‘Hunger Games’ sweeps MTV awards

LOS ANGELES: The second installment of “The Hunger Games” saga dominated the MTV Movie Awards Sunday, with a best-film trophy and best actor awards for Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence.
Hutcherson accepted the movie of the year trophy on behalf of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” while paying tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in February and played the role Plutarch Heavensbee in the dystopian film series.
“I know that if Phillip were here, he would really think that this is very cool,” Hutcherson said.
Hutcherson also took home the trophy for best male performance, while co-star Jennifer Lawrence, who was not present, won for best female.
Both also won in 2012 for the first movie in the series, and Lawrence had previously won in 2013 for “Silver Linings Playbook.”
The MTV Movie Awards, hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien in Los Angeles, were based on public voting.
Plenty of golden popcorn-shaped prizes were handed out at the 22nd annual MTV Movie Awards, but it was the summer movie teasers — and the stars attached to them — that really had Hollywood excited.
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx, stars of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” coming May 2, introduced a brief clip of the film showing Spider-Man (Garfield) and the sparkling blue villain Electro (Foxx) battling in New York’s Times Square.
The ceremony, famous for its off-the-wall award categories, passed out accolades for best kiss, best shirtless performance and best “#wtf moment,” among others.
Leonardo DiCaprio won best “#wtf moment” for a scene from “The Wolf of Wall Street,” in which his drugged-out character drags himself to his car, unable to walk.
Best shirtless performance was won by Zac Efron, who had his shirt ripped off in a clearly staged stunt while he accepted the award for a bare-chested scene in “That Awkward Moment.”
Studios use the ceremony — which falls after the winter’s Golden Globe and Oscar awards — to promote forthcoming summer blockbusters.
The night’s young target audience was hit with trailers and appearances by stars such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who presented a trophy and will appear in “Godzilla,” out this May.
Among the evening’s other winners were Jared Leto, Mark Wahlberg, Channing Tatum, Rihanna, Brad Pitt, Mila Kunis and Orlando Bloom.
Other contenders for movie of the year were “12 Years a Slave,” “American Hustle,” “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Earlier in the evening, Amanda Seyfried had trouble reading the teleprompter, blaming it on not wearing her contacts. “So far this is going about as well as the Oscars,” said her co-presenter Seth MacFarlane — referencing his 2013 Academy Award hosting gig — before the pair presented Hill with his award for best comedic performance for “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Hill’s initial thanks went to all of his friends with whom he used to watch the show back home before making it to the ceremony himself.