When Sandra Bullock graciously accepted a Razzie award
There are several reasons why Sandra Bullock is considered to be one of the most beloved Hollywood stars of contemporary cinema, with her modest humility in the face of a pompous American industry being just one of them. Though she’s worked with several iconic filmmakers, including Alfonso Cuarón and Stephen Daldry, she hasn’t avoided big-ticket movies that have threatened to flop critically.
Arriving in the industry in the late 1980s, Bullock wouldn’t find major success until the following decade, appearing in 1992s When the Party’s Over, followed by Demolition Man in 1993 and the action movie classic Speed with Keanu Reeves one year later. Bullock’s fortunes continued into the 21st century, too, appearing in the beloved crime comedy Miss Congeniality in 2000 and the Best Picture-winner Crash in 2004.
Though, by far, her biggest success would come in 2009 when she starred in the biographical sports drama The Blind Side, playing Leigh Anne Tuohy, the adoptive mother of a homeless and traumatised boy who became an All-American football player. Competing with the likes of Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe, Bullock won the Academy Award for Best Leading Actress at the 2010 Oscars.
Surprisingly, however, in the very same year, Bullock would take home an infamous Golden Raspberry award for her awful performance in the romantic comedy All About Steve.
Appearing at the awards show, which the unfortunate recipients do not often attend, Bullock was joined by three people wearing ‘Team Bullock’ t-shirts, who wheeled behind them a red cart full of All About Steve DVDs. “This is the deal we are going to make,” the actor told the audience, who presumed that no one had actually seen the movie, “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”.
Continuing, she jokingly threatened to read through a copy of the film’s script that she had brought with her: “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 rethink your decision, and I will show up next year, and then we can all go drink afterwards”.
Few actors actually make their way to the stage at the annual Razzie awards, with many understandably refusing to participate in the satirical ceremony, making Bullock’s appearance a pleasant surprise. As the Razzie founder John Wilson told Entertainment Weekly, “If you are going to win a Razzie, then that’s the way to do it and have fun with it. I wish there were more people with that combination of self-deprecation and guts.”
Take a look at Bullock’s full speech from the 2010 Golden Raspberry awards below.
