The unwanted record that pissed off Sylvester Stallone: “I got a lot of shit for that”
Every year, the night before Hollywood A-listers flock to the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles for the highly acclaimed Academy Awards, a smaller, lesser-known film festival takes place down the road.
Here, instead of being lauded for their accomplishments, years of hard work, and blood, sweat and tears, Hollywood actors and filmmakers are parodied in a time-honoured recognition of some of the worst cinematic failures, all in the name of satire.
The Golden Raspberry awards, known as the ‘Razzie’ Awards, were originally held out of founder John J B Wilson’s living room, but have since moved to various locations around Los Angeles, and have been met with mixed feelings of fear, ridicule and generous-spirited humour by the acting elite and critics alike. While some avoid the ceremony altogether, others relish the opportunity to face their harshest critics.
As of 2024, a total of 77 films have been nominated for both an Oscar and a ‘Razzie’, but most famously, Sandra Bullock made headlines in 2010 when she attended the latter the night before the Oscars to accept the ‘Worst Actress’ award for All About Steve before, in a twist of fate, winning the Academy Award for ‘Best Actress’ for The Blind Side. The actor allegedly even brought a copy of the DVD to the ‘Razzies’ for the audience.
But while some take the joke in good humour, others have not been so pleased by the awards in the past, which is understandable when you hold the record for the longest consecutive streak of nominations at the ‘Razzie’ Awards. That impressive feat goes to Sylvester Stallone, who has managed to accumulate a total of 12 wins and also holds the record for the most nominations at 34.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about his stinker streak, the Rocky star admitted that it had pissed him off in the past, but that now he sees the humour in it, “because there are some really good performers in there”. He was also candid about his relationships with the critics, whom he once challenged with a “let them try to do it”.
Explaining his position, he added, “I said I love critiques, but now tell me how to make it better in the same paragraph. ‘That’s not our job’. Well, that’s like going up to a child and going, ‘You’re a horrible child!’ and then you walk out of the room. How about the other side of it? I got a lot of shit for that.”
The actor, now 79, surpasses Adam Sandler and Madonna with nine awards each, Keven Costner, Bo Derek and Eddie Murphy with six awards each, and the Split and Sixth Sense filmmaker M Night Shyamalan with five. However, one of his awards was actually a positive one, when, in 2015, he won the ‘Razzie Redeemer’ Award for his performance in Creed.
Stallone doesn’t need to concern himself with the ‘Razzies’. The Rocky and Rambo star has earned his position in Hollywood over the years, winning a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice Award and nominations for three Academy Awards and two Baftas. He also received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984 and became one of only two actors in history (alongside Harrison Ford) to have starred in a box-office number-one film across six consecutive decades. Now that’s some record.
