Shailene Woodley accepts the best female performance award at the MTV Movie Awards at the Nokia Theatre on Sunday, April 12, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
LOS ANGELES— The emotional teen drama “The Fault in Our Stars” picked up the best movie of the year award at the MTV Movie Awards Sunday, adding to a big night for star Shailene Woodley.
The irreverent show doled out such cheeky honors as best kiss and best shirtless performance, but it also served as an unofficial promotional platform for the upcoming blockbuster season. Winners included Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lopez, Channing Tatum, and “Neighbors” co-stars Dave Franco and Zac Efron.
Woodley, who picked up one of the first awards of the night for best female performance in “The Fault in Our Stars” in addition to the Trailblazer Award and best kiss (with Ansel Elgort), gave an emotional speech dedicated to the book’s author, John Green.
“He gave this world a beautiful masterpiece,” she said directly to Green, who was seated in the audience. Woodley said that the book changed her life when she read it and that his words will transcend the test of time.
Lopez won for best scared-as-s–t performance in the campy thriller “The Boy Next Door.”
Tatum, who danced on stage with his co-stars from the upcoming “Magic Mike XXL” while presenting the award to Lopez, went on to win a prize of his own for best comedic performance in “22 Jump Street.”
“It’s unfair for me to get an award for just hanging out with my buddy Jonah (Hill),” he said.
Cooper, who won best male performance for portraying the late Chris Kyle in “American Sniper,” thanked the audience for making the film such a big success and bringing attention to the plight of the soldiers.
“Chris Kyle would have turned 41 four days ago. Chris, this is for you,” said Cooper.
Popular films such as Marvel space adventure “Guardians of the Galaxy” competed for the fan-voted Golden Popcorn statuettes. In addition to the kiss and shirtless categories, other wacky awards included best villain, and best WTF moment. Vin Diesel, Sofia Vergara and Mark Wahlberg were among the presenters.
Host Amy Schumer, still a rising comedian, joked at the outset that, “half of you don’t know who I am and half of you think I’m Meghan Trainor,” she said, referring to the “All About that Bass” singer, before poking fun at MTV, Hillary Clinton and even Harrison Ford.
“This is going to be the party of the year. I just hope Harrison Ford doesn’t crash it,” Schumer said, referring to the actor’s recent plane crash.
Robert Downey Jr. brought his fellow Avengers to their knees while accepting the Generation Award at the MTV Movie Awards Sunday night.
Cast mates Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner all took the stage to present their co-star with the award, which Downey called “the recognition I so desire.” They then fell to their knees as Downey talked about his memories of the first MTV Movie Awards, and “clawing” his way to the top.
“I partied way too much. I’ve squandered, resisted, repented,” he said, imploring the audience to “dream big, work hard, keep your nose clean.”
READ: Robert Downey Jr. recalls troubled past at MTV Movie Awards
Kevin Hart, receiving the award for comedic genius, brought his kids up on stage, saying that he does it all for them. “I’m trying to leave a legacy behind,” he said.
But the real focus was on what’s coming up at the multiplex this summer. Last year’s host Rebel Wilson and her “Pitch Perfect” co-stars introduced a new clip from their upcoming sequel.
The team behind “Paper Towns,” an adaptation of John Green’s novel, debuted a new clip as well.
There was also an agenda behind Downey Jr.’s accolade, of course: the promotion of “Ultron.” The “Iron Man” star introduced a new clip from the summer blockbuster, which bows May 1.
Even host Schumer had a film to promote: “Trainwreck,” a relationship comedy from director Judd Apatow that Schumer wrote and stars in.
“Go see my movie ‘Trainwreck,’ I think that’s the biggest lesson we’ve all learned here tonight,” said Schumer as the show’s closing line.
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