“Wedding Crashers,” “Virgin” top MTV movie list

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two comedies about men who can’t deal
with love — “Wedding Crashers” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” —
topped the list of candidates for MTV’s Movie Awards with five
nominations each, including a bid for best movie.

“The 2006 nominees for the MTV Movie Awards honor wedding
studs, virginal duds, and a host of kissing, brawling and
spell-casting buds,” MTV said on its Web site, inviting readers
to vote for the awards, which will be broadcast on June 8.

The MTV awards annually give fans an irreverent look at the
movies with categories such as best villain, best fight and
sexiest performance. MTV tends to snub the more high-brow films
that dominate the Oscars, and this year was no exception.

Neither Oscar winner “Crash” nor rival “Brokeback Mountain”
made MTV’s list for best movie. Instead the remaining spots
were taken by “Batman Begins,” “King Kong” and “Sin City.”

For the first time, MTV grouped actors and actresses
together in categories instead of separating them by gender.

As a result, Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon was nominated
for best performance for her role in the Johnny Cash biopic
“Walk the Line,” and she will compete against co-star Joaquin
Phoenix, who portrayed Cash in the film.

Others competing in that group include Jake Gyllenhaal for
“Brokeback Mountain,” Rachel McAdams in thriller “Red Eye,”
Terrence Howard for drama “Hustle and Flow” and Steve Carell in
comedy “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”

Carell also was nominated for best comedic performance,
alongside Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, who play two hapless
bachelors in “Wedding Crashers,” Adam Sandler for “The Longest
Yard” and Tyler Perry in “Madea’s Family Reunion.”

The gender-bending categories made for some humorous races.
In the best hero category, Christian Bale of “Batman Begins”
will compete against Kate Beckinsale for “Underworld:
Evolution.”

Sexiest performance has Beyonce Knowles in “The Pink
Panther” and Jessica Alba of “Sin City” taking on scruffy
comedian Rob Schneider in “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo.”

“House of Wax” star and heiress Paris Hilton was nominated
for best frightened performance. “Brokeback Mountain” co-stars
Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are up for best kiss, while
Angelina Jolie and her boyfriend, Brad Pitt, were nominated for
best kiss and best fight in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”

The MTV Movie Awards will be broadcast in the United States
on cable TV network MTV on June 8. The show will be seen in
more than 170 countries and regions around the world.

Reuters/VNU