown back-slapping, AFP reported.

But last year, the Razzies themselves were left embarrassed, after jokingly creating a new category labelled "Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie" to accommodate all of the former "Die Hard" star's questionable output.

Organizers rescinded the prize after his family revealed Willis suffered from a cognitive illness called aphasia.

Nominations for this year's Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday.



UK Blues Legend John Mayall Dead at 90 

English blues singer John Mayall performs with his band The Bluesbreakers, on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 7, 2008. (AP)
English blues singer John Mayall performs with his band The Bluesbreakers, on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 7, 2008. (AP)
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UK Blues Legend John Mayall Dead at 90 

English blues singer John Mayall performs with his band The Bluesbreakers, on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 7, 2008. (AP)
English blues singer John Mayall performs with his band The Bluesbreakers, on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 7, 2008. (AP)

John Mayall, the British blues pioneer whose 1960s music collective the Bluesbreakers helped usher in a fertile period of rock and brought guitarists like Eric Clapton to prominence, has died at 90, his family said Tuesday.

Mayall, a singer and multi-instrumentalist who was dubbed "the godfather of British blues," and whose open-door arrangement saw some of the greats in the genre hone their craft with him and his band, "passed away peacefully in his California home" on Monday, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page.

It did not state a cause of death.

"Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world's greatest road warriors," it said. "John Mayall gave us 90 years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain."

Mayall's influence on 1960s rock and beyond is enormous. Members of the Bluesbreakers eventually went on to join or form groups including Cream, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and many more.

At age 30, Mayall moved to London from northern England in 1963. Sensing revolution in the air, he gave up his profession as a graphic designer to embrace a career in blues, the musical style born in Black America.

He teamed up with a series of young guitarists including Clapton, Peter Green, later of Fleetwood Mac, and Mick Taylor who helped form the Rolling Stones.

In the Bluesbreakers' debut album in 1966, "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton," John Mayall enthralled music aficionados with a melding of soulful rock and gutsy, guitar-driven American blues featuring covers of tunes by Robert Johnson, Otis Rush and Ray Charles.

The blues music he was playing in British venues was "a novelty for white England," he told AFP in 1997.

That album was a hit, catapulting Clapton to stardom and bringing a wave of popularity to a more raw and personal blues music.

Mayall moved to California in 1968 and toured America extensively in 1972.

He recorded a number of landmark albums in the 1960s including "Crusade," "A Hard Road," and "Blues From Laurel Canyon." Dozens more followed in the 1970s and up to his latest, "The Sun Is Shining Down," in 2022.

Mayall was awarded an OBE, an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, in 2005.