Horror fans are quick to agree that Shelley Duvall nailed an outstanding performance in The Shining, which is why being nominated for a Razzie is so wrong in many different ways. The thing is that the Razzies are literally a joke and should never be taken seriously.
It was the first-ever Golden Raspberry Awards held on March 31, 1981, when Shelley Duvall was nominated for Worst Actress along with Talia Shire for Windows, Deborah Raffin for Touched by Love, Valerie Perrine for Can’t Stop the Music, Olivia Newton-John for Xanadu, Sondra Locke for Bronco Billy, Farrah Fawcett for Saturn 3, Fay Dunaway for The First Deadly Sin, and Nancy Allen for Dressed to Kill. And the winner of the Worst Actress in 1980 went to Brooke Shields for The Blue Lagoon. Even though Shelley Duvall’s nomination was later rescinded when the truth came out about the way she was treated on set, fans are still a little stirred up that her name was included in the first place.
“We have since discovered that Duvall’s performance was impacted by Stanley Kubrick’s treatment of her throughout the production.”
Washington Post
As far as The Shining is concerned, Stanley Kubrick was also nominated for Worst Director and co-founders of the Razzies John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy stick to that nomination, quoting Stephen King’s reaction to the film himself, “A shiny new Cadillac convertible…with no engine in it.” However, that doesn’t let them off the hook for their nomination of Duvall.
Fans are quick to point out the satirical nature of the Razzies, the anti-Oscars that often nominate great works just to poke fun at the industry.
It appears that it’s not hard to get on the board to vote for a film or a personality and that means the Razzies should not be taken seriously at all.
Conversations of this nature have a way of taking different turns, but getting back to Duvall and why her nomination was rescinded…
Some fans have pointed out that Kubrick went overboard and what he did to Duvall during filming borderlines on abuse.
An interesting perspective of how the Razzies can make someone feel after they put their heart and soul into a work to be nominated for the Worst Actress. That’s harsh.
On the other hand, there is always a different perspective.
The Shining is a cult classic that horror fans will be quick to defend when criticized. As Shelley Duvall attempts to make a comeback in the industry, the Razzies have sufficiently been warned she’s off limits.