The MTV Movie Awards are coming your way on Sunday. The nominations this year, particularly for Movie of the Year, were interesting. I don't know that the wins will be, though, because frankly it seems like another young adult adaptation is poised to dominate after we got a bit of a breather from that sort of thing last year.
I have no idea what I'm doing here. Yeah, the public votes, but I imagine there's plenty of rigging going on, too. So against reason, I'll try to predict them anyway. Don't use them for your office pool or anything (if you happen to work in an office so chill as to have an MTV Movie Awards pool, that is). Just try to follow my logic below and feel free to tell me why I'm wrong in the comments section.
Best Kiss
Ashley Benson, James Franco & Vanessa Hudgens, “Spring Breakers”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Scarlett Johansson, “Don Jon”
Jennifer Lawrence & Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Emma Roberts, Jennifer Aniston & Will Poulter, “We're the Millers”
Shailene Woodley & Miles Teller, “The Spectacular Now”
Aww. The heart and soul of the MTV Movie Awards. And often pleased to honor a same sex smoocheroo, so chalk it up for the “Hustle” ladies.
Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence & Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Best On-Screen Duo
Amy Adams & Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
Ice Cube & Kevin Hart, “Ride Along”
Vin Diesel & Paul Walker, “Fast & Furious 6”
Jonah Hill & Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Matthew McConaughey & Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Hmm. I could really see this going to any of the nominees. Even Ice Cube and Kevin Hart make a sick sort of sense. Diesel and Walker represents an opportunity to posthumously honor the latter. Hill and DiCaprio were amazing together. McConaughey and Leto won Oscars. Adams and Bale were the clearest “team” of the bunch. Flip a coin. I'll pick the most ridiculous of the lot and see what happens.
Prediction: Ice Cube & Kevin Hart, “Ride Along”
Best Scared-as-S**t Performance
Rose Byrne, “Insidious: Chapter 2”
Jessica Chastain, “Mama”
Vera Farmiga, “The Conjuring”
Ethan Hawke, “The Purge”
Brad Pitt, “World War Z”
We're still not quite sure what this category is all about. Change that name, guys. The expletive doesn't make it cool and nominating people like Suraj Sharma just makes the whole thing confusing. Anyway, surely this goes to the heart throb in the summer blockbuster, right?
Prediction: Brad Pitt, “World War Z”
Best Villain
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “Star Trek Into Darkness”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
Mila Kunis, “Oz the Great and Powerful”
Donald Sutherland, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
Tough call. Nothing seems to speak to the demographic like a Tom Hiddleston. Well, the Cumberbitches could come through. Yeah, let's put our chips there.
Prediction: Benedict Cumberbatch, “Star Trek Into Darkness”
Best Musical Moment
Backstreet Boys, Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen & Craig Robinson, “This is the End”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
Melissa McCarthy, “Identity Thief”
Will Poulter, “We're the Millers”
All the Backstreet Boys fans are grown-ups with jobs now, right? But that moment WAS kind of awesome. Jennifer Lawrence singing “Live and Let Die” hardly compares but is likely stiff competition. I'll go with Seth Rogen and the boys because there's involves a joint being lit on a halo.
Prediction: “This is the End”
Best Comedic Performance
Kevin Hart, “Ride Along”
Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Johnny Knoxville, “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”
Melissa McCarthy, “Identity Thief”
Jason Sudeikis, “We're the Millers”
Jonah Hill would be an inspired pick. Johnny Knoxville was pretty amazing and just the right kind of thing here. Kevin Hart is pretty popular as of late and Melissa McCarthy did her usual and is a previous winner. Tough call, but Knoxville feels like the one.
Prediction: Johnny Knoxville, “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”
Best On-Screen Transformation
Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
Orlando Bloom, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
Elizabeth Banks, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
How the heck did they not nominated Knoxville here, too? Wait, I'm trying too hard to rationalize these things. Okay. Well, there's “Hunger Games” again. And heartthrob Orlando Bloom. And Bale with a comb-over and a belly. And a pair of Oscar winners. I'll go with the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman.
Prediction: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Best Fight
Jason Bateman vs. Melissa McCarthy, “Identity Thief”
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson & Sam Claflin vs. Mutant Monkeys, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
Jonah Hill vs. James Franco & Seth Rogen, “This is the End”
Orlando Bloom & Evangeline Lilly vs. Orcs, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
The Cast of “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
This should totally go to “This is the End” but I doubt they'll be that awesome. Wait, wait, there were MUTANT MONKEYS in “Catching Fire?” (No, I haven't seen it yet.) And they ended up in a brawl with the film's stars? How does that not win? But maybe “Anchorman 2” gets some love. That was a centerpiece scene, so I don't know. Brain starting to melt…
Prediction: “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
Best Shirtless Performance
Jennifer Aniston, “We're the Millers”
Sam Claflin, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Zac Efron, “That Awkward Moment”
Chris Hemsworth, “Thor: The Dark World”
MY FAVORITE CATEGORY OMG! Oh, there's a “Hunger Games” guy? I'll predict him.
Prediction: Sam Claflin, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
Best Hero
Henry Cavill, “Man of Steel”
Robert Downey Jr., “Iron Man 3”
Martin Freeman, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
Chris Hemsworth, “Thor: The Dark World”
Channing Tatum, “White House Down”
Martin Freeman is the one in a Movie of the Year nominee and he's also a previous winner in the category who beat out some stiff competition. Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth are in Marvel movies. Henry Cavill is Superman. Channing Tatum is Channing Tatum. Tough call. I'll step out on a limb.
Prediction: Henry Cavill, “Man of Steel”
#WTF Moment
Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd & David Koechner, “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
Cameron Diaz, “The Counselor”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Johnny Knoxville & Jackson Nicoll, “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”
Channing Tatum & Danny McBride, “This is the End”
I mean, “This is the End,” that had to get the biggest pop of the movie. But that “Bad Grandpa” scene (the finale with Nicoll dancing at the beauty contest) was amazing. So, too, was DiCaprio's lude-induced stupor. I'd say it's between those three, so…
Prediction: “This is the End”
Best Cameo
Robert De Niro, “American Hustle”
Amy Poehler & Tina Fey, “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
Rihanna, “This is the End”
Joan Rivers, “Iron Man 3”
Kanye West, “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
It feels like this is between the two pop stars, no? And Rihanna is probably the most popular of the two, right? Or is she? I don't know. Kanye got the funnier bit but Rihanna had a little longer to linger. I suppose it could go to Poehler/Fey but I'll pick the one who'll be performing on the show Sunday.
Prediction: Rihanna, “This is the End”
Breakthrough Performance
Liam James, “The Way, Way Back”
Michael B. Jordan, “Fruitvale Station”
Will Poulter, “We're the Millers”
Margot Robbie, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Miles Teller, “The Spectacular Now”
Michael B. Jordan pulled down a number of wins in similar categories during the Oscar season and would be a pretty inspired pick for the MTV set. But “inspired” isn't always in the cards. “The Spectacular Now” has a certain fan base from novel to screen and there's a Shailene Woodley connection, so I'll go with Miles Teller. (And it would be deserved because he gave one of the best performances of last year.)
Prediction: Miles Teller, “The Spectacular Now”
Best Male Performance
Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Josh Hutcherson, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Bradley Cooper a back-to-back winner for David O. Russell movies? Maybe. Matthew McConaughey joining the exclusive club of crossover Oscar winners? Perhaps. Just another win mopped up by a “Hunger Games” sweep? Entirely possible. I'll go with Leonardo DiCaprio bringing home his third Golden Popcorn.
Prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Best Female Performance
Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Jennifer Aniston, “We're the Millers”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
Lupita Nyong'o, “12 Years a Slave”
One of the few categories “Gravity” was recognized. That's still a little shocking to me. Anyway, chalk this up for Jennifer Lawrence and her third win in the category IN A ROW.
Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
Movie of the Year
“American Hustle”
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
As noted, last year was the first non-“Twilight” year for the show. “The Avengers” was able to dominate as a result. And “Twilight” bested “The Hunger Games” in Bella and Edward's last hurrah back in 2012. So Katniss and her peeps have been shut out of the big category so far. This year, though, unless MTV wants to get real edgy with a “Wolf of Wall Street” win, it seems like the sequel “Catching Fire” is finally the one to beat.
Prediction: “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
There you have it. Tune in Sunday if you dare.