The Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, have been given out every year since 1981, on the Saturday before the Academy Awards/Oscars on Sunday. While the Oscars honor the best films of the year, the Razzies “honor” the worst. This has always been seen as a fringe event, and has never been broadcast… until now.
The Razzies will air on the Comedy Dynamics Network (whatever the hell that is… does anyone get this?! Seriously, comment below if you get this channel!). Comedy Dynamics is “the largest independent comedy production/distribution company in the United States” and created the popular Netflix series ‘The Toys That Made Us’, ‘Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History’, ‘Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape’, and the upcoming reboot of the ’90s sitcom ‘Mad About You’.
The Razzies, created by a handful of UCLA film students, plus John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, were originally announced in Wilson’s living room. Initially, there wasn’t even a real trophy given out. An exception was made in 1988 when Bill Cosby insisted on being given the award, earned by his sci-fi flop ‘Leonard Part 6’. His trophy cost $1.97.
‘Showgirls’ director Paul Verhoeven was the first celebrity to actually attend the awards (now held in a hotel). Other celebs who have actually shown up to be “honored” include Tom Green (‘Freddy Got Fingered’), Halle Berry (‘Catwoman’), Sandra Bullock (‘All About Steve’), and J. David Shapiro (‘Battlefield Earth’). Others who have publically accepted awards but did not attend the actual ceremony include Tom Selleck (‘Christopher Columbus: The Discovery’), Ben Affleck (three-way tie for ‘Gigli’, ‘Daredevil’, and ‘Paycheck’), Jamie Dornan (‘Fifty Shades of Grey’), and Dwayne Johnson (‘Baywatch’).
Anyone can join the voting body by simply paying an annual fee of $25-$40.
RELATED: A Voter Accuses The Founders Of Rigging The Golden Raspberry Awards
While the awards are usually just silly fun and games, earlier this year, the board was accused of manipulating the voting process to further a political agenda. One member presented evidence that top vote-getters were tossed out, with Wilson and his inner circle selecting the finalists based on their own taste. More specifically, it seems as if Wilson and co. have vendettas against certain actors like Bruce Willis and Johnny Depp and shoehorned them into the final nominees over actors like Dornan and Kevin Spacey who actually got more votes.
Now that the ceremony is going to be televised, that could mean that more actual celebrities will attend.
We’re not even half-way through the year, but we already have a few candidates that might be represented at next year’s Razzies– ‘Hellboy’, ‘The Hustle’, ‘Dark Phoenix’, just to name a few.
Then again, ‘Joker’ hasn’t opened yet.
If you get the Comedy Dynamics Network, will you be tuning in to the Golden Raspberry Awards?
Source: Deadline
