The live-streaming and on-demand content provider FilmOn has a virtually limitless catalogue of outstanding film and television offerings from timeless classic films, to the latest groundbreaking television series. But something that gets lost in all the hype of truly sensational material is that you don’t always want to watch something good. Film and TV commentary is trapped within a paradigm of “highly rated” and “critically acclaimed” while the TV and movie viewing habits of actual people prove that sometimes people just want USDA Certified Prime Trash. Even in this field, FilmOn’s got you covered with a channel dedicated to the best of the worst.
Long before Rotten Tomatoes was handing out failing grades like a summer school teacher…before Twitter was descending on garbage flicks like a pack of hyenas on a limping gazelle…even before sadistic YouTubers were uploading 10-minute long reviews that just comprised the word “shit”…before all of that, there were the Golden Raspberry Awards, or the Razzies. Think about them like the bizarro Oscars. The award ceremony has recognized achievements in truly horrific filmmaking and acting over the last 38 years, with some notable recipients including Sylvester Stallone, Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Paris Hilton.
The tradition began like most Hollywood traditions—with a publicist. John J. B. Wilson, a copywriter and publicist, held an annual Oscars party at his house like many Los Angelenos. But in 1981, following the 53rd Academy Awards, felt particularly inspired by the year’s particularly uninspiring films. After the ceremony, his passed out ballots to his guests to vote on the worst film of the year. The two nominees: Can’t Stop the Music and Xanadu. He counted the ballots, and standing in front of the living room of friends with a foam ball attached to a broom doubling as a mic, he announced the winner: Can’t Stop The Music.
The impromptu event was a resounding success, and the following year Wilson hosted the 2nd Golden Raspberry Awards. While the first event only drew a crowd of three dozen people, that number doubled the next year. Soon, by the fourth year, Wilson figured out that the event would draw much more press if he scheduled it before the Oscars.
“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,” he said to BBC News.
Unsurprisingly, most Razzie winners don’t collect their awards in person. But there have been some notable exceptions. In 2005, for her performance in that super hero movie we all like to pretend didn’t happen (Catwoman), Hallie Berry accepted her award on stage in a move of Bad Review Judo. Berry’s mocked her own emotional 2002 Oscars acceptance speech for Best Actress, similarly accepting the Razzie in a near-ecstatic state of joy. Then Berry let the shade fly, and if it was sunny in that room before she began talking, it was sure overcast after she finished.
“First of all, I’d like to thank Warner Brothers. Thank you for putting me in a piece-of-shit, god-awful movie.”
So if you want to honor this moment and others like it, turn to the Razzies Channel on FilmOn.
