MTV Movie Awards, A Surprising History
Last week was the 2015 MTV Movie Awards. The ceremony is usually considered a big joke. Blockbusters get the top prize, there are awards for things like "Best Kiss", (Which was even referenced in Tropic Thunder) and then there were those years in which Twilight hungrily sucked awards dry like the insatiable hungry vampire that Twilight managed to feature none of. But for all the satire, for all the poop jokes and gay jokes and jokes told by Rebel Wilson, I think there's something inherently special about the MTV Awards. The Oscars have become more and more intoned to their own sensibilities, and are obliged to award importance. The People's Choice Awards are supposed to be a populist counter to this, but they tend largely concentrate on household names, whether the works show any evidence of popularity or not. The MTV Movie Awards, for all their irreverence, take a wide encompassing look at film and judge movies on the same terms, so that titles like Schindler's List and Armageddon are up for the same categories. They establish which movies are actually leaving an imprint on popular culture. No hemming and hawing about legacy. In this way, I think the MTV Movie Awards are one of the most reliable time capsules.
1992
Backdraft
Boyz n the Hood
JFK
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Average Box Office: 115 mllion
Average Tomatometer: 78%
Snubs: Perhaps the most obvious one is Silence of the Lambs, which was more successful than JFK both with awards bodies and audiences. It's very likely, however, as the awards were just starting to gel, that it was ineligible/forgotten about due to the movie's very early release. (Lambs came out in February of 1991, and movies from as recently as that year's March can be nominated for Emtees) Actually, with Beauty and The Beast as another big movie that was on the Academy's shortlist, the box office averages for Oscars and MTV Awards respectively, weren't too far apart. (About 24 million or so)
Perhaps the most surprising nominee is Backdraft, which I'm not sure is very well remembered. Terminator 2 ended up winning, a fitting inaugural winner, as it's a prototypical yet well-executed summer blockbuster--the exact kind of movie meant to represent the"Anti-Oscars" the MTV Movie Awards were ostensibly created as. This would be a bit of an outlier, as Terminator 2 would be the only sequel nominated until 2000, and the only sequel to win until 2003 with Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. By that point, franchise movies would be pretty common. In fact, it would be almost ten years before a "typical" summer blockbuster would win this again. (And even then, Gladiator is somewhat atypical) With three blockbuster type movies, an acclaimed but edgy "urban picture", and a requisite Best Picture nominee, this is what many people like picture when bringing up the MTV Movie Awards.
1993
Aladdin
Basic Instinct
The Bodyguard
A Few Good Men
Malcom X
Average Box Office: 128
Average Tomatometer: 70%
Snubs: Perhaps most notably Wayne's World, a huge success, icon of the MTV generation, and a large reason why Saturday Night Live became known as a movie star factory again. Funny enough, wacky comedies were not a huge staple of the early MTV Awards, and we wouldn't see the regular "guy comedy" until Myers's own Austin Powers came out. A lot of this probably had to do with most of the big name funnymen like Murray, Murphy and Martin aging, and often playing roles to reflect that. In short, comedy blockbusters were not "cool" in this era.
The bad reviews of Basic Instinct and The Bodyguard bring it down, though it's hard to deny they're still remembered even today. Kevin Costner is the first to accomplish the hat trick, as it is, he ended up getting three movies in the mix, which puts him on par with Tom Cruise and Will Smith. It's amazing to ponder how he was such the biggest star in the late eighties and early nineties, and then seemed to collapse in the Clinton era. Perhaps most surprising is the inclusion is Aladdin. Not in and of itself--it was a popular, acclaimed movie. But it's the only "Disney Renaissance" kid to be nominated, and it's perhaps the one with the least devoted fanbase. Funny enough, none of the nominees were released during the summer, even though this ceremony seems to exist largely to celebrate (and promote) summer movies. Already, the late prestige entrees are hogging the spotlight. Malcolm X fits in the "Edgy, African-American" slot, although it's a bit unique in being a three hour period piece.
1994
The Fugitive
Jurassic Park
Menace II Society
Philadelphia
Schindler's List
Average Box Office: 148 million
Average Tomatometer Score: 89%
Snubs: Nothing super glaring. A lot of the big hits that year skewed older (In the Line of Fire) or younger. (Mrs. Doubtfire) It wasn't a year of movies that were particularly "hip". I think the only miss that may have been in this "sweet spot" was Sleepless in Seattle, and romantic comedies have, believe it or not, never been strong here.
Now we're at a point where the awards show that was supposed to be a parody of the Oscars is nominating three legit Oscar nominees, including Schindler's List, which has become the shorthand for "serious movie". In fact, this would be the best reviewed pack of movies in the awards' history. . Philadelphia is perhaps even more surprising, since it wasn't as high profile. In any case, this wasn't a super-hip year for movies (as opposed to the next year, which would bleed of Gen Xness.) What ended up winning was Menace II Society, which is surprising considering what a generational touchstone Jurassic Park is. It would be the lowest grossing movie to be nominated until Whiplash in 2015, and lowest winner overall. MTV viewers were clearly making a statement. Sadly, this was a last hurrah. The 90's would see a major gentrification in the movie business, and we wouldn't see movies of this ilk pop up for a while.
1995
The Crow
Forrest Gump
Interview With a Vampire
Pulp Fiction
Speed
Average Box Office: 142 million
Average Tomatometer Score: 80%
Snubs: 1994 was Jim Carrey's breakthrough year, with three runaways successes; Dumb and Dumber, the Mask, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. He would be consistently nominated for the next seven years, and win an award for one performance or another for the rest of the decade. However, even with three movies to choose from, none of them made the short list. Also, missing was True Lies, despite its success, and James Cameron always knowing what the kids want. Perhaps the domestic angle made it a little less appealing to MTV's audience--this would be a pattern from here on in; While established stars would be very popular for dramas, action movies were largely for the new meat.
You could say this is where the 90's were really beginning to establish themselves stylistically, and it shows here. Speed, Pulp Fiction, The Crow, and Brad Pitt with long hair are all things people think of when they think of the 90's. The Crow would be the first comic book adaptation to be included, and the only one of the decade. (And even then, The Crow is more a part of goth culture than comic book culture per se) Even though it is evident the MTV crowd liked Forrest Gump quite a bit, they preferred Pulp Fiction, showing even when they respected prestige, they would always be a little more dangerous.
1996
Braveheart
Clueless
Dangerous Minds
Seven
Average Box Office: 92 million
Average Tomatometer: 72
Snubs: Perhaps, Toy Story. Animated movies have a bit of a hard time getting in, but one would think the novelty/high tech aspect would be enough to override the "Kid's Stuff" bias. Goldeneye not getting is perhaps a bit ironic, considering in a couple years it would be a legendary video game. However, as with Batman Forever and Die Hard With a Vengeance, it seems MTV would shy away from franchises they were not on the ground floor for.
This would be the only time the average box office was below 100 million dollars. It was actually a somewhat weak year, commercially, as it would be the last time no movie made more than 200 million dollars. (And that will probably remain the case until the entire movie cinemati industry collapses) Clueless would be the first comedy to be included, and along with Dangerous Minds, the first movie to have a high school setting. The MTV Awards are not the Teen Choice Awards, and youth is not a prerequisite for getting nominated, although if a movie is iconic in its own right and is set in high school, it's practically shoe-in. On that note, Dangerous Minds would be somewhat in the vein of the previous urban violence movies, (It even had the popular Coolio song) but it was a sanitized, white savior movie. This is also one of the few times only two movies made 100 million, (and one barely at that) though it wouldn't be the last. The Oscars that year was a battle between Apollo 13 and Braveheart, but MTV viewers went with the third option of Se7en, which has actually grown in stature over time (Probably in small part to David Fincher's oeuvre)
1997
Jerry Maguire
Independence Day
Romeo + Juliet
The Rock
Scream
Average Box Office: 130 million
Average Tomatometer: 72%
Snubs: Twister was a big hit at the time, but I think we all know that Independence Day made it yesterday's news. Mission Impossible losing out was perhaps a bit surprising, especially considering the previous ceremony lampooned it. As a matter of fact, the first three Mission: Impossible movies were all parodied on the show, and Cruise himself even won for one of the movies, but for some reason, the movies themselves would never make the cut.
Because the Oscars went all indie and super serious in 1996, we only have one Best Picture nominee. This was also something of a transitional year. These would be the first Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, and Nicholas Cage's movies to get nominated, but the last of Tom Cruise's. Cruise would remain popular enough to be nominated as an individual, but his movies would stop being cultural phenomenon. I don't know if this says something about the awards, or where we were in the 90's, but Cruise's attempt to get onboard with more action and sci-fi movies never seemed to excite the MTV kids the way his dramas have. Note the presence of Scream. That movie, perhaps much more than Clueless, is what created the cottage industry of teen stars that would be start to become prominent for pop culture in general, and the MTV Awards in particular. It would also be the only horror movie to win--horror movies are actually quite rare Best Movie nominees, even though they're a staple of teen culture.
1998
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Face/Off
Good Will Hunting
Men in Black
Titanic
Average Box Office Score: 185 million
Average Tomatometer: 87%
Snubs: The closest I can think is I Know What You Did Last Summer, and even then, it's not a glaring omission. Perhaps My Best Friend's Wedding, but the MTV people like their romances more angsty. A lot of the typical blockbusters that year were disappointing sequels,. Boogie Nights might have made it in a different era, but the movie wasn't a huge hit and the porn industry subject matter may have been a little too hot even for MTV to handle.
With Titanic picking up a record Oscar tally, and Leomania in full swing, this was a year where commerce, prestige, and youth culture all formed a Venn diagram that was simply a circle. Titanic would be the first time it matched the Academy Award for Best Picture (and would do so again twice in the next five years) And for good measure, there was Good Will Hunting, another blockbuster Oscar darling (Managing two Oscar wins the year Titanic came out is "a darling") starring Matt Damon, who was Leo for those who wanted someone a little brainier and approachable. Perhaps the teen boom of the late nineties was strong because there were actual tiers of legitimacy. (Witness the Jennifer Lawrence storm more than a decade later) This was probably also one of the first signs that Austin Powers was a bigger phenomenon than his moderate box office would attest.
1999
Armageddon
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love
There's Something About Mary
The Truman Show
Average Box Office: 163 million
Average Tomatometer: 80%
Snubs: I would think the biggest one would be Rush Hour, considering what a sleeper hit that was, and that the movies are amongst the most successful movies with no white lead actors. The Waterboy also missed out, though by this point it should be evident comedy stars weirdly don't see their breakout successes get Movie of the Year.
This would be at the high point of MTV aligning with the mainstream reception. Three of the movies nominated would also be the three top earners of the year. This would happen only two more times*. The winner was There's Something About Mary, which would be the first bawdy megahit to be nominated, something that would become a staple. This would be the last time Tom Hanks would see one of his movies nominated in this category, after being in four "movie of the year" nominees. Hanks is an interesting figure--a man who became a superstar not through being a sex symbol, or punching bad guys, even ribald comedy (though he's had many successes in the comedy genre) but as what the public perceived as a walking seal of quality. It was inevitable he would age out of the demographic, but it really displays what a different time the 90's was. The Truman Show is also Carrey's only movie to be nominated for best movie, despite being an awards hog. I think in a way, that's Vintage MTV Movie Awards--a movie with substance fronted by a star best known for making voices come out of his butt.
2000
American Beauty
American Pie
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
The Matrix
The Sixth Sense
Average Box Office: 180 million
Average Tomatometer: 74%
Snubs: 1999 was considered a fantastic, cutting edge year with films like Magnolia, Being John Malcovitch and Fight Club, although none of them were huge, immediate successes. 10 Things I Hate About You has gone on to be a staple for high school girls, but we already had high school representation with American Pie. I suppose the real cinematic phenomenon that missed out was Blair Witch Project, but with The Sixth Sense coming along and eating its lunch, the Blair Witch backlash might have already set in.
With all the subpar sequels, imitators, and follow-ups, it's easy to forget how logical this list seemed at the time, and how in way, they were genuine sensations that countered more aggressive and hyped blockbusters like Wild, Wild West and The Phantom Menace, with Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me being the only truly high profile movie when it all began. On that note, we now have the first sequel to be nominated for "movie of the year" in eight years. The climate of Hollywood was changing and franchises would become inescapable, as a sequel would be nominated every year, except arguably one. Also, The Matrix would be the first sci-fi movie to take the prize since Terminator 2. Sci-Fi/Fantasy films would turn hits here and there, but they didn't have the reputation for being hip or good, whereas now "teen movie" and "sci-fi movie" are currently joined at the hip. Also, American Beauty is now viewed as some kind of chaenery, but it did hit the teen angst button squarely where it lived, to the point it was seen ripe for parody in Not Another Teen Movie
2001
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Erin Brocavich
Gladiator
Hannibal
X-Men
Average Box Office: 152 million
Average Tomatometer: 75%
Snubs: To hear some fans say it, Almost Famous, but let's face it, that was one of the great fizzles of the Dreamworks era. Castaway--it's an extremely iconic movie, and at the time made almost a quarter of a billion dollars, which doesn't seem like something at all that could happen today, but as mentioned before, Tom Hanks was probably graduating to a different level of stardom (and it seems MTV voters don't like one man shows, as we'd find later). Charlie's Angels may have been super-hyped, but does anybody really think about that movie anymore? The biggest snub may have been Scary Movie, as wild, runaway comedies have started to become a staple here. But few people probably have a problem with it missing out.
A lot of headlines at the time remarked "Do these guys think they're the Oscars or something", although multiple best picture nominees weren't uncommon. After this, however, we would spend the rest of the decade with only one of the Honors Club invited to the keggar that is MTV. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon shows what a true crossover hit it was. Erin Brocavich fills the quota that every A-Lister has to have at least one movie nominated. (Osncreen heartthrobs who haven't yet--Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, George Clooney and Ryan Gosling) X-Men would be the first Marvel comic to make the category, and they would be a fairly consistent presence, with seven movies over fifteen years. Comic book films would become synonymous with millennial blockbusters, and though they'd show up here a lot, they wouldn't be automatic , and in fact, the first X-Men has the lowest reviews and box office of any superhero movie nominated in this category. The biggest surprise has to be Hannibal, which was a big hit, but greeted with a mixed reception. This would be indicative of a problem the MTV movie awards would have--the eligibility timeline isn't in a typical calendar year, but from spring to spring. This means the base, not known for its attention span (hell, the real Oscars aren't known for their attention span) would list favorite movies from recent months. That January to March are known as housecleaning months, this means crappy, rather transitive movies will be on the voters' minds. So as often than not the Awards will get a spring "How did that get in there?!" nominee.
2002
Blackhawk Down
Fast and the Furious
Legally Blonde
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Shrek
Average Box Office: 185 Million
Average Tomatometer: 75%
Snubs: A Beautiful Mind would be the highest grossing Best Picture Winner to not even be nominated, (and the first winner not to be nominated since 1996, where the nominee was the much less commercial The English Patient) but it's easy to see how it would miss out. While Pearl Harbor missing out isn't a travesty, that a war movie which felt so tailored to the MTV audience probably felt like a slap in the face. Let's talk about Moulin Rouge! the first cinematic, live-action, song-and dance musical for the MTV generation. It missed out, and almost every single entry in that genre would miss out, despite any legit pop musician credentials, (Dreamgirls) actors in with that generation, (Hairpsray) or overall success. (Chicago) They just wouldn't take. I guess the "Music" in "MTV" isn't a considered a misnomer for nothing. Harry Potter's first cinematic outing would be overlooked, and the series pretty much for the entire decade. It makes sense, as the series skewed younger and was less action-packed than the Lord of the Rings movies, but that would eventually change.
This would be the first year since 1997 which saw only one movie that was also nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. (although one of them was nominated for Best Director, and another won Best Animated Feature, so it wasn't a complete schism) In 1997 this was an anomoly-here it was a precedent. Shrek would be the first animated feature since Aladdin to be nominated, and the first computer generated film to so. At the time, the technique was actually considered fresh, with only six CGI-animated features. (anyone remember Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within?) They're so ubiquitous, and Dreamworks in particular considered so mercenary, it's hard to believe there was a time Shrek was considered a breath of fresh air, but it was. Fast and The Furious seemed like an odd, disposable hit, but it turned into a generation-spanning franchise. Legally Blonde would be one of the few explicitly feminine movies to be nominated, and was the only movie here not to make 100 million, (though it came close, and probably sold more tickets than many of today's blockbusters) but funny enough, it would be adapted into a musical, the making-of show airing on MTV.
2003
8 Mile
Barbershop
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Ring
Spider-Man
Average Box Office: 212 million
Average Tomatometer: 83%
Snubs: Possibly Catch Me If You Can, as it was Leonardo DiCaprio's first post-Titanic movie to be a real hit. Signs would be a believable movie here. In retrospect, it seems strange The Bourne Identity nor any of its sequels would make it in. 2002 would be the most attended movie year since the 1950's, but (or because) it appealed to a large range of audiences, and not a lot of them were the edgier, acerbic movies that tended to get nominated here.
8 Mile would seem an obvious choice for an award with "MTV" in its title, but music-based movies aren't super common. Still, the movie was such a hit, and Curtis Hanson had a lot of goodwill at the time, it's a hard choice to argue with. The Ring would be the third or fourth "scary movie" depending on how you classify Interview With a Vampire, and it would be another horror movie that was a bit of a trendsetter. (That is, remakes of Japanese horror movies) The oddest choice is Barbershop, as it was moderate hit and left little of a cultural footprint (Though its reviews were a lot better than you might realize). Perhaps it's a testament to the racial hegemony that had worsened in Hollywood in the last ten years, and MTV's black audience having little to choose from. In many ways, Spider-Man was the bigger cultural event, but Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won. This would be the second sequel to win since Terminator 2 claimed the inaugural prize, and the first time a film franchise claimed more than one. While few would begrudge Two Towers the win, (It's widely considered the best movie n the category) it would foreshadow the franchise monopolies that would categorize the nominations from now on, and the power of dedicated fanbases with access to the internet.
2004
50 First Dates
Finding Nemo
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
X2: X-Men United
Average Box Office: 271 Perecent
Average Tomatometer: 80%
Snubs: 2003 was a weird year in that it produced a lot of surprise successes, but also a lot of sure things that left a bad taste in fans' mouths. On the box office charts, one has to go all the way to School of Rock to find something that was A) Well-received, and B) Appealed to the young adult audience at all. Perhaps the biggest would be Kill Bill, considering Part 2 would be nominated, and the first one is the much more referenced movie.
And here we have it. Two sequels nominated for Movie of the Year. It wouldn't be the last. It's hard to condemn their choices--X2 and and Return of the King are both considered fine movies, and especially fine blockbusters. If anything, this is a big reason for today's franchise culture. They're so prevalent because filmmakers actually put extra care in it for the fans. Return of the King marks the first time three movies from a series have been nominated, and it would hold the record for a while. It's also the last time the the Best Picture winner would also win here. (There would even be a five year hiatus on them being nominated) 50 First Dates is Adam Sandler's first and only film to be nominated, which is pretty common for comedy icons who aren't Mike Myers. This was technically a 2004 release, so it probably was fresh on moviegoers' minds, but it is considered best straight-up Sandler movie since he became a blockbuster machine. Notice that the average box office is surpassing 250 million--some of it is a testament to inflation, but it's also because there would be handful of 300 million grossers in any given year.
2005
The Incredibles
Kill Bill: Volume 2
Napoleon Dynamite
Ray
Spider-Man 2
Average Box Office: 163 Million
Average Tomatometer: 85%
Snubs: Anchorman, The Notebook, and Mean Girls weren't huge blockbusters when they came out, but all three are also considered huge, career making touchstones. Anchorman and Mean Girls are probably the most quoted movies of the 2000's, and The Notebook is, for better or worse, the standard for millennial date movies. It seems strange all three would be locked out, considering this wasn't a blockbuster heavy lineup.
The Incredibles would be the second, and last Pixar move to be nominated here. This was the peak of Pixar's heat as a standard of quality and box office clout. Cars would be the next movie to be released, and that probably dinged Pixar's street cred in no small part. They would have successful, and acclaimed movies after this, but this probably where intense anticipation for their releases crested. Ray seems like an odd choice, as it was only a moderate hit, and it was considered decent, but standard biopic fare, and it's not like Ray Charles would have some end-of-life MTV relevance like Johnny Cash did. Perhaps once, again, this was MTV's African American contingent clinging to something in the medium that seemed to abandon them. The big story this year, however, was Napoleon Dynamite. One of the smaller movies to be nominated, and weirder, it was also released by MTV Pictures, and released by the Viacom family. It's nice to have independent cinema, but for those who take this seriously (which is, you know, almost nobody) this smacked of corporate synergy.
2006
40 Year Old Virgin
Batman Begins
King Kong
Sin City
Wedding Crashers
Average Box Office: 163 million
Average Tomatometer: 81%
Snubs: Brokeback Mountain seems odd, considering its cast was in the demographic sweet spot, and that MTV will gravitate towards Oscar movies with contemporary social issues and a bit of controversy. Likewise, after nominating musical biopics, Walk the Line also got shut out. Perhaps MTV was not receptive to a country western setting.
This would be the first time in the history of the MTV Awards that no Best Picture nominee from the Oscars carried over here. This would also be the first time in six years that no sequels were nominated. (Although two fall under the category of "reboot"/"remake") Over at the Oscars, this would be the first time since the 80's no nominee had made over 100 million. On the box office side, the years was a downturn in attendance, halting a commercial winning streak Hollywood had been on. As a result, this was a very weird year. This lineup is actually, on average, one of the more critically acclaimed, but in a lot ways, be it the start of Nolan's legendary Batman trilogy, the technical aspects of Sin City, or Judd Apatow's rise as a comedy godfather, this collection of movies is more notable for what they led to than what they were.
2007
300
Borat
Blades of Glory
Little Miss Sunshine
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Average Box Office: 187
Average Tomatometer: 73
Snubs: The Departed. At this point, Leonardo DiCapro had not had one of movies nominated for almost a decade. Not surprising, once the audience outgrows you, they outgrow you. But it was still a popular, acclaimed movie with an all-star cast. It probably wouldn't seem so strange if not for Little Miss Sunshine, which seemed to represent the Oscar set, and that 2006 wasn't bursting at the seam with choices.
Having a movie from spring instead of the previous year was now pretty common, but this year, there were two, which I think says a lot about how dire Hollywood's 2006 output was. The second Pirates of the Caribbean was the summer movie, kind of by default, and it would be the worst-reviewed winner here so far. Note that four of these five movies are comedies, and the jury is out on 300 . Blades of Glory would be Will Ferrell's sole Best Movie nom, and it's something of an odd-choice--it's considered decent Will Ferrell in Will Ferrell mode, but it's much more forgotten than his collaborations with Adam McKay. Talladega Nights was a much bigger hit, but MTV seems to stay away from Middle American aesthetic when possible.
2008
Juno
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Superbad
Transformers
Average Box Office: 227 million
Average Tomatometer: 64%
Snubs: Historically, the MTV Awards tend not to nominate movies that were sequels, when their predecessors were also not nominated. So one would normally not expect Bourne Ultimatum to make it in. However, considering it was lauded as an achievement in not having a terrible third movie, how the series represented the "new school" of action movies, and that they got on the National Treasure train of all things, its miss here is quite glaring.
Twilight is talked about as the "dark age" for the MTV Awards, but this lineup is the critical nadir, with the only the one-two punch from Michael Cera keeping this assortment afloat. Say what you will about Twilight films, they were a genuine cultural phenomenon, with a young cast. National Treasure 2 and I Am Legend were almost forgotten as soon as they left theaters, and it's not like either were so good that one would say "This year was truly a six movie banner year!". Likewise, as much as people talk about the Twilight steamroller, before that, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was getting a bit of a free ride here. There's also some belief that Transformers won on the strength of being part of the Viacom arm (it won "best move you haven't seen yet" the year before) The ceremony, such as it was, became a promotional tool, and was outright blatant about it at this point. It's very funny, because 2007 is widely talked about as a great year for cinema, but for popcorn flicks, film culture was never more galvanized.
2009
The Dark Knight
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
Twilight
Average Box Office: 254 million
Average Tomatometer Score: 78%
Snubs: Wanted might have been a good chance to Angelina Jolie a movie here, (She is probably the biggest star to have a movie that's neither been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars or in this category) and it might have been an interesting bit of a meta to nominate Tropic Thunder.
And here we are, the first Twilight movie nominated. It was somewhat under the radar , but once it won, it became a lightning rod for backlash (particularly from fans of The Dark Knight). For the next few years, Twilight, and MTV's relationship with it would be a bit of a punching bag. Corporate synergy? Pandering to a crowd who would tune in to see Pattinson and Stewart collect "Best Kiss" (perhaps the most famous of MTV's categories). In any case, "Young Adult" movies would dominate the awards from her on out, even while also gravitating towards prestige fare again. (Slumdog Millionaire would be the First Best picture winner in five years to even be nominated) What's overshadowed is High School Musical 3, another teen phenomenon, and one that originated from The Disney Channel. In other news, for the first time we see two superhero movies nominated in the same year, though they're both pretty logical choices, and perhaps the two movies best loved by people not normally into superhero movies. By the way, with Iron Man, this would mark Gwyneth Paltrow's third movie, the most for any female movie star until the 2010's came along. For someone with a reputation for being out of touch, Paltrow does have a knack for choosing populist projects every now and again.
2010
Alice in Wonderland
Avatar
The Hangover
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Twilight: New Moon
Average Box Office: 391 million
Average Tomatometer: 65%
Snubs: Inglourious Basterds, considering Tarantino is a reasonably popular director here, and that movie cemented him as just not a cult figure, but one of prominents. One might also say Star Trek missed out, as it was one of those "refreshing, brisk" blockbusters like Pirates and Iron Man. It seems Batman aside, the MTV crowd tended not to give the top prizes for reboots. Precious was also a reasonably iconic movie with an urban bent, but alas, the Johnny Depp movie was too fresh in viewers' minds.
This is the first Harry Potter movie to be nominated, after seeing the previous five fail to make the cut. It may be possible that the ostensible target audience finally grew up to MTV age, or the stars were grown up and now palatable sex symbols. Perhaps with Twilight becoming the Yankees of MTV Awards, its rival franchise needed to be the Red Sox. In any case, Harry Potter would finally and permanently become a fixture here for the rest of its duration. After a spike from last year, the average reviews for the movie drops ten percent. Twilight didn't help, but perhaps it was Johnny Depp holding this thing back, not the Cullens?
2011
Black Swan
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
The Social Network
Twilight: Eclipse
Average Box Office: 217 million
Average Tomatometer Score: 79
Snubs: We've been over this, but it looks like Toy Story still never gets any love. At this point, CGI animated films haven't appeared in this pedigree for some six years.
For the first time since 2000, three movies that were nominated for best picture were nominated here. Just the year before, the field was expanded to ten nominees, and that had to help, but Black Swan, Social Network and Inception were all considered legitimate Best Picture possibilities. It seems our long national nightmare of serious movies not having commercial appeal was now over. The YA craze was in full force, however, making an interesting juxtaposition.
2012
Bridesmaids
The Hunger Games
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
The Help
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Average Box Office: 281 million
Average Tomatometer: 74%
Snubs: The Planet of the Apes was another successful reboot, but we've been down this route before. Thor and Captain America were both very successful and well received, but comic books movies need to have a real event status to get in. Otherwise, no huge snubs. The Oscars were a little less commercial, and there weren't a lot of runaway his on the blockbuster side.
Now we're at peak Young Adult, with the three big franchises all competing with each other, as Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games are all at the same table. You have no idea what a historic moment this is. Twilight would win, of course, but The Hunger Games was definitely breathing down its neck. A somewhat odd choice is The Help--Oscar fare is not unwelcome here, but it's usually edgier stuff. Maybe it was because it was originally a vehicle for Emma Stone, who was briefly Jennifer Lawrence before Jennifer Lawrence. That, or the fecal pastry wouldn't be completely out of place in the raunchy comedies that routinely make it here. On that note, with Bridesmaids, we would see four movies starring women. Not to mention many Hermione is sometimes considered the real hero of the Harry Potter saga, making this a very estrogen-driven slate.
2013
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
Average Box Office: 316 million
Average Tomatometer: 85%
Snubs: Nothing particularly glaring--21 Jump Street, Argo, Skyfall and Les Miserables all could have been nominated, but none of them broke too much precedent being left out. Magic Mike maybe, (Channing Tatum is a darling of the current generation), although for all the movie's buzz, people who watch it find it to be kind of low key and somewhat depressing. Oh, there was one major snub, one that actually made the press.
After completely dominating the MTV Movie Awards where they almost existed merely as a victory lap for the Twilight franchise, the final chapter in "The Saga" was left out. It's hard to argue with the movies that made it in. But why the shut-out now, at the moment its grand finale? Perhaps with the Hunger Games coming along, Twilight felt like yesterday's news. It's possible that with Kristen Stewart making headlines with her personal life, and the split with Robert Pattinson, (which had been a large part of the media cycles to promote the films) fans were soured on the series. We don't know how exactly the nomination process works, but MTV might have scuttled it aside, knowing it wasn't going to be a cash cow, that its stars would not feel obligated to show up, meanwhile more fecund (and less press-averse) stars of new hotness like The Hunger Games and Avengers were in tow. Anyways, it's another rather typical lineup--the year's biggest hit, the youth-fronted prestige movie, the raunchy comedy. Avengers would be the first comic book movie to win the top prize, and would be short respite from the YA genre dominating.
2014
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Wolf of Wall Street
Average Box Office: 200 million
Average Tomatometer: 85%
Snubs: Definitely Gravity. In fact, I would consider this one of the most shocking omissions in the award's history. With all the Oscar movies they did pick, it seems strange they missed on the most commercial, special-effects intensive one. Is George Clooney poison for this sort of award? Picking too many Oscar movies would make them feel like they were putting on airs? Perhaps the younger audience didn't care for the minimalist story structure. (Compared to the sprawling casts of the other films) One can make the argument that Frozen was overlooked--it was a kid's movie, but one with a very undeniable cultural penetration.
For the first time in twenty years, no summer movie was even nominated (And neither are the two alternates I suggest). 12 Years a Slave was particularly surprising to people, as it's considered one of the best movies that's the least entertaining to watch. However, it does harken back to the early days of MTV Awards, where they gravitated towards this kind of fare, and the movie's unrelenting nature probably gave it "badass" cred. Wolf of Wall Street also seems like interesting subject matter, but it is a raunchy comedy, just one that happened to be directed by Martin Scorsese This also marks Leonardo DiCaprio's fifth move to get nominated here, pretty much a record for any actor without having to reprise his or her role. (Orlando Bloom has been in eight, but it's a lot of sequels and smaller parts) It's very interesting that after largely sitting out on the 2000's, DiCaprio has made it back in a big way. I don't know if it's because Titanic's popularity with young girls is evergreen, or DiCaprio has become something of a latter day Tom Hanks--not a heatthrob per se, but somebody audiences trust with their dollar. American Hustle shows just how much Jennifer Lawrence is the darling of her generation--almost every movie of her's post X-Men has been nominated here. The weirdest nomination is Smaug, considering the first Hobbit movie was skipped over, and it actually made less than Gravity. However, back in the day, the Lord of the Rings movies were pretty huge with this crowd back in the day, and as Smaug is considered the best move in this trilogy, it was the only chance to throw it a bone.
2015
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Fault in Our Stars
Gone Girl
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Selma
Whiplash
Average Box Office: 174 million
Average Tomatometer: 86%
Snubs: Perhaps X-Men: Days of the Future Past, due to it being considered the best in the series, and the presence of JLaw, but it is an aging franchise, and with another Jennifer Lawrence dystopia AND another Marvel comics movie in the mix, it's hard to keep up. 2014 in general was considered an above average year for blockbuster-type movies, with Interstellar, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Edge of Tomorrow, but believe it or not, "solid blockbuster" isn't always enough.
It looks like the MTV Awards finally expanded its field in the wake of the Academy's. It's something of a game to play "What the real five best picture nominees are" with the Oscars, so what would it look like here? I would be confident in Guardians, American Sniper, and seeing how it won, Fault in Our Stars. It's also very likely the newest Hunger Games movie would make it in. So what's the fifth? Gone Girl was a big hit, but adult thrillers aren't usually popular here. Whiplash is the lowest grossing picture in this category, even taking inflation into account. Boyhood was an Oscar frontrunner for a while, but it didn't even win. I would go with Selma, pretty much on the basis of African American period pieces often having a place at the MTV Awards. Because it they let three whole indies in, and because 2014 was a box office down year, it had the lowest overall box office average since the 90's, but it also had the highest critical average since the 90's. For all we make fun of youths and their love of novels about sad teens with powers, young people are actually quite capable of recognizing quality, and don't always fall for the hype machine as we assume. It's not certain how much the MTV Movie Awards will go on, but for all the jokes about kisses and shirtless scenes, it's a pretty savvy crowd. Except for the later half of the 2000's. Man, that nostalgia revival is going to be tough to deal with.
