“DJANGO UNCHAINED,” “TED,” “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” AND “SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK” LEAD NOMINATIONS FOR THE “2013 MTV MOVIE AWARDS”

Winner Voting For 12 Returning and All-New Categories Opens Today, March 5 at MovieAwards.MTV.com

Jennifer Lawrence, Seth MacFarlane, Emma Watson, Jamie Foxx, Bradley Cooper, and Rebel Wilson Vie for the Most Golden Popcorns during the “2013 MTV Movie Awards” Airing Live on Sunday, April 14 at 9:00 P.M. ET/PT on MTV

NEW YORK, NY (MARCH 5, 2013) – MTV announced the categories and nominees for the “2013 MTV Movie Awards” live today on MTV and MTV.com honoring the actors and films that enthralled and electrified audiences this year. Leading the pack with seven nominations each are Quentin Tarantino’s sweeping American slavery Western Django Unchained and Seth MacFarlane’s bromantic comedy Ted, followed by the critically acclaimed Silver Linings Playbook with six nods and the epic blockbuster conclusion to the Batman trilogy The Dark Knight Rises with five. Rounding out the most nominated films are The Avengers, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Pitch Perfect and Skyfall with four each. Fans will have the “Power of the Popcorn” in their hands as voting begins today, Tuesday, March 5 at MovieAwards.MTV.com through Saturday, April 13.

Airing LIVE on Sunday, April 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT from the Sony Pictures Studios Lot in Culver City, CA, the “2013 MTV Movie Awards” will serve as the official kick off to the Summer Blockbuster season with its trademark irreverent celebration of the movies, actors and music that audiences love. Previously announced, rising superstar Rebel Wilson, nominated for “Best Female Performance” and “Breakthrough Performance” as Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect, will star as host and be joined by MTV’s Inaugural “Comedic Genius Award” recipient Will Ferrell, who is nominated for “Best On-Screen Duo” with Zach Galifianakis for The Campaign.

Keeping with the show’s tradition of celebrating current cultural memes, this year’s telecast will introduce two new categories. Abdominally blessed nominees Channing Tatum (Magic Mike), Taylor Lautner (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2), Daniel Craig (Skyfall) and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Rises) will sweat it out against fan-favorite stuffed bear Seth MacFarlane as Ted for the crown of “Best Shirtless Performance,” while unforgettable moments from Les Misérables, Magic Mike, Pitch Perfect, Silver Linings Playbook and The Perks of Being a Wallflower will compete to win the inaugural “Best Musical Moment” award.

Leading lady and recent Academy Award® winner Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook and House at the End of the Street) joins fellow female front-runners Emma Watson (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect), Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables) and Mila Kunis (Ted) for the chance to take home the most Golden Popcorns. At the head of the pack for the men are Seth MacFarlane as Ted (Ted), Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) and Channing Tatum (Magic Mike). As in previous years, the category of “Movie of the Year” will remain an ongoing battle throughout the 22nd annual “2013 MTV Movie Awards” telecast. Additional presenters, performers and special award recipients will be announced at a later date.

Emma Watson (“Best Female Performance,” “Best Kiss,” “Best Musical Moment”) had the following to say about her nominations: "I am so excited to have been nominated for three MTV Movie Awards for Perks of Being a Wallflower! I love the show and I love this movie! I'm so thrilled."

Nominees for the “2013 MTV Movie Awards” are as follows (*denotes new category):

KRISTIN CHENOWETH AND SETH MACFARLANE PERFORM SPECIAL OSCAR® CLOSING NUMBER

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Oscar show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that Kristin Chenoweth and Seth MacFarlane will participate in a special show closing musical performance.

"After the Best Picture award has been given, Seth and Kristin will perform a special number and we think it will be a 'can't miss' moment," said producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Chenoweth joins a stellar list of previously announced performers including Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit and Helena Bonham, Adele, Dame Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones and Barbra Streisand and presenters including Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas, Jamie Foxx, Paul Rudd, Salma Hayek Pinault, Melissa McCarthy, Liam Neeson, John Travolta, Ben Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, Ted and "Marvel's The Avengers" cast members Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo; returning 2011 Oscar winners Jean Dujardin, Christopher Plummer, Octavia Spencer and Meryl Streep; "Chicago" cast members Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Renée Zellweger and Zeta-Jones; and special guests Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe, Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron.

Oscars® for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

NORAH JONES TO PERFORM NOMINATED SONG FROM "TED" LIVE ON OSCAR® TELECAST

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Grammy® Award-winning singer-songwriter Norah Jones will perform “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from the motion picture “Ted,” telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. “Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” with music by Walter Murphy and lyrics by Seth MacFarlane, is nominated for an Original Song Oscar.  This will be Jones’s first time performing on an Oscar show.

"I had such a great time recording this song with Seth, and was thrilled to find out that it was nominated for an Oscar,” said Jones.  “Getting to perform it at such a prestigious event, which my friend is hosting, is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

 "We are happy to have Norah Jones perform Seth's and Walter Murphy's nominated song on our Oscar telecast," said producers Zadan and Meron. "We are big admirers of Norah's singing and she will help celebrate the unique circumstance of having an Oscar host who is also nominated for Best Original Song."

Jones emerged on the world stage with the 2002 release of her debut “Come Away With Me,” which sold more than 10 million copies and earned her five Grammy Awards. Since then, Jones has released a series of critically acclaimed and commercially successful solo albums – “Feels Like Home” (2004), “Not Too Late” (2007), “The Fall” (2009), and “Little Broken Hearts” (2012) – as well as two albums with her country collective, The Little Willies.  The 2010 compilation “...Featuring Norah Jones” showcased Jones’s versatility through collaborations with artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Outkast, Herbie Hancock and Foo Fighters.

Jones’s songs have been featured many times on motion picture soundtracks, and she made her feature film acting debut in “My Blueberry Nights” in 2007.

Oscars® for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

OSCARS® TO FEATURE TRIBUTE TO MOVIE MUSICALS OF THE LAST DECADE

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Oscars will include a special celebration of movie musicals of the last ten years, the telecast's producers announced today.

"The musical as a motion picture genre has had a remarkable renaissance in the last decade," said producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.  "We are excited to showcase three musical films—‘Chicago,’ ‘Dreamgirls’ and ‘Les Misérables’— on our Oscar® show."

Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24 at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane live on the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

ABOUT CRAIG ZADAN AND NEIL MERON

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are producers of critically acclaimed and award-winning feature films, television movies, series, and Broadway productions.  Their feature films include The Bucket List, Footloose, Hairspray, and Chicago, which won six Academy Awards including one for “Best Picture.”  For television, they’ve produced films of “Steel Magnolias,” "Life with Judy Garland," and "A Raisin in the Sun," among many others and the series “Smash” and “Drop Dead Diva.”  They recently returned to their roots in live theater by producing Broadway revivals of the Tony-winning “Promises, Promises” and the Tony-winning 50th Anniversary revival of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”