Jack’s Award Focus: Nominees for 15th MTV Movie Awards Announced

And you thought we were done after the Academy Awards?   Not just yet, with the announcement this past week of the nominees of the MTV Movie Awards, with Oscar nominees/winners 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle picking up multiple nods, with Wolf and Hustle picking up eight each, including acting nods for Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lupita Nyong’o and Matthew McConaughey among others (all lumped together, there are no ‘lead’ or ‘supporting’ distinctions).

Other than the aforementioned, nominees for best film are blockbusters The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  Conan O’Brien has been tapped for hosting duties.

This will be the fifteenth year the awards have taken place; starting in 1992 originally the MTV Movie Awards were kind of the spunky sibling to the MTV Video Music Awards, the flagship awards show for the network since the 1980’s.  It’s the not-as-serious awards show for the demographic that, naturally, watches the network.

Among other categories for nominations are Best Kiss, Best Scared-As-S*** performance (for which the likes of Ethan Hawke in The Purge and Vera Farmiga in The Conjuring received nominations), Best Shirtless Performance (the kind of category where DiCaprio shares a nod alongside Sam Claflin in Catching Fire and Jennifer Aniston for We Are the Millers), and #WTF Moment, hashtag included (the only place you’ll find The Counselor nominated, for a notorious scene involving Cameron Diaz and a windshield).

At the MMA’s in the 1990’s, the show was even jokier; there used to be spoof segments with the hosts and surprise guests, an award for Best Sandwich, and for a time ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award winners, including Jason Vorhees, Godzilla, Chewbacca (no, really, Chewbacca went up and accented his golden bucket of popcorn, speech replete with growls) and actor Clint Howard (who’s acceptance speech is rather endearing considering the award was meant as a goof).

Previous winner (and nominee this year) Bradley Cooper

Also unlike other awards shows, at least until 2007, it was taped and edited to appear as it if it was happening in real time, though since Mark Burnett produced the awards the past several years it is now live.  And, lastly setting it apart from most other awards, the audience can vote in (years back in my day ballots used to be at Blockbuster video, but now voting online is the norm).  The show primarily ends up giving the award for best movie to big box-office hits – Marvel’s The Avengers won last year, and prior to that Twilight for four years in a row (!)

You can tune in to the awards on April 14th (moving up from it’s usual air-date of Memorial Day weekend in the U.S.)  Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @ what you think of the nominees.  Here is the full list below:

MOVIE OF THE YEAR
12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Director: Steve McQueen
Producers: Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Anthony Katagas, Bill Pohlad, and Arnon Milchan

American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Director: David O. Russell
Producers: Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Director: Peter Jackson
Producers: Carolynne Cunningham, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Zane Weiner,

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Producers: Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik

The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Producers: Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland, Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Riza Aziz

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
• Amy Adams – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
• Jennifer Aniston – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)
• Sandra Bullock – Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)
• Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
• Bradley Cooper – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
• Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Josh Hutcherson – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)
• Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
• Liam James – The Way Way Back (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Michael B. Jordan – Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company)
• Will Poulter – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)
• Margot Robbie – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
• Miles Teller – The Spectacular Now (A24 Films)

BEST KISS
• Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson – Don Jon (Relativity Media)
• James Franco, Ashley Benson and Vanessa Hudgens – Spring Breakers (A24 Films)
• Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller – The Spectacular Now (A24 Films)
• Emma Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Will Poulter – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)

BEST FIGHT
• Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Paramount Pictures) – Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Steve Carell vs. James Marsden vs. Sacha Baron Cohen vs. Kanye West vs. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler vs. Jim Carrey and Marion Cotillard vs. Will Smith vs. Liam Neeson and John C. Reilly vs. Greg Kinnear
• Identity Thief (Universal Pictures) – Jason Bateman vs. Melissa McCarthy
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Warner Bros. Pictures) – Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lilly vs. Orcs
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate) – Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Sam Claflin vs. Mutant Monkeys
• This is the End (Columbia Pictures) – Jonah Hill vs. James Franco and Seth Rogen

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
• Kevin Hart – Ride Along (Universal Pictures)
• Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
• Johnny Knoxville – Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Paramount Pictures)
• Melissa McCarthy – The Heat (20th Century Fox)
• Jason Sudeikis – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)

BEST SCARED-AS-S**T PERFORMANCE
• Rose Byrne – Insidious: Chapter 2 (FilmDistrict)
• Jessica Chastain – Mama (Universal Pictures)
• Vera Farmiga – The Conjuring (New Line Cinema)
• Ethan Hawke – The Purge (Universal Pictures)
• Brad Pitt – World War Z (Paramount Pictures)

BEST ON-SCREEN DUO
• Amy Adams and Christian Bale – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
• Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
• Vin Diesel and Paul Walker – Fast & Furious 6 (Universal Pictures)
• Ice Cube and Kevin Hart – Ride Along (Universal Pictures)
• Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

BEST SHIRTLESS PERFORMANCE
• Jennifer Aniston – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)
• Sam Claflin – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
• Zac Efron – That Awkward Moment (Focus Features)
• Chris Hemsworth – Thor: The Dark World (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

#WTF MOMENT
• Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner – Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Paramount Pictures)
The Channel 4 News Team’s afternoon is no longer a delight as their speeding van filled with bowling balls, scorpions and hot oil takes a tumble on the highway.

• Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll –Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Paramount Pictures)
Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll manage to strike fear into a room full of unsuspecting beauty pageant-loving parents thanks to a bump n’ grind dance routine to a Warrant classic.

• Cameron Diaz – The Counselor (20th Century Fox)
Having sex in a car is pretty much a rite of passage, but having sex with a car? Cameron Diaz’s Malkina gets down and dirty with a bright yellow Ferrari to show the world how it’s done.

• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
Leonardo DiCaprio’s iconic portrayal of excessive Wall Street player Jordan Belfort takes a turn for the insane when he takes his Lamborghini for a spin.

• Danny McBride and Channing Tatum – This is the End (Columbia Pictures)
Danny McBride shows an apocalyptic world, and uncomfortable theater-goers everywhere, that there’s no better pet than a scantily-clad Channing Tatum.

BEST VILLAIN
• Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
• Benedict Cumberbatch – Star Trek into Darkness (Paramount Pictures)
• Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Mila Kunis – Oz The Great and Powerful (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• Donald Sutherland – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)

BEST ON-SCREEN TRANSFORMATION
• Christian Bale – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
• Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)
• Orlando Bloom – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
• Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT
• Backstreet Boys, Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen and Craig Robinson – This is the End (Columbia Pictures)
Spoiler alert! Backstreet Boys reunite in heaven to perform “Everybody” with signature boy band moves and flair for this unforgettable apocalyptic ending.

• Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Lawrence cleans and dances her frustrations away as she mouths the words to 70s classic “Live and Let Die.”

• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
During his wedding reception, DiCaprio’s fraudulent Jordan Belfort pops and locks it to Bo Diddley’s “Pretty Thing.”

• Melissa McCarthy – Identity Thief (Universal Pictures)
To ease the tension of stealing Sandy’s identity, McCarthy’s Diana shows her musical range as she attempts to sing along with the car radio — and even hits that high note in “Barracuda.”

• Will Poulter – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)
With eyes wide shut, Poulter’s Kenny Rossmore throws it back to the 90s with a hilarious rendition of TLC’s “Waterfalls.”

BEST CAMEO PERFORMANCE
• Robert De Niro – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
• Amy Poehler and Tina Fey – Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Paramount Pictures)
• Kanye West – Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Paramount Pictures)
• Joan Rivers – Iron Man 3 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• Rihanna – This is the End (Columbia Pictures)

BEST HERO
• Henry Cavill as Clark Kent – Man of Steel (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man – Iron Man 3 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Chris Hemsworth as Thor – Thor: The Dark World (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• Channing Tatum as John Cale – White House Down (Columbia Pictures)