June 19, 2006

MTV Celebrates Movies From East And West With The Inaugural MTV Asia Movie Awards

By News Desk

MTV will roll out the red carpet and welcome the biggest stars of Asian and international movies when it stages the first-ever MTV Asia Movie Awards in Uniquely Singapore on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. As part of the creative vision of the event, the iconic Southeast Asian performance venue will be fitted-out in true Hollywood glitz and glamour to accommodate the star-studded night and will set the tone for a night of awards, superstar presenters, musical tributes and celebrity antics.

The MTV Asia Movie Awards takes a unique twist to 'traditional' movie kudofests by offering off-the-wall categories appealing to MTV's audience such as Best Kiss and Best Fight filling out the list of golden popcorn trophies awarded on the night. The premier telecast of the MTV Asia Movie Awards will also feature show-stopping live performances from international and regional acts, making the event a perfect blend of movie glamor and popular music that has made the MTV Movie Awards a must-attend event for the stars of the silver screen.

With Asian stars, directors and films captivating the global movie going public more and more, MTV will take its cues from the US's MTV Movie Awards and give the Singapore-produced spectacular a uniquely Asian twist. As MTV's first pan-regional movie awards show designed to celebrate the best of eastern and western cinema, the MTV Asia Movie Awards promises to be a star-filled event featuring the biggest names from Hollywood to Bollywood. Industry A-listers from China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore will share the spotlight with international headline-grabbing celebrities who top the list of nominees, presenters and attendees taking part in the MTV Asia Movie Awards.

"The MTV Asia Movie Awards will give a unique spin to the only telecast hailed as the wackiest awards show around," said David Flack, Executive Vice President of Creative, MTV. "With so many Asian filmmakers, stars and movies impacting global pop culture, there has never been a better time for MTV to celebrate and highlight the Asian Movie Industry with its unique sense of fun and humour."

The MTV Asia Movie Awards will be staged under the S$50 million strategic alliance formalized between MTV Networks Asia and the Singapore Tourism Board in February 2006. Singapore will host 17 MTV and Nickelodeon events under the alliance; the first MTV Fashionably Loud event featured Placebo in March, with Coldplay performing at the upcoming MTV Centrestage in July.

Oliver Chong, Director, Cluster Development (Events & Entertainment), at the Singapore Tourism Board said, "With the STB-MTV Asia partnership, Singapore can look forward to hosting the inaugural MTV Asia Movie Awards. Billed as one of the most anticipated mega events in entertainment this year, the MTV Asia Movie Awards will attract fans from the region and beyond to experience the exhilarating party life in Singapore, and to extend their celebrations at the various nightlife and entertainment options we have to offer as the Entertainment Capital of Asia."

The U.S. version of the 2006 MTV Movie Awards premiered June 8 with stars such as Jim Carey, Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Eva Mendes, Jessica Simpson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Justin Timberlake, Spike Lee and Colin Farrell taking part in the celebrity-filled night where Wedding Crashers reigned supreme by capturing three golden popcorns. Stars winning awards included Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Jake Gyllenhaal, Steve Carell, Hayden Christensen and host Jessica Alba, and the audience was treated to live performances by Christina Aguilera, Gnarls Barkley and AFI. The US MTV Movie Awards will air on MTV channels throughout Asia Pacific this month.

The MTV Asia Movie Awards will air on all MTV channels across the Asia-Pacific, reaching more than 270 million households during the October telecasts. Asian movie fans will also be able to tap into the complete MTV Asia Movie Awards experience across multiple MTV screens via broadband, wireless and the internet with the richest library of original digital content planned around an MTV awards show in Asia to date. Nominations, presenters, performers, hosts, airdates and additional info on wireless, VOD, online and interactive programming around the MTV Asia Movie Awards will be announced soon.