‘Two Towers,’ ‘Spider-Man’ Top MTV Movie Nominees
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Just when they thought it was over, moviegoers were served up a new plate of film award nominees on Monday from cable TV network MTV, topped by popular hits “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” and “Spider-Man.”
Unlike March’s serious-minded Oscars, which are the U.S. film industry’s top honors and mark the climax of Hollywood’s annual award season, MTV’s June movie bash cheers on youthful flicks with cheeky categories like best kiss and best fight.
“We plan on mounting the funniest, loudest, most high-flying show to date,” executive producer Joel Gallen said in a statement.
SWEET NEW (VIRTUAL) CATEGORY
This year, MTV added a new group for actors who exist only in the digital world; best virtual performance, where computer generated Yoda from “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones” will fight off competition from digital dog Scooby-Doo in “Scooby-Doo,” creepy Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” Dobby of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” and Kangaroo Jack of the comedy of the same name.
Just like the Oscars, however, MTV fans want to know who their peers pick as the favorite movies and stars. Nominees are chosen from MTV and MTV2 viewer polling.
The best film group was led by box office hits “Spider-Man” and “Two Towers.” Each earned five nominations. Joining them among best film nominees were “8 Mile,” starring rapper Eminem in his film debut, “Barbershop” headlined by rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube and thriller “The Ring.”
BEST KISS
Eminem also landed in the category for best actor where he will take on Spider-Man Tobey Maguire and action hero Vin Diesel of “XXX.” Pitted against that trio will be a pair of Hollywood’s hottest leading men, Leonardo DiCaprio for “Catch Me If You Can” and Viggo Mortensen for “Two Towers.”
Best actress nominees are topped by Maguire’s “Spider-Man” love interest Kirsten Dunst along with Reese Witherspoon for “Sweet Home Alabama” and Halle Berry for portraying James Bond’s sidekick Jinx in “Die Another Day.” Also included are Kate Hudson in “How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days” and Queen Latifah for movie musical “Chicago.”
Maguire and Dunst made the list for the coveted best kiss trophy for “Spider-Man.” They face off against Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner of “Daredevil,” Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana in “Drumline,” DiCaprio and “Gangs of New York” co-star Cameron Diaz, and Adam Sandler and Emily Watson in “Punch-Drunk Love.”
Best fight features the lightsaber contest between Yoda and Christopher Lee in “Attack of the Clones,” as well as Jet Li versus the Ultimate Fighters in “Cradle 2 the Grave,” Fann Wong versus the Palace Guards in “Shanghai Knights” and Johnny Knoxville versus boxer Butterbean in “Jackass: The Movie.”
The MTV Movie Awards will air on June 6. Last year’s show was watched by over seven million viewers and was MTV’s most-viewed movie award show ever among audiences aged 12 years-old to 34 years-old.
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