Golden Raspberry Awards


The Golden Raspberry Awards is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzie Awards' satirical annual ceremony has preceded its polar opposite, the coveted Academy Awards, for four decades. The term is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry", which in turn comes from Cockney rhyming slang where "raspberry" is short for "raspberry tart", which is rhyming slang for "fart". The statuette itself is a golf ball-sized raspberry atop a mangled Super 8mm film reel spray-painted gold, with an estimated street value of $4.97. The Golden Raspberry Foundation have claimed that the award "encourages well-known filmmakers and top notch performers to own their bad."
The first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held on March 31, 1981, in John J. B. Wilson's living-room alcove in Hollywood, to honor the worst films of the 1980 film season.

History

American publicist John J. B. Wilson traditionally held potluck parties at his home in Hollywood on the night of the Academy Awards. In 1981, after the 53rd Academy Awards had completed for the evening, Wilson invited friends to give random award presentations in his living room. Wilson decided to hold the event, after seeing a 99-cent double feature of Can't Stop the Music and Xanadu. He gave attendees ballots to vote on the worst. Wilson stood at a podium made of cardboard in a tacky tuxedo, with a foam ball attached to a broomstick as a fake microphone, and announced Can't Stop the Music as the first Golden Raspberry Award Winner for Worst Picture. The impromptu ceremony was a success and the following week a press release about his event was picked up by a few local newspapers, including a mention in the Los Angeles Daily News with the headline: "Take These Envelopes, Please".
Approximately three dozen people came to the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards. The 2nd Golden Raspberry Awards had double the attendance, and the 3rd awards ceremony had doubled that number. By the 4th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, CNN and two major wire services covered the event. "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," Wilson told BBC News.

Format

Members of the Golden Raspberry Award Organization vote to determine the recipients. Voting members hail from all 50 U.S. states and every continent with the exception of Antarctica.
in 2008.
.
The ceremony is modeled after the Academy Awards but done with deliberate intent to be low end and tacky.

Recipients who have accepted their award

Recipients who have accepted their Golden Raspberry Award include Tom Green, Halle Berry and Sandra Bullock, Michael Ferris, J. D. Shapiro, Paul Verhoeven, eight-time Oscar Winner Alan Menken, Dinesh D'Souza, Fifty Shades of Grey Producers Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca and Dwayne Johnson.

Contenders for worst and best

Several people have gotten Razzie nominations for being the worst at the same time they got nominations from other organizations for being the best.

Razzie and Oscar

Three people won both the Razzies and Oscars the same weekend: Alan Menken in 1993, Brian Helgeland in 1997 and Sandra Bullock in 2010, although each of the three won for two different films in the same year. Two actors had performances in the same movie netting them both Oscar and Razzie nominations, James Coco and Amy Irving. The Aerosmith song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", as part of the original soundtrack to the 1998 film Armageddon, was nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song, as was the Trisha Yearwood song "How Do I Live" from the 1997 film Con Air and the Tony Bennett song "Life in a Looking Glass" from the 1986 film That's Life!.
Wall Street is the only film to date to win both an Oscar and a Razzie. Michael Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor, however Daryl Hannah's performance was not as well received, which earned her a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress.
Disney's The Lone Ranger may have won one of its five nominations, but it was also nominated for two Oscars.
The 1983 romance dance flick Flashdance was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay, but won one of its three Oscar nominations for Best Original Song for Irene Cara's "Flashdance... What a Feeling".
While 1992's The Bodyguard was a critical failure, it was a huge box office hit and, moreover, its multi-platinum soundtrack album overshadowed the film that it garnered two nominations for Best Original Song.

Razzie and Annie Award

In spite of the heavily negative critical consensus, the 2012 action film Battleship was also nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Effects in a Live Action Production.

Razzie and Golden Globe

, winner of the inaugural Worst Actor Razzie for 1980's The Jazz Singer, was nominated for the Golden Globe in the same role.
1988's Cocktail won two of its four nominations for Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay, but the Beach Boys's song "Kokomo" was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
Despite being a major critical and commercial disappointment, and only receiving the most awards and nominations, the 2019 film Cats was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song for Taylor Swift's song "Beautiful Ghosts".

Razzie and Grammy

Various songs received nominations for both the Razzie and the Grammy Awards, such as Madonna's "Die Another Day", Will Smith's "Wild Wild West", Britney Spears' "Overprotected", U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", The Smashing Pumpkins' "The End Is the Beginning Is the End", and LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live".

Razzie and Saturn Award

In 1981, Stanley Kubrick was nominated both for a Razzie Award as Worst Director at the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards as well as for a Saturn Award for Best Director at the 8th Saturn Awards for the same film: 'The Shining. In 2002, Natalie Portman was nominated for Worst Supporting Actress and for the Saturn Award for Best Actress for the same role in '. Cassandra Peterson was nominated for Worst Actress at the 9th Golden Raspberry Awards and for Best Actress at the 16th Saturn Awards for her role as Elvira in the 1988 film .
In 2001, whilst Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes garnered all three Razzies it was nominated for, Rick Baker's makeup designs were very well received, that it earned him a Saturn Award nomination for Best Makeup, while Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth and Colleen Atwood were respectively nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Costume.
The 1997 apocalyptic film The Postman'' "received" all five awards, but also three Saturn nominations.

Razzie and international awards

In 2017, Darren Aronofsky, director of Mother!, was nominated for both the Worst Director Razzie at the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards and the Golden Lion at the 74th Venice International Film Festival.
In 2018, the mystery comedy Holmes & Watson won four of its six nominations at the 39th Golden Raspberry Awards, but was also nominated for two ALFS Awards and Young British Performer ).
Despite receiving two Razzie nominations for Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt also received an ALFS Award nomination for her performance in the CGI-animated box office hit Sherlock Gnomes, as well as critically acclaimed movies A Quiet Place and Mary Poppins Returns.

Categories

Current Awards
Retired
Special categories have also been introduced for specific years. Such special awards include:
YearCategoryWinnerNominees
1996Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 MillionTwister—Michael Crichton & Anne-Marie MartinThe Hunchback of Notre Dame—Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Bob Tzudiker & Noni White
Independence Day—Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich
'—David Koepp and Robert Towne
A Time to Kill—Akiva Goldsman
1997Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public PropertyCon AirBatman & Robin
'
Turbulence
Volcano
1998Worst Movie Trends of the Year58-year-old leading men wooing 28-year-old leading ladiesTrailers that give away the film's entire plot
Longer movies, shorter plots
THX Deafening Audio
Mega-zillion-dollar cross-promotional overkill: Armageddon, Godzilla, etc.
2002Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie'Eight Crazy Nights
Crossroads
Scooby-Doo
XXX
2003Worst Excuse for an Actual Movie The Cat in the Hat2 Fast 2 Furious
'
From Justin to Kelly
The Real Cancun
2005Most Tiresome Tabloid TargetsTom Cruise, his baby, Katie Holmes, Oprah Winfrey's couch and the Eiffel TowerTom Cruise and his anti-psychiatry rant
Paris Hilton and... "who EVER!"
Mr. and Mrs. Britney, their baby and their camcorder
The Simpsons: Ashlee, Jessica and Nick
2006Worst Excuse for Family EntertainmentRVDeck the Halls
'
'
The Shaggy Dog
2007Worst Excuse for a Horror MovieI Know Who Killed Me'
Captivity
Hannibal Rising
'
2010Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3DThe Last Airbender'
Clash of the Titans
The Nutcracker
Saw 3D
2017The Razzie Nominee So Rotten You Loved ItBaywatchThe Emoji Movie
Fifty Shades Darker
The Mummy
'

Anniversary Awards

Every decade-closing ceremony includes an award for the worst actors and movies of the decade—though the 2000 ceremony put the actors as worst of the 20th century instead. Special prizes for the 25th anniversary of the Razzies awards were also given out in 2005.
Period/CeremonyCategoryWinnerNominees
1980s Worst ActorSylvester StalloneChristopher Atkins
Ryan O'Neal
Prince
John Travolta
1980s Worst ActressBo DerekFaye Dunaway
Madonna
Brooke Shields
Pia Zadora
1980s Worst Picture of the DecadeMommie Dearest Bolero
Howard the Duck
The Lonely Lady
'
1980s Worst New Star of the DecadePia ZadoraChristopher Atkins
Madonna
Prince
Diana Scarwid
1990s Worst Actor of the CenturySylvester StalloneKevin Costner
Prince
William Shatner
Pauly Shore
1990s Worst Actress of the CenturyMadonnaElizabeth Berkley
Bo Derek
Brooke Shields
Pia Zadora
1990s Worst Picture of the DecadeShowgirls '
Hudson Hawk
The Postman
Striptease
1990s Worst New Star of the DecadePauly ShoreElizabeth Berkley
Ahmed Best
Sofia Coppola
Dennis Rodman
Of Our First 25 Years Worst Razzie LoserArnold SchwarzeneggerKim Basinger
Angelina Jolie
Ryan O'Neal
Keanu Reeves
Of Our First 25 Years Worst DramaBattlefield Earth The Lonely Lady
Mommie Dearest
Showgirls
Swept Away
Of Our First 25 Years Worst ComedyGigli The Adventures of Pluto Nash
The Cat in the Hat
Freddy Got Fingered
Leonard Part 6
Of Our First 25 Years Worst MusicalFrom Justin to Kelly Can't Stop the Music
Glitter
Rhinestone
Spice World
Xanadu
2000s Worst Actor of the DecadeEddie MurphyBen Affleck
Mike Myers
Rob Schneider
John Travolta
2000s Worst Actress of the DecadeParis HiltonMariah Carey
Lindsay Lohan
Jennifer Lopez
Madonna
2000s Worst Picture of the DecadeBattlefield Earth Freddy Got Fingered
Gigli
I Know Who Killed Me
Swept Away

Other types of awards

The Razzie Redeemer Award

is presented to a former nominee or winner who has subsequently made a comeback from critical and/or commercial failure. The award was introduced in 2014. Winners include Ben Affleck, Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, "A Safe Hollywood-Haven", Melissa McCarthy, and Eddie Murphy.

Worst Career Achievement

This award has been given five times, to Ronald Reagan in 1981, to Linda Blair in 1983, to Irwin Allen in 1985, to "Bruce the Rubber Shark" from Jaws in 1987, and to director Uwe Boll in 2009 who received this for his achievement as "Germany's answer to Ed Wood".

Governor's Award

This is a special award given by Razzie Award Governor John J. B. Wilson to an individual whose achievements are not covered by the Razzies' other categories. It was awarded in 2003 to Travis Payne for "Distinguished Under-Achievement in Choreography" in the film From Justin to Kelly.

Barry L. Bumstead Award

This award is given to a critical and financial failure that would've been nominated if it had received an eligible release. It was awarded in 2015 to United Passions, to Misconduct in 2016, in 2017 to CHiPs and in 2018 to Billionaire Boys Club.

Ceremonies

The Razzies have received criticism, including from news sources such as Indiewire and The Daily Telegraph, for several issues, including that members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation are not required to watch the nominated movies, and that anyone can join the Golden Raspberry Foundation, so long as they pay "a paltry $40", which is different from the invitation-only Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Critics take issue with the Razzies picking "easy targets" and critically panned mainstream films instead of those perceived as less popular but more deserving productions, continuing to appeal to celebrities, seemingly for publicity and attention, over other, worthier films and performances. Others have accused the Razzies of promoting racism and sexism when it comes to some of their frequent targets.
Sam Adams of Indiewire has said the Razzies are "like hecklers hurling insults at comedians or a concertgoer yelling out 'Whoo!' during a quiet song, they're not-so-secretly crying out to be noticed. The Razzies, properly enough, avoid pouncing on the little guy; they don't trash no-budget indies no one has seen for having bad lighting or terrible sound". Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph has said "the Razzies' ongoing failure to train its sights on anything but the most obvious targets means it grows more tired and redundant by the year". CraveOnline's William Bibbiani stated that the Razzies follow "a cheap shot of pranksterism", and "with only a handful of exceptions, only seen fit to nominate the most infamous movies of the year, and not necessarily the worst."