The MTV Movie & TV Awards were hostless, pre-recorded and wordless, making Sunday night the first major awards show to air during the writers’ strike, offering a commercial-filled broadcast with many recycled clips from the past.
“Scream VI” won the best picture trophy, beating out “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) , “Elvis”, “Nope”, “Smile” and “Top Gun: Maverick”. In his pre-recorded speech, Ghostface, the killer from the “Scream” film series, was grateful: “To all the fans who voted, you finally answered my question: What is his favorite horror movie?” .
“The Last of Us” was crowned the best TV series, beating out “Stranger Things,” “The White Lotus,” “Wednesday” and “Yellowjackets.” Chilean actor Pedro Pascal accepted the award and said that he, the cast and the creators of the series were in solidarity with the scriptwriters on strike.
Tom Cruise took home the award for best performance in a motion picture for “Top Gun: Maverick,” beating out Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Michael B. Jordan and Keke Palmer. In a recorded thank you video, Cruise appeared piloting a jet and sending greetings to fans while announcing his next film in the “Mission: Impossible” series.
Actress of Mexican and Puerto Rican origin Jenna Ortega won the award for best performance in a television series for “Wednesday,” beating out Aubrey Plaza, Christina Ricci, Riley Keough, Sadie Sink and Selena Gomez. “Stranger Things” won the award for best cast.
“The Kardashians” won Best Reality Documentary, Best Breakthrough Performance went to Joseph Quinn for “Stranger Things” and Pascal won Best Hero for “The Last Of Us.” Pascal also won half of the award for best duet with his co-star Bella Ramsey.
The award for best comedic performance went to Adam Sandler, for “Murder Mystery 2″ (“Criminals at Sea”), and “Scream VI” won the award for best fight, for which Ghostface once again thanked the voters: “It’s about time someone finally appreciated my work.”
Host Drew Barrymore canceled her live segments in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), she also won best presenter, and the show’s red carpet didn’t roll out. Faced with the threat of union demonstrations, MTV scrapped the live portion of the ceremony entirely.
While Barrymore wasn’t there, she left behind plenty of sponsored bits, including one featuring Cheetos-flavored popcorn and another impersonating younger sister Skipper in the upcoming “Barbie” movie. He also appeared in a Pluto TV commercial and a “Wednesday” parody. She kicked off the gala by reprising her role as Josie Grossie from “Never Been Kissed,” trying to kiss various nominees in carefully edited comedic moments.
Jennifer Coolidge received the comedy genius award and thanked the striking writers, saying that almost all great comedies start with great writers.
“I stand before you tonight in support of my sisters and brothers at the WGA,” said Coolidge, who also won best scary performance for “The White Lotus.”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” won best competition series, with his team calling for protection for drag shows, while best kissing went to Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow of “Outer Banks.” Many awards were left speechless from the winners.
MTV filled the show with dozens of old clips, like a stellar performance of “Lady Marmalade” in 2001, Lizzo belting out her hit “Juice” in 2019, or Rihanna in 2002 singing “Umbrella,” as well as other great awards speeches. from past winners like Melissa McCarthy, Kevin Hart and Jack Black. There was also a sneak peek at an upcoming episode of “Yellowjackets” and a clip from “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” Sometimes it was hard to tell what was new and what was old.
“Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me” was named best music documentary, “Come Back Home” in “Purple Hearts” was voted best musical moment, and Taylor Swift’s “Carolina” won best song. Elizabeth Olsen in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” was named best villain. ___ Mark Kennedy is on Twitter as
