Which director has won the most Razzies?
Hollywood runs on praise and celebration, with the Oscars standing as the biggest night of the year, where celebrities laud praise on one another while fans take to social media to champion their favourites. The Golden Raspberry Awards offer up a much more nihilistic tonic, one that revels in hatred and calls out the industry’s tendency to over-congratulate those who probably need knocking down a peg or two.
The Razzies, as they are affectionately known, were founded by John JB Wilson and Mo Murphy. When Wilson watched a screening of Can’t Stop the Music and Xanadu, he was left taken aback by how bad they were, leading to the formation of an official ceremony to highlight these cinematic crimes. The first ‘Worst Picture’ winner became Can’t Stop the Music, while Robert Greenwald was awarded ‘Worst Director’ for Xanadu.
Since then, the ceremony has expanded, and though only certain figures have accepted their accolades over the years, like Paul Verhoeven and Tom Green, it still remains the most notorious awards ceremony out there. Some acclaimed directors have earned ‘Worst Director’ awards, too, including Gus Van Sant, Kevin Costner, Guy Ritchie, and Francis Ford Coppola, with other popular figures like Ron Howard, Joe Wright, Oliver Stone, George Lucas, The Wachowskis, and Warren Beatty also earning nominations.
There is one director that has the most nominations in the ‘Worst Director’ category of all, and his combined wins (including other categories like ‘Worst Screenplay’) make him the most Razzie-winning filmmaker of all time.
Which director has won the most Razzies?
It might be surprising to find out that the title belongs to M Night Shyamalan, because while his films have certainly divided opinion, there are considerably worse filmmakers out there. At least Shyamalan has also got two Oscar nominations to his name.
His first Razzie nominations came in 2007, when he earned four nods for Lady in the Water – ‘Worst Picture’, ‘Worst Director’, ‘Worst Screenplay’, and ‘Worst Supporting Actor’. He took home ‘Worst Director’ and ‘Worst Supporting Actor’, although his next three nominations – all for The Happening –resulted in him walking away unscathed.
By 2011, though, Shyamalan was hit with three more Razzie wins, including ‘Worst Director’ for The Last Airbender. Since then, three more Razzie nominations were thrown at the filmmaker for After Earth, but he didn’t win any. Still, that means he has a total of five Razzies to his name, which has come alongside a grand total of 14 nominations (not counting the Razzie Redeemer Award he was nominated for in 2016).
..and which actor has won the most Razzies?
When it comes to actors, however, it’s Sylvester Stallone who stands as the most Razzie-winning star, with a whopping 12 awards under his belt. He has won these for a combination of categories, including ‘Worst Actor’, ‘Worst Director’, ‘Worst Screen Couple’ (shared with Sharon Stone for The Specialist), and ‘Worst Supporting Actor’.
The Golden Raspberry Awards really hate Stallone, who has been nominated 40 times. Tragically, in 1990, the actor was given the ‘Worst Actor of the Decade’ award for eight different films, including Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rocky IV, and Tango & Cash.
Even worse, though, is the award Stallone received in 2000: ‘Worst Actor of the Century’. He was nominated for “99.5% of everything he has EVER done,” which has really got to hurt.
