The Blockbuster Entertainment Awards was a film awards ceremony, founded by Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., that ran from 1995 until 2001. They were produced each year by Ken Ehrlich. Formation and first awards The awards were first held on June 3, 1995, at the Pantages Theatre and broadcast on June 6. The idea for the awards show came from Blockbuster marketing executive Brian Woods, who worked on the project for about two years. Blockbuster reportedly saw creating the awards as a way of promoting both the company and also the performers whose records and films were sold in their stores. CBS signed a contract to screen the awards in late 1994, and Ken Ehrlich was hired to produce the show. Winners were determined by votes cast by customers in Blockbuster stores. The ballot consisted of the year's three top-grossing films, videos, and music albums in 33 categories. Over 1.5 million votes were cast and approximately 10 million people watched the awards on television. The music and video industry "turned out in full force" for the event, which was hosted by Cindy Crawford and William Baldwin. Celebrities attending included Bill Pullman, George Clooney, Kurt Russell, Steve Martin, Jennifer Tilly, Melanie Griffith, Danny Glover, Alfre Woodard, and David Spade. Jim Carrey, who won three awards, was one of the few winners who thanked voters for his award, stating: "I'm thankful for this award, even if you rented my tapes just to show the guy behind the counter that you rent more than porn videos." Eileen Fitzpatrick of Billboard magazine stated that the awards show was "surprisingly entertaining", and applauded Blockbuster for "raising the status of home video". Fitzpatrick questioned the idea of handing out awards for films in both theatrical and video releases, saying it did not make much sense, as almost all films nominated had been out on video for several months. This caused confusion for recipients, many of whom did not understand what award they were getting. Sandra Bullock had just received the award for Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Actress in Video for the film Speed, when she was named the winner for the same film in the theatrical category, and "literally didn't know whether she was coming on or going off the stage." Subsequent awards The second Blockbuster Entertainment Awards were held on March 6, 1996 at the Pantages Theatre. Kelsey Grammer hosted the awards. As Blockbuster was