AwardsWatch

Thursday, May 24------Persians are battling Pirates for top honors at this year's MTV MOVIE AWARDS, which will be held in Los Angeles and broadcast live on June 3. Awards are determined by the audience, who still have another week to vote for their favorites. Simply log on to the website: www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards.

Although this is hardly your mother's Oscar ceremonies (not much dignity and decorum here), the MTV MOVIE AWARDS has an international viewing audience that rivals the Academy Awards, and the stars definitely do show up.....it only increases their street cred to be honored by the MTV crowd.

300 and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST lead the nominations for Best Film, in a list that also includes the Sundance fave  LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, and the Will Ferrel skating farce BLADES OF GLORY. But will any of these blockbuster titles be able to compete with that crazy man from Kazakhstan? BORAT: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan has also been nominated for Best Movie, while star Sacha Baron Cohen has three individual noms: Best Comedic Performance, Best Fight (the infamous wrestling match with Ken Davitian) and Best Kiss (Cohen's smooch with Will Ferrell in his other comedy hit, TALLADEGA NIGHTS).

Not to be outdone, Ferrell himself will be on hand during the ceremony on Sunday, June 3, to battle Baron Cohen in the same four categories. His crotch-slamming ice-skater comedy, BLADES OF GLORY, was nominated for Best Movie, while Ferrell received nominations in the Best Comedic Performance, Best Kiss and Best Fight (for his take-no-prisoners tussle with Jon Heder) categories. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE herself, Abigail Breslin, is competing for Best Breakthrough Performance, in a competitive category that includes: Lena Headey (300), Columbus Short (STOMP THE YARD), Jaden Smith (THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, Justin Timberlake (ALPHA DOG) and Emily Blunt (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA). We can only assume that the 24-year-old Blunt will be wearing Prada when she shows up at the Gibson Amphitheatre to join Baron Cohen and Ferrell in vying for Best Comedic Performance. To pull out a win, she'll also have to take down Adam Sandler (CLICK) and Ben Stiller (NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM), who round out the nominees.

The irresistibly irreverent awards show will be broadcast live for the first time ever on June 3rd and will be hosted by foulmouthed funny lady Sarah Silverman. In televising its Awards Show outside of the traditional awards show season, the MTV MUSIC AWARDS makes its own statement, and also primes interest in the films' ancillary releases on video and dvd. After the hype associated with the Oscar season, it is refreshing to go back and re-evaluate the year's strongest, funniest and most memorable films. And different than the critics, guild or trade show awards, these are a true gauge of what films and performances the film-going public responded to this past year. Remember to vote now online on the website: www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards.

The complete 2007 MTV MOVIE AWARDS nominees:

Best Movie
» "300"
» "Blades of Glory"
» "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"
» "Little Miss Sunshine"
» "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"

Best Performance
» Gerard Butler, "300"
» Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
» Keira Knightley, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
» Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"
» Beyoncé Knowles, "Dreamgirls"
» Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"

Breakthrough Performance
» Emily Blunt, "The Devil Wears Prada"
» Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
» Lena Headey, "300"
» Columbus Short, "Stomp the Yard"
» Jaden Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"
» Justin Timberlake, "Alpha Dog"

Best Comedic Performance
» Emily Blunt, "The Devil Wears Prada"
» Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"
» Will Ferrell, "Blades of Glory"
» Adam Sandler, "Click"
» Ben Stiller, "Night at the Museum"

Best Kiss
» Cameron Diaz & Jude Law, "The Holiday"
» Will Ferrell & Sacha Baron Cohen, "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby"
» Columbus Short & Meagan Good, "Stomp The Yard"
» Mark Wahlberg & Elizabeth Banks, "Invincible"
» Marlon Wayans & Brittany Daniel, "Little Man"

Best Villain
» Tobin Bell, "Saw III"
» Jack Nicholson, "The Departed"
» Bill Nighy, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
» Rodrigo Santoro, "300"
» Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"

Best Fight
» Jack Black & Héctor Jiménez vs. Los Duendes (Wrestling Match), "Nacho Libre"
» Gerard Butler vs. "The Uber Immortal" (The Spartan/Persian Battle), "300"
» Sacha Baron Cohen vs. Ken Davitian (Naked Wrestle Fight), "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"
» Will Ferrell vs. Jon Heder (Ice Rink Fight), "Blades of Glory"
» Uma Thurman vs. Anna Faris (Super Girl Fight), "My Super Ex-Girlfriend"

Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet
» "Evan Almighty" (June 22)
» "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (June 15)
» "Hairspray" (July 20)
» "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (July 13)
» "Rush Hour 3" (August 10)
» "Transformers" (July 4)
» "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" (July 20)
» "The Simpsons Movie" (July 27)

mtvU Best Filmmaker On Campus
» Robert Dastoli, "Southwestern Orange County vs. The Flying Saucers"(University of Central Florida)
» Maria Gigante, "Girls Room" (Columbia College, Chicago)
» Josh Greenbaum, "Border Patrol" (University of Southern California)
» Alexander Poe, "Please Forget I Exist" (Columbia University)
» Andrew Shipsides, "Bottleneck" (Savannah College of Art & Design)

Sandy Mandelberger, Awards Watch Editor