‘Hustle,’ ‘Wolf’ beat ‘Catching Fire’ to lead 2014 MTV Movie Awards nominations

Is it just me or are the MTV Movie Awards trying to be a little more respectable? Yeah, stuff like “Identity Thief” and “We're the Millers” picked up multiple nominations this morning, but prestige Oscar players “American Hustle” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” led the field with eight each, besting even “The Hunger Games.” And Best Picture Oscar winner “12 Years a Slave” is in there for Movie of the Year. Color me surprised, that's all.

No, no one around here is taking the MTV Movie Awards too seriously. I find myself endlessly fascinated by them, though, as a marker for, I don't know, youth progression? The “Twilight” years are thankfully behind us and we can all be happy for that (and boy was it a s**t-show for fans of that franchise when the final installment was mostly snubbed last year). The “Hunger Games” era doesn't seem to be so oppressive, so, hey.

Last year it was “Django Unchained” (along with “Ted”) leading the field. If not youth progression, certainly there seems to be a conscious leaning toward films that straddle the line of prestige and entertainment these last few years. I do miss the days when something like “Se7en” or “Pulp Fiction” or “Menace II Society” could win the big prize at MTV. Maybe we'll get there again.

This year, “This is the End” could have done better with this demo, I think, though it picked up four nominations just like “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and the aforementioned “12 Years a Slave” did. Somehow “Gravity” ended up with just one nomination (Best Female Performance for Sandra Bullock). I would have expected more for such a juggernaut as that, but then there's “Dallas Buyers Club” with four nominations as well. Interesting.

Oscar nominees and/or winners in the bunch include Lupita Nyong'o, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams. And Leonardo DiCaprio is in there FIVE times, for Best Male Performance, Best On-Screen Duo (with Jonah Hill) Best Shirtless Performance (er, okay), Best Musical Moment and #WTF Moment (hashtag theirs). So, by the way, is Michael B. Jordan, in the breakthrough category.

So a pretty varied year. Odds on winners? Dare we bother predicting?

The 23rd annual MTV Movie Awards, hosted by Conan O'Brien, will air Sunday, April 12 on – you guessed it – MTV.

Check out the full list of nominations below and remember it's all backed up at The Circuit.

2014 MTV MOVIE AWARDS NOMINATIONS

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

#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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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”

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