KEY POINTS:
The bloody, computer-enhanced movie 300 has been nominated for five awards at the usually playful MTV Movie Awards.
The combined animation and real-life action film based on Frank Miller's graphic novel leads the nominations for the awards voted by fans, ahead of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which is up for four awards.
Directed by Zack Snyder, 300 was shot mostly on a soundstage in Canada and included vital creative input from Australian digital effects company Animal Logic for its strong animation element.
It is a relatively serious frontrunner for American film's most live ceremony which includes the novelty categories of best kiss and best villain.
300 is nominated for best movie, (Gerard Butler), breakthrough performance (Lena Headey), best villain (Rodrigo Santoro) and best fight.
Up for three awards at the 16th annual edition of the awards are Will Ferrell's ice-skating comedy Blades of Glory, Sascha Baron Cohen's Borat and biting Oscar-nominated comedy The Devil Wears Prada.
The awards, which will screen on MTV Australia on June 4, will also include two new categories -- one testing the talent of viewers and the other measuring the hype of unreleased blockbusters.
The "best movie spoof" winner will be decided from the best movie parodies submitted by MTV viewers while the "best summer movie you haven't seen" category will decide which film not yet released voters most want to catch.
- AAP
