Sandra Bullock, an Academy Award winner, managed to bag an Oscar and a Razzie the same year. It may seem difficult to do, but she actually became the first actress in history to do it.
The Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies as they’re endearingly referred to, honor the ‘worst’ the film industry has to offer. Members of the Foundation vote on a number of categories, from Worst Actress to Screenplay and Worst Rip-off to and Director. The parody award show, co-founded by UCLA film graduates and showbiz veterans John JB Wilson and Mo Murphy, always takes place the day before the Academy Awards. The satire ceremony has been running for 40 years, after co-founder Wilson had a bad experience at the theater and thought movies should receive awards for their low quality. The most decorated Razzie winner to date is Sylvester Stallone, who has been given 10 awards so far. But one of our favorite moments is when Sandra Bullock actually accepted her Razzie award in person in 2010.
It started in his living room
Wilson was so inspired by the notion of announcing the ‘worst’ of the industry, he held the first Golden Raspberry Awards in his living room with a fake lectern. Only 30-odd people attended the first year, but it doubled the next, and again on the third anniversary in 1983.
Then it really caught on, being covered by CNN and two other news wires on the 4th Razzies, and then Wilson had the idea to broadcast it the night before the Oscars.
He told the BBC: “We finally figured out you couldn’t compete with the Oscars on Oscar night, but if you went the night before, when the press from all over the world are here and they are looking for something to do, it could well catch on.”
Considering it’s been going for 44 years, only 10 people have actually turned up to accept the award. The first was Paul Verhoeven for Showgirls, followed by Tom Green, Halle Berry, Michael Ferris, and JD Shaprio. The others who accepted their Razzie was Alan Menken, Sandra Bullock, Dinesh D’Souza and Fifty Shades of Grey producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti.
In 2022, they had the Worst Bruce Willis Performance award in a 2021 movie, because the star was part of a number of poorly received films. But weeks later his family announced he had been diagnosed with aphasia. The Razzies then retracted the category and said they wouldn’t award someone’s performance who may have been affected by a medical condition.
They also retracted their 1980 Worst Actress nomination to Shelley Duvall in The Shining after discovering her performance was impacted by treatment throughout the production.
Last year, they received backlash for nominating 12-year-old Ryan Kiera Armstrong in the Worst Actress category. They took it back and confirmed no one under the age of 18 would be nominated in future years. The Foundation themselves won a Razzie in the category for their mistake.
The Foundation wants the award to encourage “well-known filmmakers and top-notch performers to own their bad”. And some really have. Cue Sandra Bullock and her Razzie speech.
Sandra Bullock handed out copies of her DVD for her Razzie acceptance speech
In 2010, Sandra Bullock won a Razzie for her role in All About Steve, and she wasn’t sour about it. Considering less than a dozen of people have accepted it in person, and Sandra, a huge Hollywood star being one of them, it’s a true testament to her character.
Arriving at the venue with three people wearing black ‘Team Bullock’ T-shirts, she also brought with her a bright red wagon full of DVDs of her film. It was almost 15 years ago, DVDs were still a thing.
The actress explained she’d brought a copy for everyone in the audience who hadn’t even seen it.
“This is the deal we are going to make,” she said.
“You promise to watch the movie and really consider whether it was really and truly the worst performance. If you are willing to watch it, I will come back next year and give back the Razzie.”
Then she joked she would read the script, word for word, if people really believe it was the worst performance ever.
Sandra said: “I’m willing to go page by page through my dialogue, so we could be here a while. I will read it like the way I read it in the film and then anyone who wants to give me a line reading of how I could have done it better…
“So we could do this till about four o’clock in the morning. Or you guys could re-watch the movie and re-think your decision and I will show up next year and then we can all go drink afterwards.”
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