Razzie Awards founder voices regret over Shelley Duvall’s nomination for ‘The Shining’

The Razzies, aka the Golden Raspberry Awards, have been sticking it to Hollywood for the past 40 years, with the annual ceremony acting as the Anti-Oscars as gongs are given for the worst instances of filmmaking over the past 12 months. Typically, the Razzies take easy shots at infamous stinkers that everyone hated — Cats cleaned the table in 2019, for example. Sometimes the Razzies takes a different route, though, and throws shade at a widely acclaimed movie. 1980’s first-ever ceremony, for instance, handed Stanley Kubrick the Worst Director nomination for The Shining.

Looking back at the history of the Razzies in an interview with Vulture, co-founders J.B. Wilson and Maureen Murphy admitted that they do regret nominating The Shining, but not for Kubrick. Murphy revealed that, in retrospect, she regrets that Shelley Duvall was nominated for Worst Actress for the 1980 horror film, given the revelations that have since come out about Duvall’s mistreatment on set at the hands of the director.

“For me, it’s Shelley Duvall in The Shining,” Murphy said. “Knowing the backstory and the way that Stanley Kubrick kind of pulverized her. I would take that back.”

On the topic of Kubrick’s nomination, Wilson explained that the Razzies voting board were not fans of The Shining when it came out and thought it was a terrible adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. As Wilson put it:

“The novel was far more visually astounding, far more terrifying, far more compelling… I don’t feel that badly about Stanley Kubrick.”

Murphy agreed with Wilson’s assessment, concurring that she thinks Kubrick, most known for helming such seminal films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove, and A Clockwork Orange, has an overblown reputation. That said, she was “willing” to admit that nominating such a popular movie as The Shining might’ve been a bad decision.

“Exactly. I think the guy’s overrated. He did one good movie and that was about it. And we’re willing to say ‘Yeah, maybe that shouldn’t have been nominated.’ Everybody makes mistakes. That’s being human.”

Those movies with multiple nominations at this year’s awards, the 42nd ceremony overall, include Diana; The Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, and Space Jam: A New Legacy. The most surprising nomination is probably Ben Affleck for Worst Actor in the well-received The Last Duel. The Razzies takes place on March 26 this year, the night before the Academy Awards.