Razzies Awards Show Moves to April Fool's Day

From Golden Raspberry press release:

As the gadfly in the annual glut of Hollywood award shows, the Golden Raspberry (RAZZIE^®) Awards [1] consider it part of their duty to rattle the cages of “all those other statuette-fests.” In keeping with that role, this year’s 32^nd Annual RAZZIES^® [2], dis-honoring Worst Achievements in Film for 2011, will be presented on a different schedule than has been true for nearly three decades.

When they got a look at the 2012 calendar, John Wilson and Mo Murphy, co-owners of the RAZZIES, saw a unique opportunity to do something they’ve wanted to do since their awards were created in 1980: Emphasize the RAZZIES’ comedic intent by unveiling the “winners” of Tinsel Town’s Tackiest Trophy on APRIL FOOLS’ DAY (Sunday, April 1, 2012).

The long-standing tradition of RAZZIE “synergy” with The Academy Awards (a.k.a. The Giving Out of the Little Gold Naked Men) will not be abandoned entirely: For 2012, the NOMINEES for Golden Raspberries will be announced in a press conference on “Oscar Eve,” at 6:00pm/PST Saturday, February 25 at Magicopolis in Santa Monica, California -- just up the beach from that same day’s 27^th Annual Independent Spirit Awards.

In addition to allowing the RAZZIES’ more than 600 voting members additional time to see the drek they will eventually nominate, this new schedule will also allow for more input from the movie-going public before the contenders are determined. One of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation’s three branches consists of average movie-goers, who pay annual dues for the privilege of casting their ballots. Among the upsides of this new timetable is that more of them will have time to visit the RAZZIES’ Membership Page [3]and join in the fun. The other two branches consist of film professionals (screenwriters, publicists, directors and cetera) and entertainment journalists (film critics, film bloggers, correspondents, and the like). The entire eligible voting Membership of the RAZZIE Awards currently stands at about 650 people, in 47 U.S. states and 17 foreign countries.

Topping the list of potential contenders when nominations are announced on Oscar Eve is Adam Sandler, who could possibly equal (or break!) Eddie Murphy’s record for most RAZZIE nominations in a single year. As an actor, producer and writer, Sandler has his name on no less than 3 possible Worst Picture choices: BUCKY LARSON, JACK & JILL and JUST GO WITH IT. Sandler is also considered a front-runner for Worst Actress playing “Jill” in JACK & JILL Other potential nominees include Taylor Lautner and the next-to-last installment in the TWILIGHT franchise, and Michael Bay’s box office behemoth TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON,(2011’s second biggest-grossing movie) which replaced RAZZIE Repeat Offender Megan Fox with Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (referred to in RAZZIE balloting materials only as “The Underwear Model”). At least one critic declared that Whiteley “makes Fox look like Meryl Streep!”

Founded by Lifelong Cine-Maniac and Cynic John Wilson, author of both EVERYTHING I KNOW I LEARNED AT THE MOVIES and THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE^® MOVIE GUIDE (Listing 100 of The Berry Funniest Bad Movies Ever Made), the RAZZIES^® are a light-hearted parody of award shows in general (and The Oscars in particular).

For more info on the RAZZIES and their history, please visit www.razzies.com [1].