Comedies, frequently snubbed by award shows, will be front and center at this year's MTV Movie Awards.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Wedding Crashers lead with five nominations each, MTV announced Tuesday. Chinese stars Stephen Chow will compete for Best Fight in Kung Fu Hustle and Zhang Ziyi in the new category Sexiest Performance in Memoirs of a Geisha. 　

The leading five nominations for The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Wedding Crashers include Best Movie and Best Comedic Performance. 　　

Although many of the nominated actors are familiar to Academy Award watchers — Joaquin Phoenix, Terrence Howard, Reese Witherspoon — MTV seeks to further distance itself from the Oscars, counting The Dukes of Hazzard and Deuce Bigolo: European Gigolo among illustrious nominees. 　　

Perhaps the most heated category this time around is Best Kiss, which puts the lip-locking likes of Brokeback cowpokes Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger up against Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. 　

This year's ceremony has received a serious revamp from the powers that be, with all categories no longer distinguishing between male and female actors. 　　

The awards will be given out June 3 in Culver City, California and will air June 8 on MTV.

(Shenzhen Daily April 27, 2006)